BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 160
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 14, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
SB 160 (Lara and De Leon) - As Amended: April 30, 2013
SENATE VOTE : 38-0
SUBJECT : Classified school employees: misconduct against a
child: statewide tracking.
SUMMARY : Establishes a new process for tracking classified
employees who have a change in employment status as a result of
misconduct against a child, as specified. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Requires a school district or charter school, within 30 days
of one of the following final actions, to notify the
California Department of Education (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; requires the school
district or charter school to inform, in writing, a classified
employee who is the subject of a notification pursuant to this
section within 15 days of the notification; and, specifies the
notification required be in a format prescribed by the CDE.
2)Requires the CDE to keep the information provided, and upon
request by a school district or charter school, provide that
information only for purposes of verifying previous employment
for a classified employee being considered for employment by
the requesting school district or charter school; and,
requires the CDE to remove any information kept 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 that led to his or her dismissal,
suspension, or termination of employment.
3)Specifies that information collected and requested shall be
kept confidential and shall not be made available to the
public and requires the CDE to ensure that information
collected shall only be used for the purposes described.
4)Defines "misconduct against a child" to mean any of the
following:
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a) A sex offense, as specified in Section 44010.
b) Aiding or abetting the unlawful sale to, use by, or
exchange to, minors of a controlled substance included in
Schedule I, II, or III, as listed in Section 11054, 11055,
or 11056 of the Health and Safety Code, respectively.
c) An offense specified in Sections 11165.2 to 11165.6,
inclusive, of the Penal Code.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the governing board of any school district to require
each person to be employed in a position not requiring
certification qualifications, except a secondary school pupil
employed in a temporary or part-time position by the governing
board of the school district having jurisdiction over the
school attended by the pupil, to have two fingerprint cards
bearing the legible rolled and flat impressions of the
person's fingerprints together with a personal description of
the applicant prepared by a local public law enforcement
agency having jurisdiction in the area of the school district,
which agency shall transmit the cards, together with the fee
required to the Department of Justice; except that any
district, or districts with a common board, may process the
fingerprint cards if the district so elects. (Education Code
45125)
2)Specifies that no person shall be employed or retained in
employment by a school district who has been convicted of any
sex offense as defined in Section 44010; and, specifies that
no person shall be employed or retained in employment by a
school district, who has been convicted of a controlled
substance offense as defined in Section 44011.
a) Specifies that if, however, a conviction is reversed and
the person is acquitted of the offense in a new trial or
the charges against him or her are dismissed, this section
does not prohibit his or her employment thereafter.
b) Specifies the governing board of a school district may
employ a person convicted of a controlled substance offense
if the governing board of the school district determines,
from the evidence presented, that the person has been
rehabilitated for at least five years. The governing board
shall determine the type and manner of presentation of the
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evidence, and the determination of the governing board as
to whether or not the person has been rehabilitated is
final. (Education Code 45123)
3)Specifies that no person who has been convicted of a violent
or serious felony shall be employed by a school district; and,
specifies that a school district shall not retain in
employment a current classified employee who has been
convicted of a violent or serious felony, and who is a
temporary, substitute, or a probationary employee who has not
attained permanent status. (Education Code 45122.1)
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, 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. Initial costs to the CDE of $650,000, and ongoing
annual costs of $550,000, to collect, maintain, provide, and
expunge specified information according to the requirements of
this bill.
COMMENTS : According to the author, following the horrific
child abuse cases of Miramonte Elementary School, last March the
author requested a performance audit of the Los Angeles Unified
School District (LAUSD) in order to review and evaluate the
district's process for handling and documenting abuse claims. In
November 2012, the State Auditor released the findings of her
review. One of the auditor's findings included the lack of a
statewide, centralized notification system to warn other school
districts when a classified employee leaves one school by
dismissal, resignation, or settlement during the course of a
child abuse investigation or in cases in which no arrest or
conviction of the individual has been made and goes to another
school. For teachers, school districts are required to report
dismissal for misconduct within 30 days. Absent a statewide,
centralized tracking system a classified employee who leaves one
school district might be able to find employment with another
school district without the new school knowing the circumstances
under which he or she left the previous school.
According to the author, this bill will align the reporting
requirements for misconduct against a child as they pertain to
classified school employees with those established for certified
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teachers, thereby creating a centralized, statewide information
system. It requires a school district or charter school to
report to the CDE whenever a classified employee is dismissed,
resigns, is suspended, retires or is otherwise terminated as a
result of misconduct against a child. This bill defines
"misconduct against a child" as any act that constitutes child
abuse as already specified in the Penal Code, any sex offense as
already specified in the Education Code, and any act which
constitutes aiding or abetting the unlawful sale, use, or
exchange to a minor of a Schedule I, II or III controlled
substance. Finally, SB 160 requires the reporting superintendent
or charter school administrator to notify the classified
employee in writing of the contents of the report.
State Auditor's Report on LAUSD : In the State Auditor's recent
report entitled, "Los Angeles Unified School District: It Could
Do More to Improve Its Handling of Child Abuse Allegations," the
Auditor made the following recommendation regarding classified
employees, "The Legislature should consider establishing a
mechanism to monitor classified employees who have separated
from a school district by dismissal, resignation, or settlement
during the course of an investigation for misconduct involving
students, similar to the oversight provided by the commission
for certificated employees. If such a mechanism existed, school
districts throughout the State could be notified before hiring
these classified employees." This bill attempts to address that
recommendation by creating a new process for tracking classified
employees who have a change in employment status due to
misconduct involving child abuse, sexual misconduct or drug use
or sales involving children.
Process Questions : Because this bill creates an entirely new
employee tracking program, there are many unanswered process
questions. For instance, once an employee is placed on this
list, what is the process by which they are removed from the
list if the allegations are found to be false? Who will
investigate the allegations? Typically, once a classified
employee leaves employment due to this type of misconduct, the
employing agency stops investigating; therefore, it is unclear
how employees will ever be removed from this list.
Additionally, the bill refers to "misconduct against a child"
but does not reference "allegations of misconduct," so it is
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unclear whether districts will be required to report employees
who have been accused of this type of misconduct or only those
employees who have been charged or convicted of such misconduct.
The committee should consider clarifying these issues by
amending the bill to include requirements that the CDE
investigate the reports by school districts, charter schools and
county offices of education and require these entities to report
to the CDE on employees who have a change in employment status
due to allegations of misconduct.
Is CDE the right agency for this process ? Currently, the
Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) does similar work
compared to the contents of this bill, as it pertains to
certificated employees. The CTC receives subsequent arrest
records and reports from employing school districts and
investigates misconduct. The CTC takes action on a certificate
holder's credential when the misconduct warrants such action.
While the CTC does not currently track classified employees, the
committee should consider whether the CTC has greater expertise
in these matters and may be a more appropriate place to house
this new process, rather than the CDE. The committee should also
consider the CTC's existing workload and whether they have the
capacity to add this type of process to their workload, without
a source of funding. The committee should consider amending the
bill to include intent language specifying that CDE and the CTC
shall enter into an interagency agreement for the CTC to provide
assistance to the CDE in setting up this process.
Tracking Different Offenses for Classified Employees than
Teachers : This bill requires districts to report to the CDE
when a classified employee has a change in employment status due
to misconduct involving specified drug offenses, sex offenses
and child abuse. This list of offenses is smaller than the
existing list of offenses which ban employment in a school
district. It is also a narrower list of offenses than those
which require notification to the CTC when a certificated
employee has a change in employment status. The committee
should consider whether this list of specified drug offenses,
sex offenses and child abuse offenses is the appropriate list of
misconduct that should be reported to the CDE. The committee
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should consider amending the bill to clarify that reports shall
be made when allegations of misconduct "involve acts related" to
the offences referenced in the bill. The committee should also
consider expanding the list of offenses to mirror those which
can result in a credentialed employee having their license
suspended or revoked. This will clarify that individuals do not
need to be charged with these offenses, but can be accused of
acts related to those offenses.
CTC Regulation Changes : The CTC is currently in the process of
making changes to their regulations regarding a superintendent's
duty to report changes in employment status of credential
holders when allegations of misconduct are pending. First, the
regulatory changes clarify that superintendent's must only
report changes in employment status when allegations of
misconduct are pending and, that dismissal for unsatisfactory
performance or layoff due to reduction in force do not need to
be reported to the CTC. The changes also specify which
documents should be submitted to the CTC when a superintendent
reports a change in employment status for a credential holder;
and, specify that the COC shall (instead of may) investigate any
superintendent that holds a credential who fails to file such
reports. Further the regulatory changes specify requirements for
official records, specify that the CTC will establish
jurisdiction based upon an affidavit or declaration of facts
that a superintendent has failed to report; and, require the CTC
to send a letter to the superintendent when the CTC has
information or belief that a report has not been made. The
committee should consider whether to ask the author to conform
this bill to include the relevant final regulations that are
adopted by the CTC.
Committee Amendments :
1) Include intent language specifying that CDE and the CTC
shall enter into an interagency agreement for the CTC to
provide assistance to the CDE in setting up this process.
2) Specify that classified employees will be investigated
and prohibited from working in school districts, charter
schools and county offices of education for the same
allegations of misconduct that would necessitate suspending
or revoking a teacher's credential under existing law.
Also clarify the term "misconduct" to include allegations
"involving acts related" to the offenses list. This will
clarify that individuals do not need to be charged with one
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of those offenses.
3) Specify that classified employees should be prohibited
from working in school districts when a "preponderance of
evidence" suggests that misconduct occurred, which is the
same standard under which a teacher would lose their
credential before the Committee of Credentials.
4) Include specific documents that must be submitted by a
school district, county office of education or a charter
school, when they report to the CDE, in alignment with the
CTC regulations pertaining to certificated employees.
5) Specify that the department shall provide school
employers information that has been collected for purposes
of verifying the status of previous employment.
6) Specify that the bill shall be implemented July 1, 2015.
Related Legislation : AB 349 (Gatto), which is pending in the
Senate, is substantially similar to this measure.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Catholic Conference
California Council of Nonprofit Organizations
California Police Chief's Association
CSAC Excess Insurance Authority
Los Angeles County District Attorney
StudentsFirst
The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy California Collaboration
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087