BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     AB 881


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          Date of Hearing:  April 8, 2015


                           ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION


                              Patrick O'Donnell, Chair


          AB 881  
          (Cristina Garcia) - As Introduced February 26, 2015


          SUBJECT:  Pupils:  grounds for suspension and expulsion:   
          bullying


          SUMMARY:  Revises, for the purposes of pupil suspension and  
          expulsion, the definition of bullying via an electronic act from  
          the "creation and transmission" of a communication to the  
          "creation or transmission" of a communication, via an electronic  
          device, originated on or off the schoolsite.  


          EXISTING LAW:  


          1)Provides that a pupil may be suspended or expelled for  
            committing any of a number of specified acts.  (Education Code  
            (EC) Sections 48900, 48900.2, 48900.3, 48900.4, 48900.7)

          2)Defines "bullying" to mean any severe or pervasive physical or  
            verbal act or conduct, including communications made in  
            writing or by means of an electronic act, and including one or  
            more acts committed by a pupil or group of pupils as defined  
            in EC Sections 48900.2, 48900.3, or 48900.4, directed toward  
            one or more pupils that has or can be reasonably predicted to  
            have the effect of one or more of the following:









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             a)   Placing a reasonable pupil or pupils in fear of harm to  
               that pupil's or those pupils' person or property.   
             b)   Causing a reasonable pupil to experience a substantially  
               detrimental effect on his or her physical or mental health.
             c)   Causing a reasonable pupil to experience substantial  
               interference with his or her academic performance.
             d)   Causing a reasonable pupil to experience substantial  
               interference with his or her ability to participate in or  
               benefit from the services, activities, or privileges  
               provided by a school.  (EC 48900)

          3)Defines "electronic act" to mean the creation and transmission  
            of a communication, originated on or off the schoolsite, by  
            means of an electronic device, including, but not limited to,  
            a telephone, wireless telephone, or other wireless  
            communication device, computer, or pager, including, but not  
            limited to, any of the following:

             a)   A message, text, sound, or image.
             b)   A post on a social network Internet Web site including,  
               but not limited to:
               i)     Posting to or creating a burn page.  "Burn page"  
                 means an Internet Web site created for the purpose of  
                 having one or more of the effects specified under the  
                 definition of bullying.
               ii)    Creating a credible impersonation of another actual  
                 pupil for the purpose of having one or more of the  
                 effects specified under the definition of bullying.  
                 "Credible impersonation" means to knowingly and without  
                 consent impersonate a pupil for the purpose of bullying  
                 the pupil and such that another pupil would reasonably  
                 believe, or has reasonably believed, that the pupil was  
                 or is the pupil who was impersonated.
               iii)   Creating a false profile for the purpose of having  
                 one or more of the effects specified under the definition  
                 of bullying. "False profile" means a profile of a  
                 fictitious pupil or a profile using the likeness or  
                 attributes of an actual pupil other than the pupil who  
                 created the false profile.  (EC 48900)








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          4)Specifies that an electronic act shall not constitute  
            pervasive conduct solely on the basis that it has been  
            transmitted on the Internet or is currently posted on the  
            Internet.  (EC 48900)

          FISCAL EFFECT:  None.  This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the  
          Legislative Counsel.


          COMMENTS:  Under existing law, a principal or a superintendent  
          may suspend or recommend expulsion of a pupil for committing any  
          of a number of specified acts, including bullying and bullying  
          via an electronic act (cyberbullying).  "Bullying" is defined as  
          any severe or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct,  
          including communications made in writing or by means of an  
          electronic act, and including one or more acts committed by a  
          pupil or group of pupils engaging in sexual harassment, hate  
          violence, harassment, threats, or intimidation, directed toward  
          one or more pupils that has or can be reasonably predicted to  
          cause fear and have an impact on a student's physical and mental  
          health, academic performance, or a student's ability to  
          participate in school and school activities.  


          AB 256 (Garcia), Chapter 700, Statutes of 2013, amended the  
          definition of an "electronic act" to mean the creation and  
          transmission of a communication, by means of an electronic  
          device, that may be originated on or off the schoosite.  Prior  
          to AB 256, the definition of an "electronic act" only referenced  
          the transmission of a communication via an electronic device,  
          and was silent on whether the act must be generated and/or  
          transmitted on or off the schoolsite.  While the courts have  
          ruled that cyberbullying is contingent on whether an action  
          causes a substantial disruption to school activities or work of  
          a school, regardless of where the action took place, AB 256 made  
          it clear in the law that where the communication was created and  
          transmitted does not matter.  Concerns have been raised that AB  
          256 may have inadvertently narrowed the definition of bullying  








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          via an electronic act, by defining "electronic act" as the  
          creation and transmission of a communication, which limits a  
          principal or superintendent's ability to suspend or expel a  
          pupil to only those incidences where a pupil created and  
          transmitted a communication via an electronic device, and  
          prevents a principal or superintendent from suspending or  
          recommending expulsion if a pupil did not create the  
          communication but took part in transmitting it to others.  This  
          bill changes "creation and transmission" to "creation or  
          transmission."  This bill will not result in automatic  
          suspension or expulsion.  Principals and superintendents  
          continue to have the discretion to determine whether the act  
          causes a substantial disruption to school activities or work of  
          a school.  


          Arguments in support.  The Association of Regional Center  
          Agencies supports the bill and states, "Cyber-bullying has made  
          it possible for individuals whose torment might be somewhat more  
          limited and public be pervasive, constant, and (literally)  
          global. Current law describes, for the purposes of bullying,  
          text messages and social media posts, among other new methods of  
          communication. But it erroneously limits the definition to mean  
          both the act of creation and transmission. This eliminates every  
          act of forwarding, copying, or sharing onwards any act of  
          bullying.  This bill solves this oversight with a very concise  
          stroke of the pen, ensuring a closer adherence to the intent of  
          the law."





          Arguments in opposition.  Public Counsel opposes the bill and  
          argues that suspension of pupils is ineffective in preventing or  
          stopping bullying.  "Instead of reducing the likelihood of  
          behavioral incidents, school suspension in general appears to  
          predict higher future rates of misbehavior and suspension among  
          those students who are suspended," states the organization.  








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          Previous legislation.  AB 1450 (Garcia) introduced last year, is  
          identical to this bill.  The bill passed this Committee, the  
          Assembly, and the Senate Education Committee with no "no" votes.  
           The author later struck the contents of the bill and used the  
          vehicle for another subject.   


          Previous related legislation.  AB 256 (Garcia), Chapter 700,  
          Statutes of 2013, specifies, for the purposes of pupil  
          suspensions and expulsions, that bullying via an "electronic  
          act" means the creation and transmission of a communication by  
          means of an electronic device, as specified, that was originated  
          on or off the schoolsite.   


          AB 1732 (Campos), Chapter 157, Statutes of 2012, specifies that  
          bullying via an electronic act using a post on a social network  
          Internet Web site includes a posting to or creating a burn page,  
          creating a credible impersonation of another actual person, and  
          creating a false profile.  


          AB 746 (Campos), Chapter 72, Statutes of 2011, expands the  
          definition of bullying by means of an electronic act to include  
          a post on a social network Internet Web site.


          AB 1156 (Eng), Chapter 732, Statutes of 2011, authorizes  
          training in the prevention of bullying, gives priority for  
          interdistrict transfers to victims of bullying, and revises the  
          definition of bullying.


          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:











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          Support


          Association of California Regional Center Agencies


          California Association for Health, Physical Education,  
          Recreation and Dance


          California Federation of Teachers


          State Public Affairs Committee of the Junior Leagues of  
          California




          Opposition


          ACLU


          GSA Network of California


          Legal Services for Children


          Public Counsel




          Analysis Prepared by:Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087









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