BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2276
Author: Bocanegra (D)
Amended: 8/19/14 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/25/14
AYES: Liu, Wyland, Correa, Hancock, Huff, Monning
NO VOTE RECORDED: Block
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 6-0, 8/14/14
AYES: De León, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 5/27/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Juvenile court schools
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill makes various changes to requirements
relative to the transfer of pupils from juvenile court schools
to district schools. Requires the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (SPI) in consultation with the Board of State and
Community Corrections (BSCC) to convene a statewide stakeholder
group to develop a model for the immediate transfer of
educational records, uniform systems for calculating and
awarding credits, transition planning, and the immediate
enrollment of pupils who are being transferred from juvenile
court schools; and report recommendations for state action to
the Legislature by January 1, 2016.
CONTINUED
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ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Provides that public school or classes in any juvenile hall
or home, day center, juvenile ranch or camp, regional youth
educational facility, or Orange County youth correctional
center, or in any group home housing 25 or more children and
operating one or more additional sites under a central
administration, with acceptable school structures at one or
more centrally located sites to serve the single or composite
populations of juvenile court school pupils shall be known as
juvenile court schools.
2. Requires the County Board of Education (CBE) to provide for
the administration and operation of juvenile court schools by
the county superintendent of schools or by contract with the
respective governing boards of the elementary, high school,
or unified school district in which the juvenile court school
is located.
3. Specifies that juvenile court schools shall be conducted in a
manner prescribed by the CBE and requires the schooldays to
be 240 minutes.
4. Prohibits a pupil from being denied enrollment or readmission
to a public school solely on the basis that he/she has had
contact with the juvenile justice system, including arrest,
adjudication by a juvenile court, formal or informal
supervision by a probation officer, or detention in a
juvenile facility or enrollment in a juvenile court school.
5. Prohibits a pupil from being suspended or recommended for
expulsion unless the principal of the school determines that
the pupil has committed certain acts, and gives schools the
discretion to take action for most offenses.
6. Provides that the governing board of the school district, at
the time expulsion is ordered, must ensure that an
educational program is provided to the pupil. The district
or county program (community day schools or community
schools, respectively) is the only program required to be
provided to expelled pupils. Each governing board school
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district may determine to provide additional programmatic
options.
7. Requires that pupils expelled from school for serious
offenses such as possessing a firearm, brandishing a knife,
causing serious physical injury, selling a controlled
substance or committing a sexual assault, are prohibited from
enrolling in any school other than a community school,
community day school, or juvenile court school.
8. Allows the governing board of a school district to establish
one or more community day schools to serve pupils who have
been expelled for any reason, or referred by probation or a
school attendance review board.
9. Authorizes a CBE to maintain one or more community schools to
serve pupils who have been expelled, referred by probation or
an attendance review board, or are homeless.
10.Establishes juvenile court schools as public schools or
classes operated by the county superintendent of schools in
juvenile halls, homes, day centers, ranches, camps, and youth
correctional facilities.
This bill:
1. Provides that local educational agencies (LEAs) are strongly
encouraged to enter into memoranda of understanding (MOU) and
create joint policies, systems, including data sharing
systems, transition centers, and other joint structures that
will allow for the immediate transfer of educational records,
create uniform systems for calculating and awarding course
credit, and allow for the immediate enrollment of pupils
transferring from juvenile court schools.
2. Provides that the county office of education and county
probation department shall have a joint transition planning
policy that includes collaboration with relevant LEA to
improve communication regarding dates of release and the
educational needs of pupils who have had contact with the
juvenile justice system; to coordinate immediate school
placement and enrollment; and to ensure that probation
officers in the community have the information they need to
support the return of pupils who are being transferred from
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juvenile court schools to public schools in their
communities.
3. Requires the SPI in consultation with the BSCC to convene a
statewide group with stakeholders from the community,
advocacy organizations, and education and probation
department leaders to develop a model and study existing
successful county programs and policies for the immediate
transfer of educational records, uniform systems for
calculating and awarding credits, transition planning, and
the immediate enrollment of pupils who are being transferred
from juvenile court schools. (Contingent upon an
appropriation in the Budget)
4. Requires the statewide group to report its findings and
provide recommendations for state action to the Legislature
and appropriate policy committees on or before January 1,
2016.
5. Makes various findings and declarations, including: the
mobility of pupils in foster care often disrupts their
educational experience; pupils who have had contact with the
juvenile justice system are often denied credit or partial
credit earned during enrollment in juvenile court schools;
and delays in school enrollment and loss of earned credit can
result in improper class or school placement, denial of
special education services, and school dropout.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Stakeholder process: Significant costs in 2015-16 to the
California Department of Education to convene the stakeholder
group, to staff its meetings and work, and to write the
report. Staff costs are likely to be $100,000 (General Fund)
for 1 PY; costs for the actual stakeholder meetings (including
travel expenses and meeting space) will depend on the size of
the group and the location of its members, but will likely be
in the tens of thousands of dollars (General Fund).
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Report recommendations: Significant ongoing General Fund cost
pressure for the state to implement the group's
recommendations.
Mandate: Potentially significant reimbursable state mandate
on county offices of education and county probation
departments to have joint transition planning policies, as
specified.
Local cost pressure: This bill "strongly encourages" EAs to
enter into MOUs and create joint policies, systems, including
data sharing systems, transition centers, and other joint
structures that will allow for the immediate transfer of
educational records, create uniform systems for calculating
and awarding course credit, and allow for the immediate
enrollment of pupils transferring from juvenile court schools.
To the extent that LEAs consider the state's "strong
encouragement," the bill creates cost pressure to take on that
additional workload.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/19/14)
Advancement Project
American Civil Liberties Union
California Alliance for Youth and Community Justice
Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice
Children's Defense Fund-California
Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California
Gay-Straight Alliance Network
Labor/Community Strategy Center's Community Rights Campaign
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Los Angeles Unified School District
National Center for Youth Law
Public Counsel
Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles
Youth Justice Coalition
Youth Law Center
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, "the
reintegration, or transition, of youth from the juvenile justice
system into the community is perhaps the most critical component
of correctional education programming. Research clearly
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indicates that school engagement reduces recidivism and that if
a pupil does not successfully transition back into their local
school they will likely reoffend and return to confinement.
Thus, a youth's transition from a juvenile court school to the
local school actually offers the community a distinct
opportunity to reengage that youth and get them back on track to
graduate high school. Despite the importance of the
reintegration process, it is frequently neglected; very little
is currently done to effectively facilitate this transition."
This bill intends to ensure the successful educational
transition of justice-involved youth.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 5/27/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández,
Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,
Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Perea, John A. Pérez, V.
Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas,
Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron,
Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Patterson, Quirk-Silva, Vacancy
PQ:d 8/19/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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