BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2141 Page 1 Date of Hearing: March 26, 2014 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION Joan Buchanan, Chair AB 2141 (Hall and Bonta) - As Introduced: February 20, 2014 SUBJECT : Pupil attendance: truancy: referrals for prosecution SUMMARY : Requires a state or local authority conducting a truancy-related mediation or prosecuting a pupil or a pupil's parent or legal guardian to provide the outcome of each referral to the agency that made a referral. Specifically, this bill : 1)Requires a state or local authority conducting a truancy-related mediation or prosecuting a pupil or a pupil's parent or legal guardian to use the most cost-effective method possible, including, but not limited to, by electronic mail or telephone, to make the report to the school district, school attendance review board (SARB), county superintendent of schools, probation department, or any other agency that referred a truancy-related mediation, criminal complaint, or petition with the outcome of each referral. 2)Specifies that the requirements pursuant to this bill apply to referrals made pursuant to compulsory education and child welfare laws specified in the Education Code, Penal Code and Welfare and Institutions Code. 3)Requires a state or local authority conducting a truancy-related mediation or prosecuting a pupil or a pupil's parent or legal guardian to, upon request, provide the Attorney General with the outcome of each referral in anonymized format. 4)Requires a school district, SARB, probation department, or any other agency that refers a truancy-related mediation, a criminal complaint, or petition for prosecution to, at the end of each school year, provide the county superintendent of schools with a report regarding the information it receives pursuant to this bill. EXISTING LAW : 1)Requires that each person between the ages of 6 and 18 years, AB 2141 Page 2 not otherwise exempted, be subject to compulsory full-time education and attend the public full-time day school or continuation school or classes in which their parent or guardian resides, and that each parent, guardian or other person having control or charge of the pupil ensure that pupils enrollment and attendance. (Education Code (EC) Section 48200) 2)Defines a "truant" as any pupil subject to compulsory full-time education or to compulsory continuation education who is absent from school without a valid excuse three full days in one school year or tardy or absent for more than any 30-minute period during the schoolday without a valid excuse on three occasions in one school year, or any combination thereof. (EC Section 48260) 3)Requires a school district, upon a pupil's initial classification as a truant, to notify the pupil's parent or guardian that: a) The pupil is: i) Truant. ii) May be subject to prosecution. iii) May be subject to suspension, restriction, or delay of the pupil's driving privilege. b) The parent or guardian: i) Is obligated to compel the attendance of the pupil at school. ii) May be guilty of an infraction and subject to prosecution, if they fail to meet this obligation. iii) Has the right to meet with appropriate school personnel to discuss solutions to the pupil's truancy. c) Alternative educational programs are available in the district. d) It is recommended that the parent or guardian accompany the pupil to school and attend classes with the pupil for one day. (EC Section 48260.5) 4)Specifies that the first time a truancy report is required, AB 2141 Page 3 the pupil may be personally given a written warning by any peace officer specified in Section 830.1 of the Penal Code. A record of the written warning may be kept at the school for a period of not less than two years, or until the pupil graduates, or transfers, from that school. If the pupil transfers, the record may be forwarded to any school receiving the pupil's school records. A record of the written warning may be maintained by the law enforcement agency in accordance with that law enforcement agency's policies and procedures. (EC Section 48264.5) 5)Specifies that the second time a truancy report is required within the same school year, the pupil may be assigned by the school to an afterschool or weekend study program located within the same county as the pupil's school. If the pupil fails to successfully complete the assigned study program, the pupil shall be subject to the provisions governing the third time a truancy report is required. (EC Section 48264.5) 6)Defines a "habitual truant" as any pupil who has been reported as a truant three or more times per school year, where an appropriate district officer or employee had made a conscientious effort to hold at least one conference with a parent and the pupil, after the filing of either a truancy report to the attendance supervisor or district superintendent. Specifies that a habitual truant may be referred to a SARB or a truancy mediation program (EC Section 48262) 7)Defines a "chronic truant" as any pupil subject to compulsory education who is absent from school without a valid excuse for 10% or more of the schooldays in one school year, from the date of enrollment to the current date. (EC Section 48263.6) 8)Authorizes a SARB to notify the district attorney or probation officer, if it is determined that services cannot solve the problem, or if the pupil and/or parent have failed to respond to directives. (EC Section 48263.5) 9)Establishes a truancy mediation program, and authorizes the district attorney or probation officer to request that the parents and truant pupil attend a meeting to discuss the possible legal consequences of the child's truancy. (EC Sections 48260 and 48263.5) AB 2141 Page 4 10) Authorizes the attendance supervisor or his or her designee, a peace officer, a school administrator or his or her designee, or a probation officer to arrest or assume temporary custody, during school hours, of a minor found away from home and absent from school without a valid excuse. (EC Section 48264) FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown COMMENTS : California's compulsory education law requires all students between the ages of six and 18 to attend school full-time and requires their parents and legal guardians to be responsible for ensuring that children attend school. In 2011-12, the California Department of Education (CDE) reported a truancy rate of 28.5%, down from 29.76% in 2010-11; with 1.829 million students out of a total enrollment of 6.2 million considered truants. A student who is absent from school without a valid excuse three full days in one school year or tardy or absent for more than any 30-minute period during the schoolday without a valid excuse on three occasions in one school year, or any combination thereof, is considered a truant. Parents or legal guardians are notified when their children has been classified as a truant and are provided specified information, including a reminder of their obligation to compel the attendance of pupils at school, that parents or legal guardians who fail to meet this obligation may be guilty of an infraction and subject to prosecution, that alternative educational programs are available, and that the parents or the legal guardians have the right to meet with appropriate school personnel to discuss solutions to the pupil's truancy. Existing law specifies actions that may or shall be undertaken each time a truancy report is required. Existing law authorizes a peace officer to give a written warning upon a first truancy report. The record of the warning is kept for two years and may be transferred to a new school if the pupil changes school. Upon a pupil's third truancy in a school year and after a school or district personnel has made a conscientious effort to meet with the parent and pupil, a pupil is classified as a habitual truant and may be referred to a SARB or to the local probation officer. A SARB can be formed by a county office of education, a school district, or by two or more school districts, and can AB 2141 Page 5 be comprised of representatives of school districts, county social services agencies, and law enforcement agencies. SARBs were devised to address pupil attendance and behavioral problems by investigating the reasons for the problems and referring students and/or parents or guardians to community or social services or to law enforcement, if necessary. SARBs may also refer a pupil to a truancy mediation program, whereby the district attorney or the probation officer may notify the parents or guardians that they may be subject to prosecution for failure to compel the pupil to attend school, or request the pupil and his/her parents or guardians to attend a meeting at the district attorney's office or at the probation department. A fourth truancy puts the pupil within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court and may deem the pupil a ward of the court. If the pupil is adjudged a ward of the court, the pupil may be required to do court-approved community service, attend a court-approved truancy prevention program, have his or her driving privileges suspended or revoked, and/or pay a fine of $100. Parents or legal guardians in charge of any pupil who fails to compel a pupil to attend school is guilty of an infraction and may be fined between $100 and $500 based upon the number of convictions. Under the Penal Code, a parent or guardian of a pupil of in kindergarten through grade 8 and who is subject to compulsory education, whose child is a chronic truant, who has failed to reasonably supervise and encourage the pupil's school attendance, and who has been offered language-accessible support services to address the pupil's truancy is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding $2,000, or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment. A parent or guardian guilty of a misdemeanor may participate in the deferred entry of judgment program. This bill is part of a package of truancy-related bills sponsored by Attorney General (AG) Kamala Harris. Last fall, the AG's office released a report titled "In School and On Track" on truancy of elementary school kids. Calling it a crisis, the AG argues that truancy at the elementary level has negative impacts on the students, who are more likely to drop out of high school; on public safety, when students become more likely to become involved with gangs, substance abuse, and incarceration; on school districts, who lose attendance dollars; and on the economy, due to lost economic productivity and revenues. In the course of conducting the report, the AG found AB 2141 Page 6 that attendance, truancy, and SARB data were not readily available. Consequently, several of the bills sponsored by the AG, including this bill, focus on data collection. AB 2141 focuses on getting information on cases that have been referred to state or local authorities conducting a truancy-related mediation or prosecuting a pupil or a pupil's parent or legal guardian. Specifically, the bill requires state or local authorities to report the outcome of each referral to the referring agency, which could include the school district, SARB, county superintendent of schools, probation department, or any other agency that made the referral, using the most cost-effective method (e.g., by electronic mail or telephone). The entities that receive the information are required, at the end of each school year, to provide the county superintendent of schools with a report. The bill also requires state or local authorities to provide the AG with the information in an anonymized format upon his or her request. What types of "outcomes"? It is not clear whether outcome means the actions taken by the state or local authority or the impact on the student following the intervention by a state or local authority. Staff recommends clarifying that "outcomes" means both the type of actions taken and the impact on students during the semester or trimester following the referral. Arguments in support . The authors state, "AB 2141 would enhance communication regarding truancy cases referred for mediation and prosecution so that school districts, superintendents, School Attendance Review Boards, the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Attorney General can develop effective truancy prevention and intervention strategies." Arguments in opposition . Public Counsel opposes the bill and states, "We recognize the authors and sponsor are hoping to collect data about current truancy proceedings. However, without proper language regarding the intended use for the data collected and the purposes for its collection, we are concerned that the bill will have the unintended effect of increasing prosecutions of student and parents/legal guardians and forcing more young people into the juvenile justice system, an outcome which will increase students' likelihood of dropout." Staff recommends adding intent language to clarify that the purpose of the bill is to collect information on best practices AB 2141 Page 7 to reduce truancy and not to encourage additional sanctions on pupils. Related legislation . AB 1643 (Buchanan), pending in this Committee, requires the establishment of county SARBs, requires county SARBs to meet at least four times each year, adds the county district attorney as a member of county and local SARBs, and specifies that county and local SARBs shall not convene without the presence of two-thirds of its members. AB 1672 (Bradford), scheduled for the March 26th hearing, requires a school district to report specified information regarding the district's SARB to the county superintendent of schools and the state Superintendent of Public Instruction. The bill also requires the county office of education to make the information available on its Internet Web site. AB 1866 (Bocanegra), scheduled for the March 26th hearing, adds truancy-related elements to the pupil attendance data that the CDE is required to collect and report through the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS). SB 1107 (Monning), pending in the Senate, requires the AG to issue an annual report on elementary school truancy and chronic absenteeism. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support Attorney General Kamala D. Harris (sponsor) Alameda County District Attorney Nancy E. O'Malley American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Association of Black Correctional Workers Continuing the Dream, California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation District Attorney of Santa Barbara County Joyce E. Dudley King County Office of Education King County Superintendent of Schools Tim Bowers Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office Los Angeles Unified School District Political Clergy Council San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon Service Employees International Union Special Needs Network AB 2141 Page 8 Stockton Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Steven Lowder Two individuals Opposition Public Counsel Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087