BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
SB 160 (Lara) - Classified School Employees: State Notifications
Amended: April 30, 2013 Policy Vote: Education 9-0
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: May 23, 2013 Consultant: Jacqueline
Wong-Hernandez
SUSPENSE FILE.
Bill Summary: SB 160 requires school districts and charter
schools to notify the California Department of Education (CDE),
within 30 days, when a classified employee is dismissed,
terminated, or suspended from employment as a result of
misconduct against a child, as specified.
Fiscal Impact:
Mandate: Potentially significant, mandate on school
districts for specified reporting, and any related
procedures or training developed. Reimbursable expenses for
each district mandate will likely be small for each
district, but the aggregate costs for more than 1,000 school
districts would likely be in the low millions.
CDE: Initial costs $650,000, and ongoing annual costs of
$550,000, to collect, maintain, provide, and expunge
specified information according to the requirements of this
bill.
Background: Under the existing Child Abuse and Neglect
Reporting Act, all school district teachers and employees are
considered to be "mandated reporters." Mandated reporters are
required to report to a law enforcement department knowledge or
observations they may have of a child they know, or reasonably
suspect, to have been the subject of child abuse or neglect. The
individual report must be made by telephone immediately, or as
soon as practicable, with a written or electronic follow up
within 36 hours. (Penal Code § 11164 et seq.)
There is currently no statewide mechanism to identify and
monitor school districts' classified employees that separate by
dismissal, resignation, or settlement during the course of an
investigation involving misconduct with students. Therefore, a
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classified employee who separates from his or her district may
be able to find employment with other school districts without
those districts knowing the circumstances under which the
employee left that position.
Proposed Law: SB 160 requires a school district or charter
school to notify the CDE when a classified employee of the
school district or charter school is dismissed, is suspended, or
is terminated from employment as a result of misconduct against
a child, as specified, and to notify, in writing, the classified
employee who is the subject of the notification. The bill would
require the CDE, upon request by a school district or charter
school, to provide that information only for purposes of
verifying previous employment of a classified employee, as
specified. The bill would require the information to be kept
confidential and would require the CDE to remove that
information if a person submits a certified copy of a court
order of an acquittal or statement of factual innocence
pertaining to the alleged misconduct against a child.
Staff Comments: This bill proposes modest requirements on LEAs
relative to tracking and communication of information about
classified employees terminated as a result of misconduct
against a child. This bill requires a school district or charter
school to notify the CDE when a classified employee of the
school district or charter school is dismissed, is suspended, or
is terminated from employment as a result of misconduct against
a child, as specified, and to notify, in writing, the classified
employee who is the subject of the notification.
These requirements will likely constitute a new reimbursable
mandate on school districts. School districts could seek
reimbursement for the costs of establishing a notification
process, providing the written notifications, retaining copies
of the notifications (as evidence of compliance), and related
training. Unless there are a large number of classified employee
dismissals that fall into the categories covered by this bill,
the primary cost drivers are likely to be the creation of
district procedures for compliance and related training. These
costs are likely to be minor for any particular school district.
However, due to the large number of districts, the aggregate
cost could be substantial. If 1,000 school districts sought
reimbursement for even the minimum mandate claim threshold of
$1,000, the aggregate reimbursable mandate claim would be $1
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million.
This bill requires the CDE to receive and retain the
notifications, and to provide information regarding the
notifications to any LEA that requests information for the
purpose of verifying previous employment for a classified
employee being considered for employment by the requesting LEA.
It further requires the CDE to remove any information it retains
about an individual if that person submits a certified copy of a
court order of an acquittal or statement of factual innocence,
as specified. The CDE
anticipates having to create a dedicated unit to meet the
requirements of this bill, including 1 attorney, 2 Educational
Programs Consultants, 1 Education Administrator, and 1 Office
Technician, for a total annual cost of $550,000. The CDE also
anticipates $100,000 in upfront costs to develop the required
computer system, and minor ongoing costs to maintain it. While
the $650,000 in upfront costs to the CDE will likely be incurred
in the planning stages, the ongoing costs could vary widely
depending on the number of notifications provided and sought by
districts, challenges to the information provided, and
expungement requests to be analyzed.