BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 1309
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|Author: |Leyva |
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|Version: |April 11, 2016 Hearing |
| |Date: April 20, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Lynn Lorber |
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Subject: Pupil discipline: suspension and expulsion hearings:
county schools
SUMMARY
This bill establishes a new process for county offices of
education, utilizing an impartial administrative panel, to
consider the suspension or expulsion of a student who attends a
school operated by a county office of education.
BACKGROUND
Existing law:
1) Authorizes the principal of a school, the principal's
designee, or the district superintendent of schools to
suspend a student from school for specified reasons, for up
to five consecutive schooldays. Existing law requires
suspension to be proceeded by an informal conference
between the students, teacher, supervisor, or school
employee who referred the student to the principal.
Existing law authorizes a student to be suspended without
affording the student an opportunity for a conference only
if the principal, the principal's designee, or the district
superintendent determines that an emergency situation
exists. (Education Code § 48911)
2) Requires the governing board of each school district to
establish rules and regulations governing procedures for
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the expulsion of students. (EC § 48918)
3) Authorizes the governing board of a school district,
instead of conducting an expulsion hearing itself, to
contract with the county hearing officer, or with the
Office of Administrative Hearings for a hearing officer to
conduct the hearing. (EC § 48918)
4) Authorizes the governing board of a school district to also
appoint an impartial administrative panel of three or more
certificated people, none of whom is a member of the
governing board or employed on the staff of the school in
which the student is enrolled. (EC § 48918)
5) Requires the hearing officer or administrative panel, if
recommending expulsion, to prepare and submit to the
governing board findings of fact in support of the
recommendation. Existing law requires all findings of fact
and recommendations to be based solely on the evidence
considered at the hearing. (EC § 48918)
6) Authorizes a student or parent to file an appeal of an
expulsion to the county board of education, and requires
the county board of education to hold a hearing or have a
hearing officer or an impartial administrative panel hear
appeals.
(EC § 48919 and § 48919.5)
ANALYSIS
This bill establishes a new process for county offices of
education, utilizing an impartial administrative panel, to
consider the suspension or expulsion of a student who attends a
school operated by a county office of education. Specifically,
this bill:
1) Prohibits a student who is enrolled in a school operated by
a county office of education, and who is accused of
committing an act for which a student may be suspended or
expelled, from being suspended or expelled from, or
otherwise denied attendance at the school, unless both of
the following occur:
a) The principal of the school recommends
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the student for removal to an impartial administrative
panel of three or more certificated people appointed
by the county board of education.
b) The impartial administrative panel
determines that the student has committed an act for
which the student may be suspended or expelled.
2) Prohibits a member of the administrative hearing panel from
being a member of the county board of education or be
employed by the school from which the student is enrolled.
3) Authorizes a student who is enrolled in a school operated
by a county office of education and who has been suspended
or expelled from, or otherwise denied attendance at the
school pursuant to this bill, within 30 days following the
administrative panel's decision, to file an appeal to the
county board of education which shall hold a hearing on the
matter and render a decision. This bill requires the
appeal hearing to be held in the same manner and have the
same effect as is provided for in existing law for an
appeal hearing held by a county board of education for
students who have been expelled by a school district.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill. According to the author, "Current law
requires a school district to abide by a detailed process
for the expulsion of a student and the following appeals
process which is heard by the county office of education
(COE). However, state law is silent on the process for
expelling a student from a COE operated school. Because a
COE is the board that would hear an appeal in a typical
school district expulsion case, there is an obvious
violation of due process should the COE be responsible for
handling both the expulsion and the appeal of the
expulsion. In order to ensure that students receive due
process when appealing an expulsion, SB 1309 would create a
formal process for the expulsion of a student from a COE
operated school."
2) Expulsion from a school operated by a county office of
education. County offices of education typically operate
county community schools for students who have been
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expelled from a school district, juvenile court schools for
students who are in juvenile detention facilities, and
provide some career technical education, and special
education and related services. The Los Angeles County
Office of Education also operates two comprehensive
schools; it is unclear if other county offices of education
operate comprehensive schools.
Existing law does not provide for a process by which a county
office of education may expel a student. Anecdotally, the
practice of some county offices of education of to not
expel students or remove students from school; those county
offices of education typically use various interventions
and preventative measures to keep students in school. If
those measures are unsuccessful, some county offices of
education transfer such students to other county-run
programs, such as a military-style charter school or
dropout recovery charter school.
This bill creates a process that is based upon the existing
process for school district expulsion hearings and
expulsion appeals heard by county boards of education.
While county offices of education may not encounter many
situations where they desire to expel a student, this bill
establishes a process by which the potential expulsion of a
student is considered by a body that is not affiliated with
the school in which the student is enrolled.
3) Suspension. Existing law authorizes the principal or
principal's designee of a school operated by a school
district to suspend a student who has committed a specified
act. Existing law does not provide for a process by which
a county office of education may suspend a student. This
bill creates a process by which a school that is operated
by a county office of education may suspend or expel a
student, using the same process for either. This bill
creates a higher threshold to suspend a student who attends
a school operated by a county office of education than
currently exists for the suspension of a student who
attends a school operated by a school district.
4) Alternative approach. As an alternative to the provisions
currently in this bill, staff recommends amendments to:
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a) Delete any reference to suspension.
b) Require a county board of education, if a
principal of a school that is operated by the county
office of education recommends expulsion, to contract
with the Office of Administrative Hearings for a
hearing officer to conduct the expulsion hearing, or
appoint an impartial administrative panel of three or
more certificated persons, none of whom is a member of
the county board of education or employed on the staff
of the school in which the student is enrolled.
c) Require the hearing officer or administrative
panel, if the decision is to expel, to prepare and
submit to the county board of education findings of
fact in support of the decision to expel.
d) Require all findings of fact to be based solely
on the evidence considered at the hearing.
e) Authorize a student who has been expelled, or the
parent of that student, within 30 days following the
decision of the hearing officer or administrative
panel to expel the student, to file an appeal to the
county board of education which shall hold a hearing
on the matter and render a decision. The appeal
hearing shall be held in the same manner and have the
same effect as an appeal hearing held pursuant to
existing law.
SUPPORT
None received.
OPPOSITION
None received.
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