BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                            Senator Kevin de León, Chair


          AB 2141 (Hall) - Truancy Mediation or Prosecution Outcomes
          
          Amended: July 1, 2014           Policy Vote: Education 7-0
          Urgency: No                     Mandate: Yes
          Hearing Date: August 4, 2014                                 
          Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-Hernandez                       
          
          This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. 
          
          Bill Summary: AB 2141 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.

          Fiscal Impact: 
                 Mandates: Potentially significant reimbursable mandate,  
               likely in the millions of dollars annually, on a local  
               prosecuting agencies and local agencies that conduct  
               truancy-related mediation to communicate the outcome of any  
               referral to the referring entity, as well as to provide the  
               outcomes of every truancy referral to the Attorney General  
               (AG), in an anonymized format, upon request.

          Background: Existing law defines a truant as a student who is  
          absent for 3 full days, or tardy or absent for more than a  
          30-minute period on 3 occasions, without a valid excuse in one  
          school year. Truants must be reported to the attendance  
          supervisor or superintendent of the school district. School  
          districts are required to notify the student's parent upon the  
          initial classification of truancy.  (Education Code § 48260 et.  
          seq.) 
          
          Existing law defines a habitual truant as a student who has been  
          reported as a truant 3 or more times per school year (absent or  
          tardy without an excuse for at least 5 days). It also requires  
          school districts to first make a conscientious effort to hold at  
          least one conference with a parent and the student prior to  
          classifying the student as a habitual truant. (EC § 48262)

          Existing law defines a chronic truant as a student who is absent  
          without a valid excuse for 10% or more of the schooldays in the  
          year, provided that the appropriate school district officer or  








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          employee has complied with existing reporting and intervention  
          requirements.  (EC § 48263.6)

          Existing law authorizes, but does not require, a county and/or  
          local Student Attendance Review Board (SARB) to be established.  
          If 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)

          School districts may refer the student to, and the student is  
          required 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))

          Existing law further requires the governing board of each school  
          district to direct school district staff to transmit to the  
          county superintendent of schools the number and type of  
          referrals to SARBs and the requests for petitions to juvenile  
          courts.  (EC § 48273)

          Existing law requires the Annual Report on Dropouts in  
          California to include, when data is available, truancy rates and  
          chronic absentee rates. (EC § 48070.6)

          Existing law requires school districts to gather and transmit to  
          the county superintendent of schools the number and types of  
          referrals to SARBs and of requests for petitions to the juvenile  
          court.  (EC § 48273)

          Existing law also generally provides for the jurisdiction of the  
          juvenile court over a person under the age of 18 who  
          "persistently or habitually refuses to obey the reasonable and  
          proper orders or directions of his or her parents, guardian, or  
          custodian, or who is beyond the control of that person," or who  
          violates curfew offenses, as specified. These types of offenses  
          are known generally as "status" offenses - acts that are illegal  
          only if committed by juveniles. (Welfare and Institutions Code §  
          601)  
          
          Proposed Law: This bill requires a state or local agency  








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          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, SARB, 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 not be limited to, the  
               imposed conditions or terms placed on a pupil or a pupil's  
               parent or legal guardian and the acts or actions taken by a  
               state or local authority with 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 AG 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: This bill would require 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. The bill places new  
          requirements on DAs, as well as county probation departments and  
          SARBs, which can conduct truancy-related mediations. While it is  
          likely that many local entities affected by these requirements  
          already provide outcome information to the referring agency  
          (often a school district), this bill statutorily requires a  
          higher level of service from local government entities.

          The Commission on State Mandates is likely to deem any new  








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          workload imposed by this bill to be a reimbursable state  
          mandate. If so, even local entities that already provide outcome  
          information to the referring agency would also be eligible to be  
          reimbursed by the state for reporting the outcome of every case.  
          Local entities could also incur costs to modify procedures for  
          tracking and reporting outcomes, and any staff time spent doing  
          so would be reimbursable. 

          This bill further requires that local prosecuting agencies and  
          those conducting truancy-related mediations report the outcome  
          of every case in an anonymized format to the AG upon request.  
          The discretion and authority is left to the AG to make a request  
          of any or all qualifying local entities. If requested, those  
          local entities would be statutorily required (by this bill) to  
          provide the information. This bill functionally mandates that  
          local agencies keep the information, and store it in an  
          anonymized format that can be transmitted upon request. The  
          activities undertaken by locals to do so would likely be deemed  
          to be a reimbursable state mandate by the Commission on State  
          Mandates.