BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 570
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 570 (Jones-Sawyer)
As Amended July 3, 2013
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |76-1 |(May 29, 2013) |SENATE: |39-0 |(August 26, |
| | | | | |2013) |
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Original Committee Reference: ED.
SUMMARY : Requires the governing board of a school district that
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 of pupils who voluntarily enroll in continuation
schools. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the policies and procedures to ensure there is a
clear criterion for determining which pupils may voluntarily
transfer, or be recommended for a transfer, to a continuation
school, and requires this criterion be consistently applied on
a district wide basis.
2)Requires approval for the voluntary transfer of a pupil to a
continuation school to be based on a finding that the
voluntary placement will promote the educational interests of
the pupil.
3)Requires the policies and procedures to ensure voluntary
placement in a continuation school will not be used as an
alternative to expulsion unless alternative means of
correction have been attempted pursuant to existing provisions
of law governing disciplinary alternatives.
4)Requires the policies and procedures to strive to ensure 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.
5)Requires, if the district chooses to permit pupils to
voluntarily transfer to a continuation school, a copy of the
adopted policies and procedures to be provided to a pupil
AB 570
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whose voluntary transfer to a continuation school is under
consideration and his or her parent/guardian.
6)Requires the policies and procedures to specify that the
transfer is voluntary and the pupil has a right to return to
his or her previous school.
7)Provides that, upon a parent or legal guardian's request, and
before a pupil is transferred, the parent or guardian may meet
with a counselor, principal, or administrator from the
transferor school and the continuation school to determine if
transferring is the best option for the pupil.
8)Requires that, to the extent possible, voluntary transfer to a
continuation school occurs within the first four weeks of each
semester.
The Senate amendments : Add the requirements that the policies
and procedures include: 1) the specification that the transfer
is voluntary and the pupil has a right to return to his or her
previous school; 2) the right of the parent or guardian to
request a meeting prior to the transfer; and, 3) the requirement
that the transfer occur within the first four weeks of school,
to the extent possible.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative
Counsel. However, the Senate Appropriations Committee notes
"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."
Analysis Prepared by : Rick Pratt / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN:
0001773