BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1264
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Date of Hearing: April 3, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
AB 1264 (Conway) - As Amended: March 21, 2013
SUBJECT : Comprehensive school safety plans: tactical response
plans
SUMMARY : Makes various changes to the comprehensive school
safety plans. Specifically, this bill :
1)Expands the definition of "tactical response to criminal
incidents" to include a plan to safeguard against incidents
that include a firearm, explosive, or other deadly weapon.
2)Requires a school district or county office of education (COE)
to publicly announce its adoption or update of a tactical
response plan, but does not require disclosure of those
portions of the plan that may be kept private.
3)Requires the comprehensive school safety plan to include a
tactical response plan as specified in existing law.
4)Requires the comprehensive school safety plan to include a
protocol for teachers to provide notification of pupils
identified as having a potential mental health issue that is
likely to result in violence or harm to the pupil or others.
5)Requires the auditor's report of a local educational agency's
(LEA) annual financial audit to include, commencing in the
2014-15 fiscal year, a summary of the extent to which the LEA
has complied with the requirement that each of its schools
develop a comprehensive school safety plan.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Specifies that the schoolsite council or a school safety
planning committee is responsible for developing the
comprehensive school safety plan. (Education Code Section
(EC) 32281)
2)Specifies that the comprehensive school safety plan shall
include an assessment of the current status of school crime
committed on school campuses and at school-related functions
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and identification of 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, including child abuse reporting
procedures; disaster procedures; an earthquake emergency
procedure system; policies regarding pupils who commit
specified acts that would lead to suspension or expulsion;
procedures to notify teachers of dangerous pupils; a
discrimination and harassment policy; the provisions of any
schoolwide dress code; procedures for safe ingress and egress
of pupils, parents, and school employees to and from school; a
safe and orderly environment conducive to learning; rules and
procedures on school discipline; and hate crime reporting
procedures. (EC 32282)
3)Requires the comprehensive school safety plan to be evaluated
at least once a year. (EC 32282)
4)Requires the comprehensive school safety plan to be submitted
to the school district or COE for approval and requires a
school district or COE to notify the California Department of
Education (CDE) by October 15 of every year of any school that
is not in compliance. (EC 32288)
5)Provides that if the Superintendent of Public Instruction
(SPI) determines that there has been a willful failure to make
any report, the SPI shall notify and assess no more than
$2,000 against that school district or COE. (EC 32287)
6)Authorizes the portions of a school safety plan that include
tactical responses to criminal incidents to be developed by
school district or COE administrators in consultation with law
enforcement officials and with a representative of an
exclusive bargaining unit of school district or COE employees,
if he or she chooses to participate. Authorizes the school
district or COE to elect not to disclose those portions of the
comprehensive school safety plan that include tactical
responses to criminal incidents. (EC 32281)
7)Defines "tactical responses to criminal incidents" as steps
taken to safeguard pupils and staff, to secure the affected
school premises, and to apprehend the criminal perpetrator or
perpetrators. (EC 32281)
8)Specifies that a governing board of a school district or COE
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is not precluded from conferring in a closed session with law
enforcement officials to approve a tactical response plan.
Requires any vote to approve the tactical response plan to be
announced in open session following the closed session. (EC
32281)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Existing law requires each school to develop a school
safety plan that includes processes, procedures, and policies to
ensure student and staff safety at a school site. The
components of the plan range from daily processes, such as
procedures for safe ingress and egress of pupils, parents and
school employees; to disaster and emergency procedures such as
those during and after earthquakes; to behavioral policies such
as discrimination and harassment policies. The school safety
plan is developed by a school site council or a school safety
planning committee. Current law requires a school to submit the
school safety plan to the school district or COE for approval
and requires the school district or COE to annually notify the
CDE of any schools that have not complied with the requirement
to develop a school safety plan. The SPI is authorized to
impose a fine of not more than $2,000 against a school district
or COE for any willful failure to make any required report.
According to the CDE, there has been no report of noncompliance
by schools and no district or COE has been fined for willfully
failing to report a school that has not developed a school
safety plan. It is unclear whether this is because there has no
violations and every school in the state has developed its
school safety plan, or whether districts or COEs have not
reported schools that have not developed their school safety
plans.
Tactical Response Plan . In 2011, AB 680 (Block), Chapter 438,
Statutes of 2011, authorized school districts and COEs to choose
to allow administrators, in consultation with law enforcement
agencies, to develop a tactical response plan, approve the plan
in closed session and announce the vote in open session
following the closed session. The bill was sponsored by San
Diego Unified School District with concerns that because the
school safety plan is a public document and subject to the
California Public Records Act, exposing the tactical response
plan to public review would give those with criminal intent an
advantage in the event of a violent situation, which would
compromise the safety of students and staff. The bill was
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drafted in consultation with law enforcement and first amendment
rights representatives.
This bill expands the definition of "tactical responses to
criminal incidents" from "steps taken to safeguard pupils and
staff, to secure the affected school premises, and to apprehend
the criminal perpetrator or perpetrators" to " steps taken to
safeguard pupils and staff, to secure the affect 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." The bill also requires the school district or
COE to publicly announce its adoption or update of a tactical
response plan, but is not required to disclose the details of
the plan. Since existing law already requires the vote to be
announced in open session following a closed session, this
provision appears to be duplicative with the exception of the
requirement to make a public announcement upon updating the
tactical response plan. Staff recommends striking this
provision and amending existing law to require any vote to
update the tactical response plan to also be announced in open
session following the closed session.
This bill inserts into the list of components that are required
of the school safety plan a requirement to develop a tactical
response plan as provided for in AB 680. The author states that
the provisions under AB 680 simply authorize the development of
a tactical response plan to be developed in closed session, but
does not require it.
Identification of mental health issues . This bill requires, as
a component of the school safety plan, the development of a
protocol for teachers to provide notification of pupils
identified as having a potential mental health issue that is
likely to result in violence or harm to the pupil or others.
According to the author, this provision "will increase safety
and provide greater clarity by requiring a safety plan to
include protocols that promote training for teachers to
recognize and effectively deal with mental health issues that
are likely to result in violence or harm."
Concerns have been raised regarding whether teachers have the
expertise to identify students with mental health issues that
are likely to result in violence or harm to the pupil or others;
whether they can get sufficient training; and potential
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liability of such identification, whether a pupil is identified
or not. There are existing programs such Student Study Teams,
formed at a school level where teachers, counselors,
administrators, and if appropriate, psychologist and other
specialists, work together to address behavioral problems,
attention issues, emotional concerns and academic progress. In
Los Angeles, the School Threat Assessment Response Team brings
together county mental health professionals, law enforcement
agencies and schools to intervene before violence occurs. These
programs have experts that are better equipped at identifying
and providing interventions and services. Staff recommends
striking this provision.
School safety plan compliance . The bill requires, commencing in
the 2014-15 fiscal year, the auditor's report of a LEA's annual
financial audit to include a summary of the extent to which the
LEA has complied with the requirement that each of its schools
develop a comprehensive school safety plan. This provision is
identical to a provision in SB 49 (Lieu), pending in the Senate
Education Committee. Funds for developing school safety plan
was incorporated into a mandates block grant established last
year as part of the 2012-13 budget, which already includes a
compliance monitoring process. Staff recommends striking this
provision. If the author wishes to determine whether all
schools have developed a school safety plan, the author may wish
to consider requiring a one-time status report by
superintendents and COEs to provide the CDE with an update of
the status of the development of the school safety plan at each
school under their jurisdiction. Alternatively, SB 49 contains
a provision requiring the dates the school plan was adopted or
updated and submitted to the district or COE to be added to the
School Accountability Report Card.
Related legislation . AB 549 (Jones-Sawyer), pending in this
Committee, requires the comprehensive school safety plan to
establish guidelines for the roles and responsibilities of
police officers on campus.
SB 49 (Lieu), pending in the Senate Education Committee, adds
procedures related to individuals with guns on school campuses
and at school-related functions as a requirement in the school
safety plan, requires charter schools to develop a school safety
plan, requires the annual audit of school district funds to
include a summary of the extent to which a LEA has complied with
the requirement to develop a comprehensive school safety plan,
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and requires the SPI to withhold the next principal
apportionment from a LEA if the SPI receives an audit report
that finds that the LEA has not complied with the requirement
that each school develop a school safety plan, or the SPI finds
that a superintendent of a school district or county office of
education has failed to provide written notification to the SPI
identifying the schools that had not complied.
SB 634 (Price), pending in the Senate Education Committee,
requires a comprehensive school safety plan to establish minimum
requirements and standards for schools to follow when conducting
school safety drills and reviewing school emergency and crisis
response plans, requires all school districts and county offices
of education to incorporate specified safety drills into their
school safety plan, and requires each school to conduct two
school evacuation drills and one law enforcement school lockdown
drill during each school year.
Prior related legislation . AB 496 (Alejo) requires the
comprehensive school safety plan to include a protocol for
ensuring that all school personnel have access to classrooms and
other school facilities during a disaster or other emergency if
a school restricts that access during regular hours of school
operation. The bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee suspense file in 2011.
AB 680 (Block), Chapter 438, Statutes of 2011, authorizes a
school district or COE, in consultation with law enforcement
officials, to choose not to 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 and
authorizes, instead, school district and COE administrators to
write those portions of the school safety plan.
AB 519 (Hern�ndez) authorizes the comprehensive school safety
plan to include rules and procedures regarding the use of
restraint and seclusion, prohibits an educational provider from
using chemical and mechanical restraint, and limits the use of
physical restraint and seclusion. The bill was held in this
Committee by the author in 2011.
SB 755 (Lieu) makes a number of changes to the comprehensive
school safety plan, including extending the requirement to
develop a school safety plan to charter schools and imposing a
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fine of between $250 and $1,000 on any principal, administrator
at a school without a principal, and any superintendent of a
school district or county office of education for failing to
develop a school safety plan or failing to make specified
reporting requirements. The bill was held in the Senate
Education Committee by the author in 2012.
AB 2501 (Lieu) makes a number of changes to comprehensive school
safety plan, including extending the requirement to develop a
school safety plan to charter schools and imposing a fine of
between $250 and $1,000 on any principal, administrator at a
school without a principal, and any superintendent of a school
district or county office of education for failing to develop a
school safety plan or failing to make specified reporting
requirements. The bill was held in this Committee by the author
in 2010.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087