BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 242
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 17, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Patrick O'Donnell, Chair
SB
242 (Monning) - As Amended April 7, 2015
SENATE VOTE: 31-5
SUBJECT: School security: surplus military equipment.
SUMMARY: Requires the governing board of a school district that
establishes a school police department to prohibit the school
police department from receiving surplus military equipment
pursuant to Section 257a of Title 10 of the United States Code
unless the school district does all of the following:
1)Votes to approve the acquisition of surplus military equipment
at a regularly scheduled public board meeting.
2)Provides parents or guardians of pupils, and other members of
the public, a chance to comment at a regularly scheduled
public board meeting on the proposed acquisition of surplus
military equipment, and, clearly and in a manner recognizable
to the general public, identify in the agenda the topic to be
discussed at the meeting.
3)Identifies safe and secure storage for surplus military
SB 242
Page 2
equipment to be received by a school police department.
4)Ensures that peace officers employed by a school police
department possess adequate training in the safe use and
handling of the surplus military equipment to be received.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Authorizes the governing board of any school district to
establish a security department under the supervision of a
chief of security or a police department under the supervision
of a chief of police, as designated by, and under the
direction of, the superintendent of the school district.
2)Authorizes the governing board of a school district to
establish a school police reserve officer corps to supplement
a police department
3)Specifies that individuals employed by a police department,
when appointed and duly sworn, are peace officers and may
carry firearms.
4)Requires the governing board of a school district that
establishes a security department or a police department to
set minimum qualifications of employment for the chief of
security or school chief of police, respectively, including,
but not limited to, prior employment as a peace officer or
completion of a peace officer training course approved by the
Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.
5)Authorizes the governing board of a school district which
establishes a security or police department to provide and
maintain motor vehicles for the use of the department.
Specifies that any vehicle, when operated in the performance
of his or her duties by any member of the police department,
is an authorized emergency vehicle and may be equipped and
SB 242
Page 3
operated as such as provided by the Vehicle Code.
FISCAL EFFECT: None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS: School security and police departments. Governing
boards are authorized to establish security departments headed
by a Chief of Security and a police department headed by a chief
of police. Security departments are considered supplementary to
city and county law enforcement agencies and are not vested with
general police powers. Individuals employed and compensated as
members of a police department of a school district, when
appointed and duly sworn, are considered peace officers with
arrest powers. There is no data on the number of school
districts that maintain school police departments; the estimate
is about 22. Larger districts are more likely than smaller
districts to have school police departments.
What does this bill do? This bill specifies that the governing
board of a school district that maintains a school police
department shall not permit the school police department to
receive federal surplus military equipment, unless the governing
board of the school district does all of the following:
1) Votes to approve the acquisition of the equipment at a
regularly scheduled public board meeting.
2) Provides parents or guardians of pupils, and other
members of the public, a chance to comment at a regularly
scheduled public board meeting on the proposed acquisition
of surplus military equipment, and clearly and in a manner
recognizable to the general public, identify the topic to
be discussed at the meeting.
SB 242
Page 4
3) Identifies safe and secure storage for surplus military
equipment to be received by a school police department.
4) Ensures that peace officers employed by a school police
department possess adequate training in the safe use and
handling of the surplus military equipment to be received
The author states, "The weapons and supplies received by school
police departments are often sought without the approval or
knowledge of the elected school boards that have statutory
control over them. There is also almost no inclusion or input
from community members and parents about the decision to acquire
the military equipment that will be used in policing schools.
This lack of transparency can be frustrating for parents who
believe they should be notified when military-grade equipment
may be used around students who can be as young as 5 years old
in a K-12 school setting."
Federal 1033 program. The National Defense Authorization Act
authorizes the Secretary of Defense to transfer excess property
that it determines suitable for use in law enforcement
activities to federal, state, and local law enforcement
jurisdictions. This is referred to as the 1033 Program. The
Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Law Enforcement Support Office is
assigned to determine whether property is suitable for use by
these agencies. The DLA defines law enforcement activities as
those performed by government agencies whose primary function is
the enforcement of applicable federal, state, and local laws and
whose compensated law enforcement officers have powers of arrest
and apprehension. The law enforcement agencies must be
authorized and certified annually to participate.
The Governor's Office of Emergency Services implements the 1033
SB 242
Page 5
Program in California and conducts management and oversight of
the program through the California Public Safety Procurement
Program. The Office of Emergency Services also provides support
and technical assistance to law enforcement agencies
participating (or interested in participating) in the program.
Since 1997, the 1033 Program has provided over $5.1 billion of
military equipment to thousands of local law enforcement
agencies throughout the country, including more than 120 school
district police departments that serve K-12 students. According
to a September 12, 2014 article by the Huffington Post, the
following school districts in California have received federal
surplus military equipment:
Baldwin Park School Police Department: 3 M16 assault rifles
Kern High School District Police: 30 magazine pouches for
M4 assault rifle
ammunition
Los Angeles School Police Department: 61 M16 assault
rifles, 3 M79 grenade
launchers, 1
mine-resistant vehicle (Los
Angeles Unified School
District
announced later that it
was returning the
three grenade launchers)
Oakland Unified School Police: tactical utility truck
San Diego Unified Schools Police: 1 mine-resistant vehicle
Executive Order. Last month, President Obama issued an
executive order based on recommendations from the Law
SB 242
Page 6
Enforcement Equipment Working Group, formed following the death
of Michael Brown and the outcry from the local community and
social justice organizations over police use of federal military
equipment to confront protectors in Ferguson, Missouri.
The Executive Order established a "prohibited equipment list"
that would not be available to any local law enforcement agency,
including tracked armored vehicles, bayonets, grenade launchers,
large caliber weapons and ammunition. The Executive Order also
established a "controlled equipment list," which are categories
of equipment that local law enforcement agencies may acquire, if
they provide specified information and meet specified
requirements. The controlled list includes wheeled armored or
tactical vehicles, specialized firearms and ammunition,
explosives and pyrotechnics, and riot equipment. However, the
executive order appears to specifically exclude law enforcement
agencies that solely serve schools with grades ranging from
kindergarten through grade 12 from acquiring any equipment. The
Governor's Office of Emergency Services is waiting for guidance
from the federal law enforcement support office on the
interpretation of the Executive Order.
The author's office states that even if the Executive Order
halts the future acquisition of military equipment by school
police departments, it would be the result of an Executive
Order, which could be changed or eliminated at any time. The
author believes that enacting state law requiring a local
governing board to deliberate whether a school district police
department should acquire military equipment will ensure that
there is an opportunity to provide community input in the event
the Executive Order is changed or removed.
Committee amendment. A prior version of this bill required the
governing board to provide a detailed description of the
function and purpose of the equipment. Staff recommends
reinstating this requirement.
SB 242
Page 7
Arguments in support. The California State Conference of the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
states, "The militarization of campus law enforcement agencies
is becoming increasingly disturbing. Often times, there is
little to no training provided for the equipment that the campus
law enforcement agencies request. AB 242 is good policy in that
it will ensure that governing boards, parents, and teachers are
aware of law enforcements access to military equipment."
Arguments in opposition. The California Police Chiefs
Association opposes the bill and states, "The California Police
Chiefs Association supports transparency, community involvement,
and responsible decision making. Unfortunately, SB 242 puts
California school law enforcement at a significant disadvantage.
While other law enforcement agencies around the country can
quickly apply to receive surplus military equipment, interested
California school agencies will be stalled and frozen out of the
process."
Related legislation. AB 36 (Campos), pending in the Senate
Governance and Finance Committee, prohibits county, whether
general law or chartered, city and county, town, school
district, municipal corporation, district, political
subdivision, or any board, commission, or agency thereof, or
other local public agency from receiving surplus military
equipment from the federal government, unless the acquisition is
approved at a regular meeting by the legislative body of the
agency.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
SB 242
Page 8
Support
California State Conference of the NAACP
California State PTA
Opposition
California Police Chiefs Association
Analysis Prepared by:Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916)
319-2087