BILL ANALYSIS Ó
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 532|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 532
Author: Leyva (D)
Amended: 4/6/15
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 8-0, 4/15/15
AYES: Liu, Huff, Block, Hancock, Leyva, Mendoza, Pan, Vidak
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT: Governing boards of school districts: nonvoting and
preferential voting pupil members
SOURCE: California Association of Student Councils
DIGEST: This bill requires that a school district governing
board act on a request for pupil representation on the board
within 60 days of receipt of the request, and requires a
unanimous vote of all voting members of the board in order to
eliminate a student representative from the board, subject to
such action being noticed as a public item on the board's
agenda.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Authorizes the submission of a pupil petition to a school
district governing board requesting the appointment of one or
more nonvoting pupil members to the board or requesting the
board to allow preferential voting for the pupil member(s) of
SB 532
Page 2
the board. The petition is required to contain signature of
either 500 or more pupils who are regularly enrolled in high
schools of the district, or (b) not less than 10 percent of
the number of pupils regularly enrolled in high schools of the
district, whichever is less.
2)Requires the governing board to annually order the inclusion
of the non-voting pupil member(s), and preferential voting for
the pupil member(s) upon receipt of a petition for pupil
representation.
3)Requires that students selected for this purpose be enrolled
in a high school of the district, authorizes that they can be
less than 18 years of age, and requires they be chosen by the
pupils enrolled in the high school (s) of the district in
accordance with procedures prescribed by the governing board,
and serve a one year term beginning July 1 of each year.
(Education Code § 35012)
This bill:
1)Requires that each fiscal year, and within 60 days of a
receipt of a petition for pupil representation, or at the next
regularly scheduled board meeting, that the governing board
order the inclusion of at least one non-voting pupil member.
2)Requires a unanimous vote of all voting board members in order
to eliminate a non-voting or preferential voting pupil member
position from the school district governing board.
3)Requires that a decision to eliminate a non-voting or
preferential voting pupil member position, and the reasons for
this action, be listed as a public agenda item for a meeting
of the governing board.
Comments
1)Need for the bill. According to the author, in the fall of
2013 the student board member position was eliminated from the
Beverly Hills Unified School District board of education
without any public record or official vote. As a result the
SB 532
Page 3
student board member position was nonexistent for one
semester. Through the efforts of one student, the board
members eventually reinstated the position, but the
elimination of the position still remains a threat. In
addition, students from the Los Angeles Unified School
district petitioned their school board with the necessary 500
signatures to create a student board member position in the
spring of 2014. According to the author, a year later the
board has yet to respond. According to the author, this bill
would protect the voice of students by ensuring a formal and
transparent process for both the establishment and removal of
a student school board member position.
2)Related Informational Hearing. On February 25, 2015 the
Senate Education Committee held an informational hearing on
the California Association of Student Councils (CASC). CASC
presented a number of legislative proposals for the
committee's consideration. Among their 6 proposals was one
that recommended the amending of existing law to require a
formal elimination process for the student board member
position and a 60 day response limit to a petition to add a
student board member. This bill proposes legislation to
implement that proposal.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
SUPPORT: (Verified5/19/15)
California Association of Student Councils
OPPOSITION: (Verified5/19/15)
None received
Prepared by:Kathleen Chavira / ED. / (916) 651-4105
5/21/15 9:52:00
SB 532
Page 4
**** END ****