BILL NUMBER: SB 320	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 30, 2015
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 26, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Lara

                        FEBRUARY 23, 2015

   An act to amend Section 49013 of the Education Code, relating to
pupil fees.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 320, as amended, Lara. Pupil fees: complaint of noncompliance:
regulations.
   Existing law prohibits a pupil enrolled in a public school from
being required to pay a pupil fee for participation in an educational
activity. Existing law authorizes a complaint of noncompliance to be
filed with the principal of a school for violation of that
prohibition, as specified, and required public schools to establish
local policies and procedures to implement the complaint provisions.
   This bill would prohibit a public school from establishing a local
policy or procedure that authorizes the public school to resolve a
complaint by providing a remedy to the complainant without also
providing a remedy to all affected pupils, parents, and guardians, as
provided. The bill would authorize the Superintendent of Public
Instruction to ensure that an appeal that the State Department of
Education finds merit in is resolved in a timely manner and would
require the Superintendent, on or before June 30, 2016, to adopt
regulations to govern the use of that authority, as specified.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 49013 of the Education Code is amended to read:

   49013.  (a) A complaint of noncompliance with the requirements of
this article may be filed with the principal of a school under the
Uniform Complaint Procedures set forth in Chapter 5.1 (commencing
with Section 4600) of Division 1 of Title 5 of the California Code of
Regulations.
   (b) A complaint may be filed anonymously if the complaint provides
evidence or information leading to evidence to support an allegation
of noncompliance with the requirements of this article.
   (c) A complainant not satisfied with the decision of a public
school may appeal the decision to the department and shall receive a
written appeal decision within 60 days of the department's receipt of
the appeal.
   (d) If a public school finds merit in a complaint, or the
department finds merit in an appeal, the public school shall provide
a remedy to all affected pupils, parents, and guardians that, where
applicable, includes reasonable efforts by the public school to
ensure full reimbursement to all affected pupils, parents, and
guardians, subject to procedures established through regulations
adopted by the state board.
   (e) Information regarding the requirements of this article shall
be included in the annual notification distributed to pupils, parents
and guardians, employees, and other interested parties pursuant to
Section 4622 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations.
   (f) Public schools shall establish local policies and procedures
to implement the provisions of this section on or before March 1,
2013. A public school shall not establish a local policy or procedure
pursuant to this subdivision that authorizes the public school to
resolve a complaint filed pursuant to this section, whether formally
or informally, by providing a remedy to the complainant without also
providing a remedy to all affected pupils, parents, and guardians, as
required by subdivision (d).
   (g) The Superintendent shall have all power and authority
necessary to ensure that, when the department finds merit in an
appeal filed pursuant to this section, the complaint is resolved
pursuant to subdivision (d) in a timely manner. On or before June 30,
2016, the Superintendent shall adopt regulations to govern the use
of this authority. The regulations shall include, but are not limited
to, provisions that do all of the following:
   (1) Specify that, if the department finds merit in an appeal filed
pursuant to this section, the department's written decision shall
identify with specificity the corrective action that the public
school  must   shall  take to confirm that
it has provided a remedy to all affected pupils, including, if
applicable, specific direction regarding the reasonable efforts the
public school shall take to ensure full reimbursement to all affected
pupils.
   (2) Specify  that the department may   that,
if the public school failed to address an issue raised in the
complaint filed pursuant to this section in the public school's
decision about that complaint, the department shall require the
public school to respond to the issue within 10 business days and,
after providing this opportunity to respond, the department shall
 make findings on the merit of the appeal without remanding the
complaint to the public school for further consideration, regardless
of whether the public school  addressed an issue in its
decision about the underlying complaint, and may rely on evidence
presented for the first time on appeal, if the department concludes
such evidence is reliable.   provided the required
response.  
   (3) Specify that, if the complainant submits evidence in
conjunction with the appeal that is related to an issue raised in the
underlying complaint and that is presented for the first time on
appeal, the department shall notify the public school of the new
evidence and provide the public school with 10 business days to
respond to the new evidence, and, after providing this opportunity to
respond, the department shall make findings on the merit of the
appeal without remanding the complaint to the public school for
further consideration, regardless of whether the public school
provided the required response.  
   (4) Specify that, if the complainant raises one or more issues on
appeal that were not presented in the underlying complaint, the
department shall remand any new issue to the public school to treat
as a newly filed complaint as provided in this section, but shall
resolve the remainder of the appeal as provided in this section.
 
   (3) 
    (5)  Require the public school to provide to the
department, within 60 days of the department's written decision,
evidence documenting that the public school has complied with any
corrective action specified in the written decision and the
requirements of subdivision (d). 
   (4) 
    (6)  If the public school has not satisfied the
requirement in paragraph  (3),   (5), 
require the superintendent of the school district or the county
office of education or the principal of the charter school, as
appropriate based on the public school involved in the underlying
complaint, to appear at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the
state board to explain the public school's failure to satisfy that
requirement.