Amended in Senate June 24, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 23, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 969

Introduced by Assembly Member Williams

( begin delete Coauthor: end delete begin insert Coauthors: end insert Assembly begin delete Member Rendon end delete begin insert Members Bonilla, Low, McCarty, Rendon, Rodriguez, and Waldron end insert )

February 26, 2015

An act to amend begin delete Sections 76034 and end delete begin insert Section end insert 76038 of the Education Code, relating to community college districts.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 969, as amended, Williams. Community college districts: removal, suspension, or expulsion.

begin delete (1) end delete begin delete   end delete Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law establishes community college districts, each administered by a governing board, throughout the state, and authorizes these districts to provide instruction to students at the community college campuses maintained by the districts.

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Existing law prohibits a community college student from being removed, suspended, or expelled unless the conduct for which the student is disciplined is related to college activity or attendance.

end delete begin delete

This bill would instead prohibit a community college student from being removed, suspended, or expelled unless the conduct for which the student is disciplined is related to college activity or attendance, or is conduct that threatens the safety of students or the public, whether that conduct occurs on or off campus.

end delete

begin delete (2) end delete begin delete   end delete Existing law authorizes the governing board of a district to either deny enrollment, permit enrollment, or permit conditional enrollment to any individual who has been expelled from a community college within the preceding 5 years, or who is, at the time of the application, undergoing expulsion procedures, for certain offenses, as provided, if the board determines that the person continues to pose a risk to the safety of others. Existing law requires the board or a delegate to hold a hearing, before taking action to deny enrollment or permit conditional enrollment, to determine whether the person continues to pose a risk.

Existing law requires the governing begin delete boards end delete begin insert board end insert of each community college district, in order to receive state funds for student financial assistance, to adopt policies concerning sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking that include certain elements, including an affirmative consent standard in the determination of whether consent was given by a complainant.

This bill would expand the authorization to either deny enrollment, permit enrollment, or permit conditional enrollment to apply to an individual who has been expelled from another community college district within the preceding 5 years, who is begin delete currently suspended from another district, or who is end delete undergoing expulsion procedures in another district, for certain offenses or for a violation of a district’s adopted policies concerning sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking described above. The bill would also authorize a community college district to require a student seeking admission to inform the community college district considering admitting the student if he or she has been previously expelled begin delete or is currently suspended end delete from a community college in the state for a violation of that community college’s district-adopted policies concerning sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. By imposing additional duties on a community college district, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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SECTION 1.  

Section 76034 of the Education Code is amended
to read:

76034.  

No student shall be removed, suspended, or expelled
unless the conduct for which the student is disciplined is related
to college activity or college attendance, or is conduct that threatens
the safety of students and the public, whether that conduct occurs
on or off campus.

end delete

begin delete SEC. 2. end delete
begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

Section 76038 of the Education Code is amended
to read:

76038.  

(a) If the governing board of a community college
district receives an application for admission from an individual
who has been expelled from another community college district
pursuant to this article within the preceding five years, begin insert or end insert who is
begin delete currently suspended from another district, or who is end delete undergoing
expulsion procedures in another district, for any of the offenses
listed in subdivision (b) or for a violation of a district’s policies
adopted pursuant to Section 67386, before taking action to deny
enrollment or permit conditional enrollment as authorized by
subdivision (f), the governing board or delegate pursuant to
subdivision (g) shall hold a hearing, conducted in accordance with
this section and the applicable rules and regulations governing
enrollment hearings authorized by this section and adopted in
accordance with Section 66300, to determine whether that
individual poses a continuing danger to the physical safety of the
students and employees of the district.

(b) For purposes of this section, “offense” means one of the
following:

(1) Committed or attempted to commit murder.

(2) Caused, attempted to cause serious, or threatened to cause
physical injury to another person, including assault or battery as
defined in Section 240 or 242 of the Penal Code, except in
self-defense.

(3) Committed or attempted to commit a sexual assault as
defined in Section 261, 266c, 286, 288, 288a, or 289 of the Penal
Code or committed sexual battery as defined in Section 243.4 of
the Penal Code.

(4) Committed or attempted to commit kidnapping, or seized,
confined, inveigled, enticed, decoyed, abducted, concealed,
kidnapped, or carried away another person by any means with the
intent to hold or detain that person for ransom or reward.

(5) Committed or attempted to commit robbery or extortion.

(6) Committed stalking as defined in Section 646.9 of the Penal
Code.

(7) Unlawfully possessed, sold, or otherwise furnished a firearm,
knife, explosive, or other dangerous object.

(c) A community college district may request information, and
respond to a request for information, from another community
college district to determine whether an applicant continues to
pose a danger to the physical safety of others.

(d) A community college district may require a student seeking
admission who has been previously expelled from a community
college in the state for any of the actions listed in subdivision (b)
to inform the district of his or her prior expulsion. Failure to do so
may be considered by the district in determining whether to grant
admission, and a written record of the fact may be maintained by
the district with the applicant’s file.

(e) A community college district may require a student seeking
admission who has been previously expelled begin delete or is currently
suspended end delete from a community college in the state for a violation
of that district’s policies adopted pursuant to Section 67386 to
inform the district considering admitting the student of his or her
prior begin delete expulsion or current suspension. end delete begin insert expulsion. end insert Failure to do so
may be considered by the district in determining whether to grant
admission, and a written record of the fact may be maintained by
the community college district with the applicant’s file.

(f) The governing board of a community college district, upon
making a determination pursuant to subdivision (a), shall take into
consideration evidence of subsequent offenses and rehabilitative
efforts since the offense and may take any of the following actions:

(1) Deny enrollment.

(2) Permit enrollment.

(3) Permit conditional enrollment.

(g) The governing board of a community college district may
delegate any authority under this section to the superintendent or
president of a community college district, or his or her designee,
or a threat assessment crisis response team pursuant to rules and
regulations adopted pursuant to Section 66300.

(h) Before the governing board of a community college district
takes action as authorized under this section, the governing board
shall establish a formal appeals process for students denied
enrollment to appeal the decision to the governing board. A student
who is denied enrollment under subdivision (f) may appeal the
decision to deny enrollment to the governing board of the
community college district.

(i) This section shall not be construed to impose any duty on a
community college district to review applicants for admission or
review previously enrolled students, whether returning or
continuing, or to conduct a hearing in response to the receipt of
any information regarding a potential, former, or existing student.

(j) In accordance with Sections 815.2 and 820.2 of the
Government Code, a community college district, a member of the
governing board of a community college district, an officer or
employee of a community college district, including a
superintendent of a community college district, a president of a
community college district, and the designee of a president or a
superintendent, shall not be liable for an injury resulting from an
exercise of discretion pursuant to this section, including, but not
limited to, an exercise of discretion not to conduct a hearing when
a hearing is not required.

(k) This section shall not apply to the admission of students begin delete for end delete
whom a community college district has discretion to admit pursuant
to Section 76000.

begin delete SEC. 3. end delete
begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.