BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 969 (Williams) - Community college districts: removal,
suspension, or expulsion.
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|Version: June 24, 2015 |Policy Vote: ED. 8 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: July 6, 2015 |Consultant: Jillian Kissee |
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This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: This bill expands the offenses for which a governing
board of a community college district (district) is authorized,
following a hearing, to deny enrollment or permit conditional
enrollment to include violation of a district's policies
regarding sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence,
and stalking on or off campus. This bill also provides that a
district may require a student previously expelled for these
offenses to inform the district, considering admission, of such
expulsion.
Fiscal
Impact:
Unknown, nonreimbursable costs to the extent districts choose
to consider whether to deny enrollment or permit conditional
enrollment to previously expelled students, for a broader set
of offenses results in an increase in the number of required
AB 969 (Williams) Page 1 of
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hearings or appeals. Each hearing is estimated to cost
between $3,000 and $5,000.
Background: Existing law requires the governing board of a community
college district to admit any California resident, and permits
it to admit any nonresident, possessing a high school diploma or
the equivalent. (Education Code § 76000)
Existing law provides for the suspension or expulsion of
community college students with "good cause" but prohibits the
removal suspension or expulsion of a community college student
unless the conduct resulting in the disciplinary action is
related to college activity or college attendance. (Education
Code § 76030-76038)
Existing law authorizes a community college district to require
a student seeking admission to disclose his/her prior expulsion
from another community college district and authorizes the
governing board of a community college district to deny
enrollment, permit enrollment, or permit conditional enrollment
to a student who has been expelled, or is being considered for
expulsion, from another district for specified offenses within
the preceding 5 years. (Education Code § 76038)
Existing law requires that, in order to receive state funds for
student financial assistance, the governing board of each
community college district, the Trustees of the California State
University, the Regents of the University of California, and the
governing boards of independent postsecondary institutions must
adopt a policy concerning sexual assault, domestic violence,
dating violence, and stalking, as defined in the federal Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1092(f)) involving a
student, both on and off campus. (Education Code § 67386)
Proposed Law:
This bill expands the offenses for which a governing board of
a district is authorized, following a hearing, to deny
enrollment or permit conditional enrollment to include violation
of a district's policies regarding sexual assault, domestic
violence, dating violence, and stalking on or off campus. This
bill also provides that a district may require a student
previously expelled for these offenses to inform the district of
AB 969 (Williams) Page 2 of
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such expulsion. Specifically this bill:
Requires that before a district's decision to deny or
permit conditional enrollment of an individual who has been
expelled from another district in the last five years, or
who is undergoing expulsion procedures, for a violation of
a district's policies regarding sexual assault, domestic
violence, dating violence, and stalking involving a
student, both on and off campus, the district hold a
hearing. The purpose of the hearing is to determine
whether the individual poses a continuing danger to the
physical safety of the students and employees of the
district.
Authorizes a district to require a student seeking
admission who has been previously expelled from a community
college for a violation of that district's policies
regarding sexual assault, domestic violence, dating
violence, and stalking involving a student, both on and off
campus, to inform the district of the prior expulsion.
Provides that failure to disclose prior expulsions may
be considered by the district in determining whether to
grant admission, and a record of the fact may be maintained
in the applicant's file.
Related
Legislation: AB 968, Williams, requires public and private
postsecondary educational institutions to indicate on student
transcripts when a student has been suspended or expelled. This
bill is pending in the Senate Education Committee.
AB 967, Williams, establishes minimum disciplinary standards and
reporting requirements for sexual assault complaints received by
public and private postsecondary educational institutions. This
bill is pending in the Senate Education Committee.
Staff
AB 969 (Williams) Page 3 of
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Comments: Current law allows a governing board of a community
college district to deny enrollment, permit enrollment, or
permit conditional enrollment upon making a determination as to
whether an individual seeking admission that has been previously
expelled for specified offenses, poses a continuing danger to
the physical safety of the students and employees of the
district. If the district chooses to either deny or permit
conditional enrollment, the district must first hold a hearing
to determine whether the individual poses a continuing danger.
This bill expands the offenses by which a governing board of a
district may deny or permit conditional enrollment, after
holding a hearing. Though sexual assault and stalking are
already considered to be an "offense" under current law, this
bill specifies that they involve a student both on and off
campus. This bill also includes domestic violence and dating
violence involving a student on or off campus. The expanded set
of offenses could potentially result in an increase in the
number of hearings districts could hold. Each hearing is
estimated to cost between $3,000 and $5,000. Additional
downstream costs could result to the extent additional appeals
are pursued by students whose enrollment is denied.
Because the requirements of this bill are based on a decision of
the governing board of the district, within a discretionary
process, they are unlikely to be reimbursable by the Commission
on State Mandates and therefore costs would be borne locally by
districts.
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