BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2489
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Date of Hearing: April 6, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Patrick O'Donnell, Chair
AB 2489
(McCarty) - As Amended March 30, 2016
SUBJECT: Pupil rights: restorative justice practices
SUMMARY: Requires the California Department of Education (CDE)
to develop a standard model to implement restorative justice
practices on a school campus and make the standard model
available on the CDE's Internet Web site for use by any school
district that chooses to implement restorative justice practices
as part of its campus culture. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the CDE to do all of the following:
a) Consult with school-based restorative justice
practitioners, educators, pupils, community stakeholders,
and nonprofit and public entities to identify best
practices for effective, evidence-based restorative justice
in elementary and secondary schools.
b) Select an advisory committee made up of stakeholders and
professionals who have participated in the development and
expansion of restorative justice programs to assist in the
planning and implementation of the standard model.
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c) Collect and disseminate evidence-based best practices.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Authorizes or requires a principal or a superintendent of
schools to suspend or expel a student committing any of a
number of specified acts. (Education Code (EC) Sections
48900, 48900.2, 48900.3, 48900.4, 48900.7, 48915)
2)Specifies that suspensions shall be imposed only when other
means of correction fail to bring about proper conduct.
Specifies that other means of correction include, but are not
limited to, a conference between school personnel, the pupil's
parent or guardian, and pupil; referrals to the school
counselor, psychologist, social worker, child welfare
attendance personnel, or other school support services
personnel; study teams or other intervention-related teams;
referral for a psychosocial or psychoeducational assessment;
participation in a restorative justice program; a positive
behavior support approach with tiered interventions; after
school programs that address behavior issues; or other
alternatives involving community service. (EC Section
48900.5)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: Suspensions and Expulsions. 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.
Over the last several years, a number of bills have been
introduced and enacted attempting to reduce the use of punitive,
zero-tolerance measures and focus, instead, on alternatives to
address the causes of a pupil's behavior. The belief is that
keeping students in school and addressing the causes for bad
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behavior will be more effective than students sitting at home
watching television or engaging in harmful activities on the
streets. AB 1729 (Ammiano), Chapter 425, Statutes of 2012,
requires all forms of suspension to be imposed only when other
means of correction fail to bring about proper conduct. Other
means of corrections includes the following: a conference
between the school staff, pupil, and pupil's parents or
guardian; referrals to the school counselor, psychologist,
social worker, or other school support services personnel;
implementation of positive behavior support approach with tiered
interventions
that occur during the schoolday on campus; and participation in
restorative justice programs. While these bills are one
component in changing pupil and staff behavior, changing the
culture of a school from a less punitive environment to a more
positive one and to implement positive behavioral programs
require training and support from all school staff.
Alternative disciplinary practices. A number of school
districts have implemented alternative disciplinary programs.
Restorative justice practices and Schoolwide Positive Behavior
Intervention and Support programs are examples of such programs.
A number of districts have implemented one of those models,
including Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Ana,
Oakland, Elk Grove, and Irvine Unified School Districts.
Restorative justice is a set of principles and practices
grounded in the values of showing respect, taking
responsibility, and strengthening relationships. Restorative
practices, applied on a schoolwide context, are used to build a
sense of school community and resolve conflict by repairing harm
and restoring positive relationships. School districts that
have restorative justice programs have seen reductions in the
number of out-of-school suspensions. For example, in the Los
Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), suspensions have
decreased by 92% between 2007-08 and the 2014-15. LAUSD plans
to implement restorative justice programs at all schoolsites by
2020. Oakland Unified School District reports that suspensions
of African Americans students for disruption of school
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activities decreased by 40% over three years. Despite reports
of success, there have also been reports of challenges to
management of classrooms as a result of reduction in
suspensions.
Existing efforts. According to the Restorative Schools Vision
Project, the sponsor of the bill, the California Endowment
awarded a grant in March 2015 to bring together practitioners,
educators, and partners with expertise in school-based
restorative justice practice in an effort to develop consensus
on best practices and strategies to implement restorative
justice throughout K-12 schools. A group of approximately 25
individuals have met several times to share ideas. The group
has also developed a survey instrument to solicit information.
A number of focus groups taking place in several parts of the
state will solicit input from teachers, school administrators,
and district staff in the upcoming months.
What does this bill do? This bill requires the CDE to develop a
standard model for implementing restorative justice practices on
a school campus and to post the model on the CDE's Internet Web
site. This bill requires the CDE to consult with practitioners,
educators, students, community stakeholders, nonprofit and
public agencies to identify best practices for effective
evidence-based restorative justice in K-12 schools. The bill
also requires CDE to select an advisory committee.
Model or guidelines for successful implementation? While a
number of districts have implemented restorative justice
practices, it is unclear whether the districts have the same
implementation. Staff recommends requiring CDE to first
evaluate existing district practices. Secondly, require CDE, in
consultation with stakeholders, to either develop a standard
model if implementation is consistent and determined effective
or identify best practices and guidelines for successful
implementation. Staff also recommends striking the requirement
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to convene an advisory committee as the bill also directs CDE to
consult with stakeholders.
The author states, "Data from the United States Department of
Education show that black students are suspended from school at
more than three times the rates of white students. This
disparity is at the heart of the school-to-prison pipeline.
Suspended students are more likely to drop out of school, and
even a single suspension triples the likelihood that the student
will be engaged with the juvenile justice system within a
year?By allowing youth the opportunity to explore how their
disruptive actions impact their learning experience and that of
their peers, they are more likely to take action to repair the
harm, and make the behavioral changes necessary to avoid such
behavior in the future."
Related legislation and funding. The 2015-16 budget provides
$10 million to provide training and professional development
activities and for the implementation of schoolwide, data-driven
systems of learning and behavioral supports.
SB 463 (Hancock), pending in the Assembly Education Committee,
establishes the Safe and Supportive Schools Train the Trainer
Program and requires a designated county office of education to
be responsible for the development or identification of
professional development activities that are available as a
statewide training resource.
AB 1025 (Thurmond), held in the Senate Appropriations Committee
suspense file in 2015, establishes a three-year pilot program in
school districts to encourage inclusive practices that integrate
mental health, special education, and school climate
interventions following a multi-tiered framework.
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SB 1396 (Hancock), held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee
suspense file in 2014, would have provided funding to a
designated county office of education for the purposes of
establishing a multitiered intervention and support program that
includes, but is not limited, the Schoolwide Positive Behavior
Intervention and Support program.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
San Francisco Unified School District
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087
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