BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó





                          SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
                                 Carol Liu, Chair
                            2013-2014 Regular Session
                                         

          BILL NO:       AB 2141
          AUTHOR:        Hall
          AMENDED:       May 23, 2014
          FISCAL COMM:   Yes            HEARING DATE:  June 18, 2014
          URGENCY:       No             CONSULTANT:Lynn Lorber

          NOTE:   This bill has been referred to the Committees on  
          Education and Public Safety.  A "do pass" motion should  
          include referral to the Committee on Public Safety.

           SUBJECT  :  Truancy mediation or prosecution: outcomes.
          
           SUMMARY
           
          This bill requires a state or local agency conducting a  
          truancy-related mediation or prosecuting a student or parent  
          for a truancy-related matter to provide the outcome of the  
          case to the referring agency.

           BACKGROUND
           
          Current law: 

           Truancy
                
          1)   Defines a truant as a student who is absent for three  
               full days, or tardy or absent for more than a 30-minute  
               period on three occasions, without a valid excuse in one  
               school year. (EC § 48260)

          2)   Authorizes a school district in a county that does not  
               have a school attendance review board (SARB) to notify  
               the county district attorney or probation officer, and  
               authorizes those entities to notify the parents of every  
               truant that they may be subject to prosecution for  
               failure to compel the attendance of the student.  (EC §  
               48260.6)

          3)   Authorizes notification to the county district attorney  
               or probation officer (in a county without a SARB) and  
               authorizes those agencies to request the parents and the  
               student attend a meeting to discuss the possible legal  






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               consequences of the student's truancy.  This is known as  
               truancy mediation. (EC§48260.6)

           Habitual truancy
           
          1)   Defines a habitual truant as a student who has been  
               reported as a truant three or more times per school year  
               (absent or tardy without an excuse for at least five  
               days). (EC § 48262)

          2)   Authorizes the school district to refer the student to,  
               and requires the student to attend, a SARB or a truancy  
               mediation program.  The student may be within the  
               jurisdiction of the juvenile court if the student does  
               not successfully complete the truancy mediation program.  
               (EC § 48264.5(c))

           School attendance review boards
           
          1)   Authorizes, but does not require, a county and/or local  
               school attendance review board (SARB) to be established.  
               SARB membership must include parents, school districts,  
               county probation, county welfare, county superintendent  
               of schools, law enforcement, community-based youth  
               services, and personnel representing school guidance,  
               child welfare and attendance, school or county health  
               care, and mental health.  (EC § 48321)

           Prosecution of parents
           
          1)   Requires schools to refer a parent who does not ensure  
               their student attends school as required by compulsory  
               education laws to a SARB.  Current law requires the  
               SARB, if the parent fails to respond to directives or  
               services, to direct the school district to file a  
               criminal complaint.  (EC § 48291)

          2)   Provides that any parent who fails to comply with  
               compulsory education laws is guilty of an infraction.   
               (EC § 48293 and Penal Code § 270.1)

           Data collection and reporting
           
            1)   Requires the Annual Report on Dropouts in California  
               to include, when data is available, truancy rates and  
               chronic absentee rates. 






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            (EC § 48070.6)

            2)   Requires local control accountability plans (LCAPs) to  
               include information addressing specific state  
               priorities, including student engagement as measured by  
               school attendance rates, chronic absenteeism rates,  
               dropout rates and graduation rates. (EC § 52060 and §  
               52066)

            3)   Requires school districts to gather and transmit to  
               the county superintendent of schools the number and  
               types of referrals to school attendance review boards  
               and of requests for petitions to the juvenile court. (EC  
               § 48273)

            4)   Requires, contingent upon federal funding, the  
               California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System  
               (CalPADS) to support local educational agencies (LEAs)  
               in their efforts to identify and support students at  
               risk of dropping out and be capable of issuing to LEAs  
               periodic reports that include district, school, class  
               and individual student reports on rates of absence and  
               chronic absentees. Reporting student attendance and  
               chronic absentee data for CalPADS is voluntary.  (EC §  
               60901)




           ANALYSIS
           
           This bill  requires a state or local agency conducting a  
          truancy-related mediation or prosecuting a student or parent  
          for a truancy-related matter to provide the outcome of the  
          case to the referring agency.  Specifically, this bill:

          1)   Requires a state or local agency conducting a  
               truancy-related mediation or prosecuting a student or  
               parent to provide the outcome of each referral to the  
               school district, school attendance review board, county  
               superintendent of schools, probation department, or any  
               other agency that referred a truancy-related mediation,  
               criminal complaint, or petition.

          2)   Defines "outcome" to include, but is not limited to, the  
               act or action taken by a state or local authority with  






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               respect to a truancy-related mediation, prosecution,  
               criminal complaint, or petition.

          3)   Requires a state or local agency conducting a  
               truancy-related mediation or prosecuting a student or  
               parent to provide the outcome of each referral in  
               anonymized format to the Attorney General upon request.

          4)   Provides that state and local agencies are to use the  
               most cost-effective method possible including by  
               electronic mail or telephone.

          5)   States legislative intent to determine the best  
               evidence-based practices to reduce truancy, and that  
               this bill is not intended to encourage additional  
               referrals, complaints, petitions, or prosecutions, or to  
               encourage more serious sanctions for students.

           STAFF COMMENTS
           
           1)   Closing the loop  .  This bill requires a state or local  
               agency conducting a truancy-related mediation or  
               prosecuting a student or parent for a truancy-related  
               matter to provide the outcome of the case to the  
               referring agency.  Typically, school districts refer a  
               student who is truant to the local or county school  
               attendance review board (SARB).  Some areas do not have  
               a SARB but do have other truancy programs administered  
               by the probation department of district attorney's  
               office.  Generally, many agencies participate in SARBs  
               or other truancy programs, including school districts,  
               but some methods of intervention (such as probation or  
               criminal complaints) may not involve school personnel.   
               It is very possible that school districts are not  
               informed of the results of truancy hearings or  
               mediation, or prosecution.  This bill ensures the school  
               district or other referring agency receives information  
               about the dispensation of the case.

           2)   Then what  ?  It is not clear what referring agencies will  
               do with the information about outcomes of truancy  
               proceedings.  A prior version of this bill would have  
               required the agencies that receive the information to  
               provide the county superintendent of schools with a  
               report at the end of each school year.  This bill states  
               intent that the purpose is to collect information on  






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               best practices to reduce truancy and not to encourage  
               additional sanctions on pupils.  


           3)   Broader structural issues  . This bill does not address  
               other gaps in truancy laws, some of which were  
               highlighted in the Attorney General's 2013 report:

               a)        Upon the initial truancy, school districts are  
                    authorized but not required to request the student  
                    and parent attend a meeting to discuss the root  
                    causes of the attendance issue and develop a joint  
                    plan to improve attendance.

               b)        Local educational agencies (LEAs) are required  
                    to notify parents upon the first truancy but not  
                    upon the second truancy.

               c)        LEAs are authorized but not required to refer  
                    a student to a SARB or a truancy mediation program.

           4)   Fiscal impact  .  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
               Committee, this bill would impose unknown state-mandated  
               local costs to local agencies, such as county probation  
               departments to report the outcome of each referral.  

           5)   Related legislation  .  AB 1643 (Buchanan) requires each  
               county to have a school attendance review board.  AB  
               1643 is scheduled to be heard in this Committee on June  
               18.

          AB 1672 (Holden) expands the data that local SARBs are  
               currently required to submit to the county  
               superintendent of schools, to include specific data  
               regarding chronic absenteeism, and referrals to SARBs or  
               other interventions.  AB 1672 is scheduled to be heard  
               in this Committee on 
               June 25.

               AB 1866 (Bocanegra) expands data in the California  
               Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System to include  
               chronic absentee numbers (in addition to existing  
               requirement to report rates), and truancy numbers and  
               rates.  
               AB 1866 is scheduled to be heard by this Committee on  
               June 18.






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               SB 1107 (Monning) requires the California Department of  
               Education and Attorney General to report annually on  
               specific information regarding truancy and chronic  
               absenteeism in kindergarten through grade five.  SB 1107  
               was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

               SB 1296 (Leno) prohibits a court from imprisoning,  
               holding in physical confinement or placing in custody a  
               minor for contempt if the contempt consists of the  
               minor's failure to comply with a court order regarding  
               truancy.  SB 1296 is pending on the Assembly Floor.

           SUPPORT
           
          Attorney General of California
          Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
          Los Angeles Unified School District
          Special Needs Network

           OPPOSITION

           None on file.