BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



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          Date of Hearing:  August 3, 2016


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                               Lorena Gonzalez, Chair


          SB 1309  
          (Leyva) - As Amended June 29, 2016


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          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  YesReimbursable:   
          Yes


          SUMMARY:


          This bill establishes a process for expulsion of a student  
          enrolled in a school operated by a county office of education  
          (COE).  Specifically, this bill:  


          1)Requires, if a principal or designee recommends a student for  
            expulsion, the county board of education to contract with the  








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            Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) to conduct the  
            expulsion hearing or appoint an impartial administrative  
            panel, as specified, to conduct the expulsion hearing.


          2)Requires the OAH hearing officer or the impartial  
            administrative panel to prepare and submit to the county board  
            of education, findings of fact in support of a decision to  
            expel. Final action to expel a student must be taken only by  
            the county board of education in a public session.


          3)Requires parents or guardians of the student to be provided  
            with a written notice of the hearing at least 10 days before  
            the date of the hearing, including a statement of specific  
            facts and charges upon which the proposed expulsion is based.  
            The notice must also inform parents of their right to be  
            represented by legal counsel or by a nonattorney adviser.


          4)Authorizes a student, or his or her guardian, within 30 days  
            of a decision to expel, to file an appeal with the county  
            board of education.  Requires the county board of education to  
            hold a hearing and determine the outcome.  If the county board  
            of education upholds an expulsion, the county superintendent  
            of schools or his or her designee must provide the student, or  
            the parent or guardian, a written notice of the decision to  
            expel along with an education plan or notice of the education  
            alternative placement.


          FISCAL EFFECT:


          1)Unknown costs to the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH)  
            to conduct expulsion hearings, to the extent a county board of  
            education chooses to contract with OAH. According to OAH,  
            estimated costs for a one-day hearing are approximately  
            $4,500.  








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            There is no statewide data on the number of hearings that were  
            conducted to determine whether a student attending a county  
            school should be suspended or expelled. Although only six  
            students were expelled from county schools last year, over  
            7,000 students were suspended from these schools. It is  
            possible that some of the suspension cases began as expulsion  
            cases. For illustration, if OAH was required to conduct 50  
            hearings, OAH would incur costs in the range of $225,000  
            (special funds). 


          2)Unknown Proposition 98/GF state mandated costs, likely in the  
            tens of thousands, for county boards of education to amend  
            their education plan to include a plan for students expelled  
            from a county school and to process expulsion appeals. Actual  
            costs will depend upon the number of appeals. 



          COMMENTS:


          1)Purpose. Existing law does not provide a process for expulsion  
            of students enrolled in COEs.  According to the author,  
            although there is a detailed process for handling student  
            expulsion at the school district level, current law is silent  
            on how expulsions should be handled by COE operated schools.   
            This lack of clarity does not ensure that students have access  
            to due process when going through expulsion proceedings.   
            There is no requirement in current law for a COE to hold an  
            expulsion hearing or to have an appeals hearing following an  
            expulsion.  Furthermore, if there is an appeal, the situation  
            could arise where the COE board hears and decides both the  
            expulsion and the appeal. This bill establishes a process that  
            is similar to the expulsion process required of school  
            districts.  








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          2)Background on COEs and expulsion. COEs operate county  
            community schools for students who have been expelled from a  
            school district. COEs also run juvenile court schools for  
            students who are in juvenile detention facilities and provide  
            career technical education, special education and related  
            services.  Although rare, some COEs run comprehensive schools.  
            Los Angeles County Office of Education and the Santa Clara  
            County Office, for example, operate comprehensive high  
            schools.  Typically, students expelled from district schools  
            enroll in county operated programs. Generally, COEs do not  
            expel students. If a student is expelled from a county school,  
            they are likely to be enrolled in other COE-operated programs,  
            such as county community schools.



          3)Impact on OAH. School district governing boards currently have  
            the option to conduct a hearing for expulsion or to contract  
            with OAH or an impartial administrative panel to conduct the  
            hearing. Most governing boards conduct their own hearings.   
            OAH indicates they have never been contacted by a school board  
            to conduct an expulsion hearing.  
            This bill will require the county board to contract with OAH,  
            or develop an impartial administrative panel, to conduct the  
            expulsion hearing since the county board is also the body that  
            processes appeals.  Therefore, OAH will likely receive  
            requests to conduct hearings as a result of this bill. 


          Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081













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