BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 322
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB
322 (Leno)
As Amended August 16, 2016
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 24-15
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Education |5-2 |O'Donnell, McCarty, |Chávez, Kim |
| | |Santiago, Thurmond, | |
| | |Weber | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |14-6 |Gonzalez, Bloom, |Bigelow, Chang, |
| | |Bonilla, Bonta, |Gallagher, Jones, |
| | |Calderon, Daly, |Obernolte, Wagner |
| | |Eggman, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Holden, | |
| | |Quirk, Santiago, | |
| | |Weber, Wood, McCarty | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SB 322
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SUMMARY: Modifies the provisions for extending preferences for
charter school admissions and establishes requirements for
charter school suspension and expulsion procedures.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Authorizes additional preferences for enrollment in a charter
school in accordance with all of the following:
a) Each type of preference shall be approved by the charter
school at a public hearing.
b) Preferences shall be consistent with federal law,
California Constitution, and Education Code Section 200.
c) Preferences shall not result in limiting enrollment
access for pupils with disabilities, academically
low-achieving pupils, English learners, neglected or
delinquent pupils, homeless pupils, or pupils who are
economically disadvantaged, as determined by eligibility
for any free or reduced-price meal program.
d) Preferences shall not require mandatory parental
volunteer hours as a criterion for admission or continued
enrollment.
2)Requires a charter school petition's descriptions of
suspension and expulsion procedures to do the following:
a) Identify the list of acts for which a pupil enrolled in
a charter school may be suspended or expelled.
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b) Identify suspension and expulsion procedures, including
the maximum length of time for which a pupil may be
suspended. Requires the procedures to also accommodate the
rights of pupils with disabilities, consistent with federal
law.
3)Requires charter school suspension and expulsion procedures to
meet the following minimum requirements:
a) The procedures shall comply with federal and state
constitutional due process requirements, including
providing notice and an opportunity to be heard.
b) For expulsions, the procedures shall ensure all of the
following:
i) The pupil is entitled to a formal hearing to
determine if the pupil shall be expelled.
ii) The pupil shall be provided written notice of the
hearing, which, at a minimum, identifies the date and
place of the hearing, a statement of specific facts and
charges upon which the proposed expulsion is based, a
copy of the disciplinary rules that relate to the alleged
violation, and the notice of the procedures that will
govern the hearing, including those specifying the right
to appear in person, have representation, inspect
documents and question witnesses.
iii) At the hearing, the pupil or the pupil's parent or
guardian, or the pupil's educational rights holder if the
pupil is a foster child or youth or a homeless child or
youth, has a right to appear in person or to be
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represented by an attorney licensed to practice law in
California or by a nonattorney adviser, to inspect and
obtain copies of all documents to be used at the hearing,
to confront and question all witnesses who testify at the
hearing, to question all other evidence presented, and to
present oral and documentary evidence on the pupil's
behalf, including through witnesses. A record of the
hearing shall be made so that a reasonably accurate and
complete written transcription of the proceedings can be
made.
iv) If the individual, panel, or board conducting the
formal hearing determines that the pupil shall be
expelled, the individual, panel, or board shall issue a
written decision identifying the basis for the decision,
including all facts in support of the decision, which
shall be based upon substantial evidence relevant to the
charges adduced at the formal hearing and shall not
consist solely of hearsay evidence.
v) Written notice of any decision to expel shall be
sent by the charter school to the pupil or the pupil's
parent or guardian, or the pupil's educational rights
holder if the pupil is a foster child or youth or a
homeless child or youth, and shall include notice of the
right to appeal the expulsion to the county board of
education and notice of the educational placement to be
provided to the pupil during the time of expulsion.
vi) A pupil may appeal the expulsion to the county board
of education with jurisdiction in the county in which the
charter school is located.
vii) The charter school shall ensure no loss of
instructional days for the pupil pending final
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determination of the expulsion, including an appeal, if
one is filed, by providing the pupil access to
educational programming.
viii) Upon final determination to expel a pupil, the
charter school shall ensure the pupil is provided access
to educational programing until the charter school has
confirmed the pupil has been provided a suitable
educational placement.
4)Specifies that a pupil shall not be removed, involuntarily
dismissed, disenrolled, or terminated from a charter school
unless the charter school has complied with all of the
expulsion procedures specified in this bill.
5)Specifies that nothing in this bill is intended to restrict or
otherwise limit the rights available to pupils in charter
schools under other federal and state law. All such
protections shall apply with full force and effect.
6)Specifies that a charter school may encourage parental
involvement, but shall notify the parents and guardians of
applicant pupils and currently enrolled pupils that parental
involvement is not a requirement for acceptance to, or
continued enrollment at, the charter school.
7)Expresses the intent of the Legislature to ensure the
following:
a) Equal access to interested pupils at charter schools and
practices that discourage enrollment or disproportionately
push out segments of already enrolled pupils are
prohibited;
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b) That charter school discipline policies are fair and
transparent; and,
c) That charter schools operate within the system of common
schools by remaining "? free, nonsectarian and open to all
students?," as stated in Wilson v. State Board of Education
(1999).
d) Gather data on pupil turnover in the charter school
environment.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Proposition 98/General Fund state mandated costs to charter
authorizers (school districts and county offices of
education), likely in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, to
review and approve material revisions to charter petitions and
to provide ongoing oversight to ensure compliance with
admissions, suspension and expulsion requirements. These costs
may be offset by existing oversight fees charged to charter
schools.
2)Unknown costs to charter schools that may need to modify
existing admissions requirements and expulsion procedures,
consistent with the requirements of this bill. Any additional
costs would be absorbed locally since charters are ineligible
to claim reimbursement of costs resulting from state mandates.
Costs associated with suspension and expulsion procedures may
be offset by funding provided through the K-12 Mandate Block
Grant.
COMMENTS: This bill addresses both entry into and exits from
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charter schools. Charter schools are authorized by school
district governing boards, county boards of education or the
State Board of Education. Charter schools must comply with
charter school provisions of law and are generally exempt from
most laws governing school districts, with the exception of the
following:
1)Teacher participation in the State Teachers' Retirement System
and the Public Employees' Retirement System if the charter
chooses to offer coverage in either or both of those systems.
2)Access to loans from the Charter School Revolving Loan Fund.
3)All laws establishing minimum age for public school
attendance.
4)The California Building Standards Code.
As part of its request for approval of charter status, a charter
petition must include "reasonably comprehensive" descriptions of
specified information, including, among others, a description of
the educational program of the school, the governance structure
of the school, qualifications required by individuals to be
hired at the school, the manner by which annual, independent
financial audits will be conducted, the manner by which the
school's staff will be covered by the teachers' retirement
systems or federal social security and federal social security,
the procedures the school will follow to ensure the health and
safety of pupils and staff (including any employee criminal
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record), and the procedures by which pupils can be suspended or
expelled.
Preferences for admission: This bill authorizes charter school
admissions preferences as long as the preferences are approved
by the charter school at a public hearing; preferences are
consistent with state law, federal law and Education Code
Section 200; preferences do not result in limiting enrollment
access to specified pupil groups; and, preferences do not
require mandatory parental volunteer hours. These requirements
clarify that charter school admissions preferences must be fair,
transparent and must ensure that the school's preferences do not
result in limiting enrollment access to students with
disabilities, academically low-achieving students, English
learners, neglected or delinquent students, homeless students,
or students who are economically disadvantaged, as determined by
eligibility for any free or reduced-price meal program. These
requirements essentially codify other parts of existing law and
current practice.
Supporters of the bill state that charter schools across the
state have been found to have selective admissions criteria,
including requiring parent volunteer hours as a condition of
enrollment. As an example, supporters state that a charter
school in San Diego requires 30 parent volunteer hours per year.
Parents that do not meet the required hours in specified jobs
are given "probation." After two probations, a parent may be
asked to meet with the governing board to determine the future
enrollment of the pupil at the school.
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. For
expulsions, current law specifies three categories: 1) acts
committed by a pupil that result in immediate suspension and
recommendation for expulsion; 2) acts committed by a pupil for
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which a principal or superintendent must recommend expulsion,
unless the principal or superintendent finds that expulsion is
inappropriate, due to the particular circumstance; and 3) acts
committed by a pupil for which a principal or superintendent
have discretion to determine expulsion.
Upon a recommendation of expulsion of a pupil, a school district
governing board is required to hold a hearing and provide a
student and his or her parents or legal guardians written notice
that includes the charges upon which a proposed expulsion is
based, within specified timelines. The governing board may meet
in closed session, but the final action to expel a pupil must be
made in a public session. A pupil who is expelled may file an
appeal to the county board of education.
What does this bill do? Charter schools are required in their
petition for a charter to describe the procedures by which
pupils can be suspended or expelled, but are not required to
comply with the suspension and expulsion policies and procedures
under current law. This bill establishes procedures that are
very similar, although not identical, to the procedures
established under Education Code Section 48918 governing the
expulsion process for school districts.
Supporters state that pupils have a constitutional right to due
process. Yet, pupils attending charter schools have been
subject to expulsions due to repeated minor actions (e.g., using
profanity), are not provided a hearing or are not informed about
the right to a hearing, and once expelled, can be dropped from
the education system for an indefinite amount of time. The
provisions in this bill are not as prescriptive as those
established in current law applying to school districts;
however, they are very similar and consistent. Opponents argue
that charter schools should be able to design their own
expulsion procedures to accommodate the needs of the schools and
the population at a school as long as they ensure that students
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have due process rights.
Analysis Prepared by:
Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN:
0004320