BILL NUMBER: AB 570	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 19, 2013
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 13, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 24, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 25, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 14, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Jones-Sawyer

                        FEBRUARY 20, 2013

   An act to add Section 48432.3 to the Education Code, relating to
continuation schools.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 570, as amended, Jones-Sawyer. Continuation schools: policies
and procedures: voluntary placement.
    Existing law establishes continuation schools to provide
opportunities for pupils to complete the required academic courses of
instruction to graduate from high school, to provide a program of
instruction that emphasizes occupational orientation or a work-study
schedule and offers intensive guidance services to meet the special
needs of pupils, and to provide a program designed to meet the
educational needs of each pupil, as specified. Existing law requires
the governing board of each high school or unified school district
that assigns pupils to continuation schools to adopt rules and
regulations governing procedures for the involuntary transfer of
pupils to continuation schools.
   This bill would, if the governing board of a school district
chooses to voluntarily enroll high school pupils in a continuation
school, require the governing board to establish and adopt policies
and procedures governing the identification, placement, and intake
procedures for these pupils, based on a finding that the voluntary
placement of the pupil will promote his or her educational interests.
The bill would require the adopted policies and procedures to
ensure, among other things, that voluntary placement in continuation
school not be used as an alternative to expulsion, except as
specified, that no specific group of pupils, as specified, is
disproportionately enrolled in continuation schools within the school
district, that the policies and procedures be provided to pupils,
and to the parents and legal guardians of pupils, whose voluntary
transfer to a continuation school is under consideration, and that
before a pupil is transferred, the pupil and his or her parent or
legal guardian  meet   may   meet 
with a counselor, principal, or administrator from both the
transferor school and the continuation school to determine if
transferring is the best option for the pupil.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 48432.3 is added to the Education Code, to
read:
   48432.3.  (a) If the governing board of a school district chooses
to voluntarily enroll high school pupils in a continuation school,
the governing board shall establish and adopt policies and procedures
governing the identification, placement, and intake procedures for
these pupils. These policies and procedures shall ensure that there
is a clear criterion for determining which pupils may voluntarily
transfer or be recommended for a transfer to a continuation school
and that this criterion is not applied arbitrarily, but is
consistently applied on a districtwide basis. Approval for the
voluntary transfer of a pupil to a continuation school shall be based
on a finding that the voluntary placement will promote the
educational interests of the pupil.
   (b) The policies and procedures adopted under this section shall
also ensure all of the following:
   (1) That voluntary placement in a continuation school shall not be
used as an alternative to expulsion unless alternative means of
correction have been attempted pursuant to Section 48900.5.
   (2)  That   Shall strive to ensure that 
  no specific group of pupils, including a group based on
race, ethnicity, language status, or special needs, is
disproportionately enrolled in continuation schools within the school
district.
   (3) If the governing board of a school district chooses to permit
pupils to voluntarily transfer to a continuation school, a copy of
the policies and procedures adopted under this section shall be
provided to a pupil whose voluntary transfer to a continuation school
is under consideration, and to the parent or legal guardian of that
pupil.
   (4) The notification of transfer shall specify that the transfer
is voluntary and that the pupil has a right to return to his or her
previous school if the transfer does not meet the pupil's educational
needs. 
   (5) Before a pupil is transferred, the pupil and his or her parent
or legal guardian shall meet with a counselor, principal, or
administrator from both the transferor school and the continuation
school to determine if transferring is the best option for the pupil.
 
   (5) Upon a parent or legal guardian's request and prior to a pupil
being transferred, the parent or legal guardian may meet with a
counselor, principal, or administrator from both the transferor
school and the continuation school to determine if transferring is
the best option for the pupil. 
   (6) To the extent possible, voluntary transfer to a continuation
school occurs within the first four weeks of each semester.