BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 49|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 49
Author: Lieu (D) and Steinberg (D), et al.
Amended: 5/28/13
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 9-0, 4/24/13
AYES: Liu, Wyland, Block, Correa, Hancock, Hueso, Huff,
Jackson, Monning
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/23/13
AYES: De León, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
SUBJECT : School safety plans
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires school safety plans to include
procedures related to response to a person with a gun on campus,
extends from annually to every third year the frequency of
review of safety plans, and requires charter school petitions to
include a description of a school safety plan, as specified.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Requires each school district and county office of education
to be responsible for the overall development of all
comprehensive school safety plans for its schools. The
schoolsite council is required to write and develop a
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comprehensive school safety plan relevant to the needs and
resources of that particular school.
2.Authorizes the schoolsite council to delegate responsibility
for the development of the school safety plan to a school
safety planning committee, composed of the principal, one
teacher who is a representative of the recognized certificated
employee organization, one parent whose child attends the
school, one classified employee who is a representative of the
recognized classified employee organization, and other members
if desired.
3.Authorizes school districts and county offices of education,
in consultation with law enforcement, to elect to not have its
schoolsite council develop and write portions of the school
safety plan that include tactical responses to criminal
incidents. Portions of the safety plan containing tactical
responses may be developed by school administrators in
consultation with law enforcement and with a representative of
the employee bargaining unit. Governing boards are authorized
to approve the tactical response portion of the safety plan in
a closed session.
4.Requires the comprehensive school safety plan to include (1)
an assessment of the current status of school crime committed
on school campuses and at school-related functions and (2)
identification of appropriate strategies and programs that
will provide or maintain a high level of school safety and
detail procedures for complying with existing laws; disaster
procedures; policies regarding suspension or expulsion; a
discrimination and harassment policy; and, a safe and orderly
environment conducive to learning.
5.Requires the comprehensive school safety plan to be evaluated
at least once a year.
6.Requires the schoolsite council or school safety planning
committee to hold a public meeting to allow public comment,
and requires the notification of specified people and entities
prior to this meeting. Existing law requires each school to
submit its school safety plan to the school district or county
office of education for approval and requires a school
district or California Office of Education to notify the
California Department of Education (CDE) by October 15 of
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every year of any school that is not in compliance.
7.Requires each school to include a description of key elements
of the school safety plan in the annual school accountability
report card.
8.Requires, if the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI)
determines that there has been a willful failure to make any
report required in school safety plan statutes to do both of
the following:
A. Notify the school district or county office of education
in which the willful failure has occurred.
B. Make an assessment of up to $2,000 against that school
or county office, which may be done by deducting funding
from the district's or county office's future
apportionment.
Charter schools are exempt from most laws governing school
districts except where specifically noted. Existing law
requires charter schools to comply with the provisions of its
charter and provisions of the Education Code that apply to
charter schools.
1.Requires governing boards to grant a charter unless the
petition fails to meet one or more of the following:
A. The charter school presents an unsound educational
program.
B. The petitioners are demonstrably unlikely to
successfully implement the program described in the
petition.
C. The petition does not contain the number of required
signatures; and
D. The petition does not contain an affirmation that it
will be nonsectarian in its programs and policies, shall
not charge tuition, shall not discriminate, and other
affirmations, as specified.
E. The petition does not contain reasonably comprehensive
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descriptions of among other elements, the procedures that
the school will follow to ensure the health and safety of
pupils and staff.
This bill requires school safety plans to include procedures
related to response to a person with a gun on campus, extends
from annually to every third year the frequency of review of
safety plans, and requires charter school petitions to include a
description of a school safety plan. Specifically, this bill:
1.Adds to the required components in school safety plan
procedures related to individuals with guns on school campuses
and at school-related functions, including training programs
related to active shooters and active terrorists.
2.Modifies the existing March 1, 2000, deadline for the adoption
of a school safety plan to instead require the adoption of a
plan with the changes proposed by this bill by March 1, 2014,
and requires plans to be reviewed and updated by March 1 of
every third year thereafter.
3.Modifies the existing requirement that schools annually
include in the school accountability report card the status of
school safety plans, to require the status of plans for the
upcoming school year to be accurately reported no later than
July 31 of every third year. This bill requires the report to
include, but is not limited to, whether or not a school safety
plan was adopted and a description of the safety plan's
elements.
4.Prohibits confidential information relating to tactical
responses to criminal incidents from being included at the
public meeting currently required prior to the adoption of a
school safety plan.
5.Requires each school principal or administrator of a school
without a principal to provide written or electronic notice to
each teacher and classified employee that the adopted school
safety plan is readily available for inspection.
6.Requires each superintendent of a school district or county
office of education, or each administrator in charge of a
district or county office without a superintendent, to
annually provide written notification, by October 15, to the
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SPI identifying each school within the district or county that
has not accurately reported the status of plans in the school
accountability report card.
7.Requires each principal or administrator in charge of a school
without a principal to keep and maintain a copy of the most
recent school safety plan for that school. This bill requires
each superintendent of a school district or a county office,
or each administrator in charge of a district or county office
without a superintendent, to keep and maintain a copy of the
most recent school safety plan and a copy of every
notification sent to the SPI of schools that have not
developed school safety plans.
8.Requires all books, documents, records, and other papers kept
and maintained to be open for inspection and copying on
business days, excluding legal holidays, during the hours of 9
a.m. and 5 p.m., within 48 hours of a written, verbal, or
electronic request by a law enforcement agency.
9. Requires CDE to monitor compliance using an existing
monitoring framework.
10.Eliminates the ability of a school principal to designate
another person to act in the principal's place regarding
duties associated with school safety plans. This bill adds
"administrator in charge of a school without a principal."
11.Modifies the requirement that all safety-related plans and
materials be readily available for inspection to strike
"public" and instead specify that plans are to be available
for inspection by law enforcement and school employees.
12.Modifies the list of people and entities that must be
notified about the public meeting prior to adoption of a
school safety plan to strike reference to the local mayor and
a representative of the student body government. This bill
also strikes reference to the list of people and entities
that the schoolsite council or school safety planning
committee is encouraged to notify.
13.Adds non-governmental organizations to agencies that are to
be allowed to use school facilities during a disaster.
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14.Adds the Attorney General and city attorneys to the
definition of law enforcement.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, provisions of
this bill create new costs and new savings for the state. The
realization of savings in certain provisions does not depend
upon incurring the costs in other provisions of this bill.
Extending frequency of school safety plan reviews:
Extending the frequency of required reviews from annually
to every three years will likely significantly reduce the
costs associated with an existing reimbursable state
mandate.
New requirements for school safety plans: Significant
costs to expand the scope of an existing reimbursable
mandate for which the state currently pays in excess of $3
million, annually.
New requirements for charter petitions: Significant
costs for charter petitioners and for existing charter
schools to the extent that they do not have school safety
plans in place. New requirements may result in a
reimbursable mandate on school districts and county offices
of education in their capacity as charter authorizers.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/28/13)
American Red Cross, California Chapter
California Charter School Association
California School Employees Association
Los Angeles County Democratic Party
Los Angeles County Office of Education
PeaceBuilders
Torrance Unified School District
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, "School safety
plans do not service their purpose if there is no compliance.
Recent lockdowns of Los Angeles schools in response to various
crimes in their vicinity have exposed vast differences in the
way many of these schools deal with emergency situations. In
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one case, according to the School District's Chief of Police,
thousands of students were kept in classrooms longer than
necessary (as much as five hours), causing frustrated parents to
complain about the district's handling of the situation. Those
present at the command center remarked that some of the schools
were woefully unprepared and improvising on the spot. The Los
Angeles police blamed individual schools for failing to develop
their own plans for managing emergencies."
PQ:ej 5/28/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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