Amended in Assembly March 21, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1264

Introduced by Assembly Member Conway

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Achadjian, Beth Gaines, Gorell, Hagman, Harkey, begin delete and end delete Morrell begin insert , and Nestande end insert )

February 22, 2013

An act to amend Sections 32281, 32282, and 41020 of the Education Code, relating to school safety.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1264, as amended, Conway. Comprehensive school safety plans: tactical response plans.

(1) Existing law provides that school districts and county offices of education are responsible for the overall development of begin delete a end delete comprehensive school safety begin delete plan end delete begin insert plans end insert for its schools operating kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive. Existing law requires the schoolsite council of a school to write and develop begin delete the end delete begin insert a end insert school safety plan relevant to the needs and resources of the particular school, except as specified with regard to a small school district. Existing law requires the school safety plan to include specified strategies and programs that will provide or maintain a high level of school safety. Existing law authorizes a school district or county office of education to elect to not have its schoolsite council develop and write portions of its school safety plan that include tactical responses to criminal incidents, as defined, and instead develop those portions of the school safety plan with law enforcement officials and other specified persons. Existing law provides certain protections from disclosure for this tactical response plan.

This bill would require a comprehensive school safety plan to include a tactical response plan and protocol for teachers to provide notification of begin delete pupils end delete begin insert a pupil end insert identified as having a potential mental health issue that is likely to result in violence or harm to the pupil or others. The bill would revise the definition of “tactical responses to criminal incidents” to include a plan to safeguard against incidents that include a firearm, explosive, or other deadly weapon. The bill would require a school district or county office of education to publicly announce its adoption or update of a tactical response plan, but would not require the school to disclose those portions of the plan that may be kept private pursuant to existing law.

(2) Existing law requires a county superintendent of schools to provide for an audit of all funds under his or her jurisdiction, and requires the governing board of a local educational agency to either provide for an audit of the books and accounts of the local educational agency or make arrangements with the county superintendent of schools having jurisdiction over the local educational agency to provide for that auditing. Existing law requires a county superintendent of schools to be responsible for reviewing the audit exceptions contained in an audit of a local educational agency under his or her jurisdiction related to specified topics, and determining whether the exceptions were either corrected or an acceptable plan of correction was developed. Existing law requires the county office of education to review certain audit exceptions upon submission and receipt of a final audit report. Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to be responsible for ensuring that local educational agencies have either corrected or developed plans of correction for specified audit exceptions.

This bill, commencing with the 2014-15 fiscal year, would require the auditor to include in the audit report a summary of the extent to which a local educational agency has complied with the requirement that each of its schools develop a comprehensive school safety plan.

(3) By requiring school districts and county offices of education to perform additional duties in regards to their comprehensive school safety begin delete plan end delete begin insert plans end insert , the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 32281 of the Education Code is amended
to read:

32281.  

(a) Each school district and county office of education
is responsible for the overall development of all comprehensive
school safety plans for its schools operating kindergarten or any
of grades 1 to 12, inclusive.

(b) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (d) begin delete with regard to a
small school district end delete , the schoolsite council established pursuant
to former Section 52012, as it existed before July 1, 2005, or
Section 52852 shall write and develop a comprehensive school
safety plan relevant to the needs and resources of that particular
school.

(2) The schoolsite council may delegate this responsibility to a
school safety planning committee made up of the following
members:

(A) The principal or the principal’s designee.

(B) One teacher who is a representative of the recognized
certificated employee organization.

(C) One parent whose child attends the school.

(D) One classified employee who is a representative of the
recognized classified employee organization.

(E) Other members, if desired.

(3) The schoolsite council shall consult with a representative
from a law enforcement agency in the writing and development
of the comprehensive school safety plan.

(4) In the absence of a schoolsite council, the members specified
in paragraph (2) shall serve as the school safety planning
committee.

(c) Nothing in this article shall limit or take away the authority
of school boards as guaranteed under this code.

(d) (1) Subdivision (b) shall not apply to a small school district,
as defined in paragraph (2), if the small school district develops a
districtwide comprehensive school safety plan that is applicable
to each schoolsite.

(2) As used in this article, “small school district” means a school
district that has fewer than 2,501 units of average daily attendance
at the beginning of each fiscal year.

(e) (1) When a principal or his or her designee verifies through
local law enforcement officials that a report has been filed of the
occurrence of a violent crime on the schoolsite of an elementary
or secondary school at which he or she is the principal, the principal
or the principal’s designee may send to each pupil’s parent or legal
guardian and each school employee a written notice of the
occurrence and general nature of the crime. If the principal or his
or her designee chooses to send the written notice, the Legislature
encourages the notice be sent no later than the end of business on
the second regular work day after the verification. If, at the time
of verification, local law enforcement officials determine that
notification of the violent crime would hinder an ongoing
investigation, the notification authorized by this subdivision shall
be made within a reasonable period of time, to be determined by
the local law enforcement agency and the school district. For
purposes of this section, an act that is considered a “violent crime”
shall meet the definition of Section 67381 and be an act for which
a pupil could or would be expelled pursuant to Section 48915.

(2) Nothing in this subdivision shall create any liability in a
school district or its employees for complying with paragraph (1).

(f) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), a school district or
county office of education may, in consultation with law
enforcement officials, elect to not have its schoolsite council
develop and write those portions of its comprehensive school safety
plan that include tactical responses to criminal incidents that may
result in death or serious bodily injury at the schoolsite. The
portions of a school safety plan that include tactical responses to
criminal incidents may be developed by administrators of the
school district or county office of education in consultation with
law enforcement officials and with a representative of an exclusive
bargaining unit of employees of that school district or county office
of education, if he or she chooses to participate. The school district
or county office of education may elect not to disclose those
portions of the comprehensive school safety plan that include
tactical responses to criminal incidents.

(2) As used in this article, “tactical responses to criminal
incidents” means steps taken to safeguard pupils and staff, to secure
the affected school premises, and to apprehend the criminal
perpetrator or perpetrators, including, but not limited to, a plan to
safeguard against incidents that include a firearm, explosive, or
other deadly weapon.

(3) Nothing in this subdivision precludes the governing board
of a school district or county office of education from conferring
in a closed session with law enforcement officials pursuant to
Section 54957 of the Government Code to approve a tactical
response plan developed in consultation with those officials
pursuant to this subdivision. Any vote to approve the tactical
response plan shall be announced in open session following the
closed session.

(4) A school district or county office of education shall publicly
announce its adoption or update of a tactical response plan, but
shall not be required to disclose those portions of the plan that may
be kept private pursuant to this subdivision.

(5) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to reduce or
eliminate the requirements of Section 32282.

SEC. 2.  

Section 32282 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

32282.  

(a) The comprehensive school safety plan shall include,
but not be limited to, both of the following:

(1) Assessing the current status of school crime committed on
school campuses and at school-related functions.

(2) Identifying appropriate strategies and programs that will
provide or maintain a high level of school safety and address the
school’s procedures for complying with existing laws related to
school safety, which shall include the development of all of the
following:

(A) Child abuse reporting procedures consistent with Article
2.5 (commencing with Section 11164) of Chapter 2 of Title 1 of
Part 4 of the Penal Code.

(B) Disaster procedures, routine and emergency, including
adaptations for pupils with disabilities in accordance with the
federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec.
12101 et seq.). The disaster procedures shall also include, but not
be limited to, both of the following:

(i) Establishing an earthquake emergency procedure system in
every public school building having an occupant capacity of 50
or more pupils or more than one classroom. A district or county
office may work with the California Emergency Management
Agency and the Seismic Safety Commission to develop and
establish the earthquake emergency procedure system. The system
shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:

(I) A school building disaster plan, ready for implementation
at any time, for maintaining the safety and care of pupils and staff.

(II) A drop procedure whereby each pupil and staff member
takes cover under a table or desk, dropping to his or her knees,
with the head protected by the arms, and the back to the windows.
A drop procedure practice shall be held at least once each school
quarter in elementary schools and at least once a semester in
secondary schools.

(III) Protective measures to be taken before, during, and
following an earthquake.

(IV) A program to ensure that pupils and both the certificated
and classified staff are aware of, and properly trained in, the
earthquake emergency procedure system.

(ii) Establishing a procedure to allow a public agency, including
the American Red Cross, to use school buildings, grounds, and
equipment for mass care and welfare shelters during disasters or
other emergencies affecting the public health and welfare. The
district or county office shall cooperate with the public agency in
furnishing and maintaining the services as the district or county
office may deem necessary to meet the needs of the community.

(C) Policies pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 48915 for
pupils who committed an act listed in subdivision (c) of Section
48915 and other school-designated serious acts that would lead to
suspension, expulsion, or mandatory expulsion recommendations
pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 48900) of Chapter
6 of Part 27 of Division 4 of Title 2.

(D) Procedures to notify teachers of dangerous pupils pursuant
to Section 49079.

(E) A discrimination and harassment policy consistent with the
prohibition against discrimination contained in Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 200) of Part 1.

(F) The provisions of any schoolwide dress code, pursuant to
Section 35183, that prohibits pupils from wearing “gang-related
apparel,” if the school has adopted that type of a dress code. For
those purposes, the comprehensive school safety plan shall define
“gang-related apparel.” The definition shall be limited to apparel
that, if worn or displayed on a school campus, reasonably could
be determined to threaten the health and safety of the school
environment. Any schoolwide dress code established pursuant to
this section and Section 35183 shall be enforced on the school
campus and at any school-sponsored activity by the principal of
the school or the person designated by the principal. For purposes
of this paragraph, “gang-related apparel” shall not be considered
a protected form of speech pursuant to Section 48950.

(G) Procedures for safe ingress and egress of pupils, parents,
and school employees to and from school.

(H) A safe and orderly environment conducive to learning at
the school.

(I) The rules and procedures on school discipline adopted
pursuant to Sections 35291 and 35291.5.

(J) A tactical response plan as provided for in subdivision (f)
of Section 32281.

(K) Protocol for teachers to provide notification of begin delete pupils end delete begin insert a
pupil end insert identified as having a potential mental health issue that is
likely to result in violence or harm to the pupil or others.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that schools develop
comprehensive school safety plans using existing resources,
including the materials and services of the partnership, pursuant
to this chapter. It is also the intent of the Legislature that schools
use the handbook developed and distributed by the School/Law
Enforcement Partnership Program entitled “Safe Schools: A
Planning Guide for Action” in conjunction with developing their
plan for school safety.

(c) Grants to assist schools in implementing their comprehensive
school safety begin delete plan end delete begin insert plans end insert shall be made available through the
partnership as authorized by Section 32285.

(d) Each schoolsite council or school safety planning committee
in developing and updating a comprehensive school safety plan
shall, where practical, consult, cooperate, and coordinate with
other schoolsite councils or school safety planning committees.

(e) The comprehensive school safety plan may be evaluated and
amended, as needed, by the school safety planning committee, but
shall be evaluated at least once a year, to ensure that the
comprehensive school safety plan is properly implemented. An
updated file of all safety-related plans and materials shall be readily
available for inspection by the public.

(f) As comprehensive school safety plans are reviewed and
updated, the Legislature encourages all plans, to the extent that
resources are available, to include policies and procedures aimed
at the prevention of bullying.

(g) The comprehensive school safety plan, as written and
updated by the schoolsite council or school safety planning
committee, shall be submitted for approval under subdivision (a)
of Section 32288.

SEC. 3.  

Section 41020 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

41020.  

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to encourage sound
fiscal management practices among local educational agencies for
the most efficient and effective use of public funds for the
education of children in California by strengthening fiscal
accountability at the district, county, and state levels.

(b) (1) Not later than May 1 of each fiscal year, each county
superintendent of schools shall provide for an audit of all funds
under his or her jurisdiction and control, and the governing board
of each local educational agency shall either provide for an audit
of the books and accounts of the local educational agency,
including an audit of income and expenditures by source of funds,
or make arrangements with the county superintendent of schools
having jurisdiction over the local educational agency to provide
for that auditing.

(2) A contract to perform the audit of a local educational agency
that has a disapproved budget or has received a negative
certification on any budget or interim financial report during the
current fiscal year or either of the two preceding fiscal years, or
for which the county superintendent of schools has otherwise
determined that a lack of going concern exists, is not valid unless
approved by the responsible county superintendent of schools and
the governing board.

(3) If the governing board of a local educational agency has not
provided for an audit of the books and accounts of the local
educational agency by April 1, the county superintendent of schools
having jurisdiction over the local educational agency shall provide
for the audit of each local educational agency.

(4) An audit conducted pursuant to this section shall comply
fully with the Government Auditing Standards issued by the
Comptroller General of the United States.

(5) For purposes of this section, “local educational agency” does
not include community colleges.

(c) Each audit conducted in accordance with this section shall
include all funds of the local educational agency, including the
student body and cafeteria funds and accounts and any other funds
under the control or jurisdiction of the local educational agency.
Each audit shall also include an audit of pupil attendance
procedures.

(d) All audit reports for each fiscal year shall be developed and
reported using a format established by the Controller after
consultation with the Superintendent and the Director of Finance.

(e) (1) The cost of the audits provided for by the county
superintendent of schools shall be paid from the county school
service fund, and the county superintendent of schools shall transfer
the pro rata share of the cost chargeable to each district from district
funds.

(2) The cost of the audit provided for by a governing board shall
be paid from local educational agency funds. The audit of the funds
under the jurisdiction and control of the county superintendent of
schools shall be paid from the county school service fund.

(f) (1) The audits shall be made by a certified public accountant
or a public accountant, licensed by the California Board of
Accountancy, and selected by the local educational agency, as
applicable, from a directory of certified public accountants and
public accountants deemed by the Controller as qualified to conduct
audits of local educational agencies, which shall be published by
the Controller not later than December 31 of each year.

(2) Commencing with the 2003-04 fiscal year and except as
provided in subdivision (d) of Section 41320.1, it is unlawful for
a public accounting firm to provide audit services to a local
educational agency if the lead audit partner, or coordinating audit
partner, having primary responsibility for the audit, or the audit
partner responsible for reviewing the audit, has performed audit
services for that local educational agency in each of the six previous
fiscal years. The Education Audit Appeals Panel may waive this
requirement if the panel finds that no otherwise eligible auditor is
available to perform the audit.

(3) It is the intent of the Legislature that, notwithstanding
paragraph (2), the rotation within public accounting firms conform
to provisions of the federal Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (P.L.
107-204; 15 U.S.C. Sec. 7201 et seq.), and upon release of the
report required by the act of the Comptroller General of the United
States addressing the mandatory rotation of registered public
accounting firms, the Legislature intends to reconsider the
provisions of paragraph (2). In determining which certified public
accountants and public accountants shall be included in the
directory, the Controller shall use the following criteria:

(A) The certified public accountants or public accountants shall
be in good standing as certified by the Board of Accountancy.

(B) The certified public accountants or public accountants, as
a result of a quality control review conducted by the Controller
pursuant to Section 14504.2, shall not have been found to have
conducted an audit in a manner constituting noncompliance with
subdivision (a) of Section 14503.

(g) (1) The auditor’s report shall include each of the following:

(A) A statement that the audit was conducted pursuant to
standards and procedures developed in accordance with Chapter
3 (commencing with Section 14500) of Part 9 of Division 1 of
Title 1.

(B) A summary of audit exceptions and management
improvement recommendations.

(C) An evaluation by the auditor on whether there is substantial
doubt about the ability of the local educational agency to continue
as a going concern for a reasonable period of time. This evaluation
shall be based on the Statement of Auditing Standards (SAS) No.
59, as issued by the AICPA regarding disclosure requirements
relating to the ability of the entity to continue as a going concern.

(D) Commencing with the 2014-15 fiscal year, a summary of
the extent to which the local educational agency has complied with
the requirement that each of its schools develop a comprehensive
school safety plan pursuant to Section 32281.

(2) To the extent possible, a description of correction or plan
of correction shall be incorporated in the audit report, describing
the specific actions that are planned to be taken, or that have been
taken, to correct the problem identified by the auditor. The
descriptions of specific actions to be taken or that have been taken
shall not solely consist of general comments such as “will
implement,” “accepted the recommendation,” or “will discuss at
a later date.”

(h) Not later than December 15, a report of each local
educational agency audit for the preceding fiscal year shall be filed
with the county superintendent of schools of the county in which
the local educational agency is located, the department, and the
Controller. The Superintendent shall make any adjustments
necessary in future apportionments of all state funds to correct any
audit exceptions revealed by those audit reports.

(i) (1) Commencing with the 2002-03 audit of local educational
agencies pursuant to this section and subdivision (d) of Section
41320.1, each county superintendent of schools shall be responsible
for reviewing the audit exceptions contained in an audit of a local
educational agency under his or her jurisdiction related to
attendance, inventory of equipment, internal control, and any
miscellaneous items, and determining whether the exceptions have
been either corrected or an acceptable plan of correction has been
developed.

(2) Commencing with the 2004-05 audit of local educational
agencies pursuant to this section and subdivision (d) of Section
41320.1, each county superintendent of schools shall include in
the review of audit exceptions performed pursuant to this
subdivision those audit exceptions related to use of instructional
materials program funds, teacher misassignments pursuant to
Section 44258.9, and information reported on the school
accountability report card required pursuant to Section 33126, and
shall determine whether the exceptions are either corrected or an
acceptable plan of correction has been developed.

(j) Upon submission of the final audit report to the governing
board of each local educational agency and subsequent receipt of
the audit by the county superintendent of schools having
jurisdiction over the local educational agency, the county office
of education shall do all of the following:

(1) Review audit exceptions related to attendance, inventory of
equipment, internal control, and other miscellaneous exceptions.
Attendance exceptions or issues shall include, but not be limited
to, those related to revenue limits, adult education, and independent
study.

(2) If a description of the correction or plan of correction has
not been provided as part of the audit required by this section, then
the county superintendent of schools shall notify the local
educational agency and request the governing board of the local
educational agency to provide to the county superintendent of
schools a description of the corrections or plan of correction by
March 15.

(3) Review the description of correction or plan of correction
and determine its adequacy. If the description of the correction or
plan of correction is not adequate, the county superintendent of
schools shall require the local educational agency to resubmit that
portion of its response that is inadequate.

(k) Each county superintendent of schools shall certify to the
Superintendent and the Controller, not later than May 15, that his
or her staff has reviewed all audits of local educational agencies
under his or her jurisdiction for the prior fiscal year, that all
exceptions that the county superintendent was required to review
were reviewed, and that all of those exceptions, except as otherwise
noted in the certification, have been corrected by the local
educational agency or that an acceptable plan of correction has
been submitted to the county superintendent of schools. In addition,
the county superintendent shall identify, by local educational
agency, any attendance-related audit exception or exceptions
involving state funds, and require the local educational agency to
which the audit exceptions were directed to submit appropriate
reporting forms for processing by the Superintendent.

(l) In the audit of a local educational agency for a subsequent
year, the auditor shall review the correction or plan or plans of
correction submitted by the local educational agency to determine
if the exceptions have been resolved. If not, the auditor shall
immediately notify the appropriate county office of education and
the department and restate the exception in the audit report. After
receiving that notification, the department shall either consult with
the local educational agency to resolve the exception or require
the county superintendent of schools to follow up with the local
educational agency.

(m) (1) The Superintendent shall be responsible for ensuring
that local educational agencies have either corrected or developed
plans of correction for any one or more of the following:

(A) All federal and state compliance audit exceptions identified
in the audit.

(B) Any exceptions that the county superintendent certifies as
of May 15 have not been corrected.

(C) Any repeat audit exceptions that are not assigned to a county
superintendent to correct.

(2) In addition, the Superintendent shall be responsible for
ensuring that county superintendents of schools and each county
board of education that serves as the governing board of a local
educational agency either correct all audit exceptions identified in
the audits of county superintendents of schools and of the local
educational agencies for which the county boards of education
serve as the governing boards or develop acceptable plans of
correction for those exceptions.

(3) The Superintendent shall report annually to the Controller
on his or her actions to ensure that school districts, county
superintendents of schools, and each county board of education
that serves as the governing board of a school district have either
corrected or developed plans of correction for any of the exceptions
noted pursuant to paragraph (1).

(n) To facilitate correction of the exceptions identified by the
audits issued pursuant to this section, commencing with 2002-03
audits pursuant to this section, the Controller shall require auditors
to categorize audit exceptions in each audit report in a manner that
will make it clear to both the county superintendent of schools and
the Superintendent which exceptions they are responsible for
ensuring the correction of by a local educational agency. In
addition, the Controller annually shall select a sampling of county
superintendents of schools, perform a followup of the audit
resolution process of those county superintendents of schools, and
report the results of that followup to the Superintendent and the
county superintendents of schools that were reviewed.

(o) County superintendents of schools shall adjust subsequent
local property tax requirements to correct audit exceptions relating
to local educational agency tax rates and tax revenues.

(p) If a governing board or county superintendent of schools
fails or is unable to make satisfactory arrangements for the audit
pursuant to this section, the Controller shall make arrangements
for the audit, and the cost of the audit shall be paid from local
educational agency funds or the county school service fund, as the
case may be.

(q) Audits of regional occupational centers and programs are
subject to the provisions of this section.

(r) This section does not authorize examination of, or reports
on, the curriculum used or provided for in any local educational
agency.

(s) Notwithstanding any other law, a nonauditing, management,
or other consulting service to be provided to a local educational
agency by a certified public accounting firm while the certified
public accounting firm is performing an audit of the agency
pursuant to this section shall be in accord with Government
Accounting Standards, Amendment No. 3, as published by the
United States General Accounting Office.

SEC. 4.  

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.