BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                        AB 881|
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                                   THIRD READING 


          Bill No:  AB 881
          Author:   Cristina Garcia (D)
          Introduced:2/26/15  
          Vote:     21  

           SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE:  8-0, 6/10/15
           AYES:  Liu, Runner, Block, Leyva, Mendoza, Monning, Pan, Vidak
           NO VOTE RECORDED:  Hancock

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  78-0, 4/16/15 - See last page for vote

           SUBJECT:   Pupils:  grounds for suspension and expulsion:   
                     bullying


          SOURCE:    Author


          DIGEST:  This bill expands the definition of "bullying by an  
          electronic act," from the "creation and transmission" of a  
          communication to the "creation or transmission" of a  
          communication by means of an electronic device.  


          ANALYSIS:   


          Existing law:

          1)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. (Education Code §  








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            48900)

          2)Authorizes, schools to suspend or recommend for expulsion a  
            pupil who engages in an act of bullying, which 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, directed toward one or more pupils that has or  
            can be reasonably predicted to have the effect of one or more  
            of the following:
             a)   Placing a reasonable student or students in fear of harm  
               to that student's or those students' person or property.

             b)   Causing a reasonable student to experience a  
               substantially detrimental effect on his or her physical or  
               mental health.

             c)   Causing a reasonable student to experience substantial  
               interference with his or her academic performance.

             d)   Causing a reasonable student 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(r)(1))

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

             a)   A message, text, sounds, or image.

             b)   A post on a social network website including, but not  
               limited to:

                 i)       Posting to or creating a burn page, as defined,  
                   created for the purpose of having one or more of the  
                   effects listed above.

                 ii)      Creating a credible impersonation of another  
                   actual student, as defined, for the purpose of having  
                   one or more of the effects listed above.








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                 iii)     Creating a false profile, as defined, for the  
                   purpose of having one or more of the effects listed  
                   above.  (EC § 48900(r)(2)) 

          This bill expands the definition of "bullying by an electronic  
          act," from the "creation and transmission" of a communication to  
          the "creation or transmission" of a communication by means of an  
          electronic device.

          Comments
          
       1)Need for the bill: According to the author, concerns have been  
            raised that prior legislation, AB 256 (Garcia, Chapter 700,  
            Statutes of 2013), may have inadvertently narrowed the  
            definition of bullying via an electronic act, by defining  
            "electronic act" as the creation and transmission of a  
            communication. These provisions limit a principal or  
            superintendent's ability to suspend or expel a student to only  
            those incidences where a student created and transmitted a  
            communication via an electronic device. A principal or  
            superintendent is unable to suspend or recommend expulsion if  
            a student did not create the communication but took part in  
            transmitting it to others.  
               
            This bill broadens the definition of bullying via an  
            electronic act, by clarifying that an "electronic act" means  
            the creation or transmission of any communication. 

       2)Currently authorized to suspend or recommend for expulsion.   
            Existing law authorizes schools to suspend, or recommend for  
            expulsion, a student who has been found to engage in an act of  
            bullying provided that the behavior is related to attendance  
            or school activity regardless of the time of day. 
          
            Prior to suspending a student for bullying, schools must first  
            determine that the victim is in fear of harm, the act has a  
            substantially detrimental effect on the victim's health,  
            academic performance, or the victim experiences substantial  
            interference with his or her ability to participate in or  
            benefit from school services or activities. As such, a student  
            cannot be suspended or recommended for expulsion unless the  
            act disrupts a school activity or attendance. 

       3)Alternatives to out-of-school suspension.  Existing law provides  







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            that suspension may be imposed only when other means of  
            correction fail to bring about proper conduct.  Before a  
            student can be suspended, an informal conference between the  
            principal, student and whenever practicable, the teacher,  
            supervisor or school employee must take place. Schools may  
            also consider alternative forms of corrective action, such as  
            in-school suspension. 
          
            This bill provides an additional tool for addressing student  
            conduct issues should alternative means of corrective action  
            fail. 



          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No          Fiscal  
          Com.:NoLocal:    No


          SUPPORT:   (6/11/15)


          California Association for Health, Physical Education,  
          Recreation, and Dance
          California Federation of Teachers 
          California School Boards Association 
          California Teacher Association 
          Junior League of Long Beach 
          Public Affairs Committee of the Junior Leagues of California 
          San Francisco Unified School District
          State Council on Developmental Disabilities


          OPPOSITION:   (6/11/15)


          American Civil Liberties Union of California 
          GSA Network of California
          National Center for Youth Law
          Public Counsel



           
          ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  78-0, 4/16/15







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          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,  
            Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang,  
            Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle,  
            Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina  
            Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,  
            Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,  
            Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,  
            Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,  
            Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson,  
            Perea, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,  
            Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,  
            Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Obernolte, Quirk

          Prepared by:Olgalilia Ramirez / ED. / (916) 651-4105
          6/12/15 10:10:37


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