BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
AB 570 (Jones-Sawyer) - Continuation Schools: Voluntary
Placement
Amended: July 3, 2013 Policy Vote: Education 9-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: August 12, 2013
Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-Hernandez
This bill may meet the criteria for referral to the Suspense
File.
Bill Summary: AB 570 requires the governing board of a school
district, if it chooses to voluntarily enroll high school pupils
in a continuation school, to establish and adopt policies and
procedures governing the identification, placement and intake
procedures for these pupils, as specified. This bill further
requires a copy of the policies and procedures to be provided to
a pupil whose voluntary transfer is under consideration, and to
the parent or guardian, as specified.
Fiscal Impact: Likely minor, but potentially significant,
increase in local costs and workload for school districts which
allow voluntary transfers to continuation schools, to the extent
that their current local policies and procedures do not adhere
to the requirements of this bill; those school districts would
have to develop new, compliant processes and procedures or
disallow voluntary transfers to continuation schools.
Background: Continuation schools are an alternative high school
education program for students who are 16 years of age or older,
have not graduated from high school, are still required to
attend school, and who are at risk of not graduating.
Existing law, regarding the the voluntary transfer of a pupil
from a traditional high school to a continuation school,
provides that:
1) With the consent of a designee of the district
superintendent, a pupil may transfer voluntarily to a
continuation school to receive special attention such as
individualized instruction.
AB 570 (Jones-Sawyer)
Page 1
2) A pupil who has voluntarily transferred to a continuation
school has the right to return to the regular high school
at the beginning of the following year or any time with the
consent of a designee of the district superintendent.
Existing law, regarding the involuntary transfer of a pupil from
a traditional high school to a continuation school, provides
that:
1) The involuntary transfer of a pupil to a continuation
school is limited to situations where it is found that the
pupil has either: a) Committed any of the 24 acts for which
a pupil may be suspended or recommended for expulsion; or,
b) has been habitually truant or irregular in attendance.
2) Involuntary transfers to a continuation school are to be
imposed only when other means fail to bring about pupil
improvement. However, it also authorizes an involuntary
transfer upon the first offense if the principal determines
the pupil causes a danger to people or property, or
threatens to disrupt the instructional process.
3) The decision to transfer a pupil must be in writing,
stating the facts and reasons for the decision, and sent to
the pupil and the pupil's parent or guardian. This
notification must indicate whether the decision is subject
to periodic review and the procedure for review.
4) The governing board of a school district that assigns
pupils to continuation schools must adopt rules and
regulations governing procedures for the involuntary
transfer of pupils to continuation schools. The rules and
regulations include requiring written notice be given to
the pupil and his or her parent or guardian informing them
of the opportunity to request a meeting with a designee of
the district superintendent prior to the transfer. At the
meeting, the pupil and parent or guardian is to be informed
of the specific facts and reasons for the proposed
transfer. The pupil and parent or guardian must have the
opportunity to inspect all documents relied upon, question
any evidence and witnesses presented and present evidence
on the pupil's behalf.
AB 570 (Jones-Sawyer)
Page 2
5) An involuntary transfer cannot extend beyond the end of the
semester following the semester during which the pupil
committed the acts that lead to the transfer, unless the
governing board of the district adopts a procedure for
yearly review of the transfer at the request of the pupil
or parent or guardian. (Education Code § 48432.5)
Proposed Law: AB 570 requires the governing board of a school
district, if it chooses to voluntarily enroll high school pupils
in a continuation school, to establish and adopt policies and
procedures governing the identification, placement and intake
procedures for these pupils. This bill requires the policies and
procedures: a) ensure there is a clear criterion for determining
which pupils may voluntarily transfer or be recommended for
transfer; b) ensure this criterion is consistently applied
district-wide; c) ensure voluntary placements in a continuation
school are not used as an alternative to expulsion unless
alternative means of correction have been attempted as required
by current law;
d) strive to ensure that no specific group of pupils, including
based on race, ethnicity, language status, or special needs, is
disproportionately enrolled in continuation schools within the
school district; e) ensure that voluntary transfers occur within
the first four weeks of each semester, to the extent possible;
and, f) ensure that the transfer is voluntary and the pupil has
a right to return to his or her previous school.
This bill further requires approval for the voluntary transfer
to be based on a finding that the placement will promote the
educational interests of the pupil, and authorizes a pupil and
parent or guardian, upon the request of a parent or guardian, to
meet with a counselor, principal or administrator from both the
home school and the continuation school prior to the transfer of
a pupil to determine if transferring is the best option for the
pupil. This bill requires a copy of the district's policies and
procedures to be provided to a pupil whose voluntary transfer is
under consideration, and to the parent or guardian. The
notification of transfer must also specify that the transfer is
voluntary and that the pupil has the right to return to his or
her previous school if the transfer does not meet the pupil's
educational needs.
Related Legislation: SB 744 (Lara) requires parental consent for
referrals to a county community school or community day school
AB 570 (Jones-Sawyer)
Page 3
by a school attendance review board, school district, or
probation department, except for situations where a student is
expelled or pursuant to a court order. This bill also
establishes the right of a student to reenroll in his/her former
school or another school upon completion of the term of
involuntary transfer to a county community school or community
day school. SB 744 is scheduled to be heard by the Assembly
Education Committee on August 14, 2013.
Staff Comments: This bill is unlikely to result in any direct
state costs, as it is not a reimbursable mandate; school
districts do not have to allow pupils to voluntarily transfer to
a continuation school. It will result, however, result in costs
for some school districts (which are primarily funded by
Proposition 98 General Fund).
To the extent that a school district currently allows (and
facilitates) the voluntary transfer of some pupils to
continuation schools under policies and procedures inconsistent
with those prescribed in this bill, that school district will be
required to revise (and likely to expand) its policies to ensure
compliance. That will require drafting and adopting by the
governing board, and may require training of staff involved in
transfers at the school site level. A school district's only
alternative to compliance with this measure's requirements would
be to disallow voluntary transfers to continuation schools.