BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 1343
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Author: |Wolk |
|-----------+-----------------------------------------------------|
|Version: |April 12, 2016 Hearing |
| |Date: April 20, 2016 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |No |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Consultant:|Lynn Lorber |
| | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Pupils: transfer of pupil convicted of violent felony
or misdemeanor
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes the governing board of a school district to
transfer to another school in that district a student who has
been convicted of a violent felony or specified misdemeanor if
the student to be transferred and the victim of the crime for
which the student was convicted attend the same school.
BACKGROUND
Existing law:
1) Prohibits a student from being denied enrollment or
readmission to a public school solely on the basis that he
or she has had contact with the juvenile justice system,
including arrest, adjudication by a juvenile court, formal
or informal supervision by a probation officer, or
detention in a juvenile facility or enrollment in a
juvenile court school. (Education Code § 48645.5)
2) Authorizes the involuntary transfer of a student to a
continuation school and requires the governing board of a
school district that assigns students to continuation
schools to adopt rules and regulations governing procedures
for the involuntary transfer of students. (EC § 48432.5)
SB 1343 (Wolk) Page 2
of ?
3) Prohibits the assignment of a student to a community day
school (operated by a school district) only if the student
meets one or more of the following conditions:
a) The student is expelled for any reason.
b) The student is referred by a probation
department.
c) The student is referred by a school attendance
review board or other district level referral process.
(EC § 48662)
4) Prohibits a student from being suspended or recommended for
expulsion unless the principal of the school determines
that the pupil has committed certain acts, and gives
schools the discretion to take action for most offenses.
Existing law authorizes a student to be suspended or
expelled for certain acts that are related to a school
activity or school attendance that occur at any time. (EC
§ 48900)
5) Defines "violent felony" to include 23 acts, such as
murder, rape, great bodily injury, threats to a victim or
witness, robbery, and burglary. (Penal Code § 667.5)
6) Sets forth misdemeanor penalties for offenses related to
possession of a firearm. (PC § 29805)
ANALYSIS
This bill authorizes the governing board of a school district to
transfer to another school in that district a student who has
been convicted of a violent felony or specified misdemeanor if
the student to be transferred and the victim of the crime for
which the student was convicted are enrolled in the same school.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill. According to the author, "Recently, a
student was convicted of an off-campus violent felony
against another student and the local school board was
unable to transfer the perpetrator to a different high
SB 1343 (Wolk) Page 3
of ?
school simply because the incident occurred off-campus.
The victim obtained a temporary restraining order but by
law it wasn't in effect on campus. As a result, the victim
had to change his classes to avoid direct daily contact
with his attacker.
"Trustees of single high school districts are currently
prohibited from involuntarily transferring students to
another educational placement, even if the student has been
convicted of a violent felony against a fellow student. In
larger school districts (those with more than one
traditional high school), trustees may involuntarily
transfer a student under certain circumstances. This
measure ensures that the local autonomy statutorily granted
school boards, applies to all school boards regardless of
size."
2) Why transfer? According to the author, the rationale for
transferring a student who has been convicted of a violent
felony for an offense that was unrelated to school is
because the presence of the student who was convicted is
intimidating for the student who was the victim of the
offense, and schools fear they cannot ensure the safety of
students. Schools are well-equipped to take a number of
disciplinary actions against a student who commits any
number of acts that are related to a school activity or
school attendance that occur at any time, such as bullying,
threatening, or harassing the victim of an assault.
Existing law requires the decision to involuntary transfer a
student to a continuation school or community day school to
be based upon disciplinary factors. Students may be
transferred to a community day school only if the student
was expelled, or referred by probation, a school attendance
review board or other district level referral process. The
decision to involuntarily transfer a student to a community
day school must be based on a finding that the student
committed an act for which the student may be suspended or
expelled, or has been habitually truant or irregular in
attendance.
Existing law specifically prohibits a student from being denied
enrollment or readmission to a public school solely on the
basis that he or she has had contact with the juvenile
SB 1343 (Wolk) Page 4
of ?
justice system, including arrest, adjudication by a
juvenile court, formal or informal supervision by a
probation officer, or detention in a juvenile facility or
enrollment in a juvenile court school. This bill appears
to be in direct conflict with this provision.
Should a student be involuntarily transferred unless the student
has been found to have committed an act that is related to
school? Does this bill create a double-jeopardy situation
for a student who has already been adjudicated and has not
reoffended?
3) Temporary Restraining Order vs compulsory education.
According to the author, this bill addresses a specific
situation in which a student was convicted of an off-campus
violent felony against another student, and the victim
obtained a temporary restraining order. Counsel for the
school district advised that the school cannot enforce the
restraining order because the student who is the subject of
the restraining order has a right to an education. Should
this Committee pass legislation that could jeopardize a
student's right to an education?
4) School options. This bill authorizes a school district to
transfer a student to another school in that district. It
appears that many school districts with several schools
currently transfer students to another traditional school
within the district. According to the author, this bill
addresses a situation related to a school district with a
single high school. This bill would enable a school
district with one elementary, middle, or high school, or
one school all together, to transfer a student to an
alternative education setting, such as a continuation
school (for students age 16-18) or community day school
(for K-12 students).
Existing law requires each school district to operate
continuation classes for students' age 16-18 who have not
yet graduated from high school. Students may be
voluntarily or involuntarily transferred to a continuation
school. Existing law authorizes school districts to
operate a community day school for K-12 students who have
been expelled, or referred by a probation department,
school attendance review board, or other district level
SB 1343 (Wolk) Page 5
of ?
referral process. It appears that school districts that
operate a continuation school but not a community day
school, and have no other schools in which to transfer a
student, would have no options pursuant to this bill to
transfer a student who is younger than age 16.
Should students be involuntarily transferred out of a
traditional school and into an alternative school, arguably
a less rigorous and less comprehensive education
opportunity?
5) Transfers to alternative schools. Existing law prohibits a
student from being assigned to a community day school
unless the student has been expelled or referred by
probation, a school attendance review board, or other
district level referral process. Any route of referral to
a community day school requires a process to determine if
the student should be transferred. Existing law requires
school districts to adopt procedures for the involuntary
transfer of students to
continuation schools, including a determination based on
specific findings. This bill does not provide for a
hearing or process to determine the basis for the transfer.
Existing law requires school districts, relative to an
involuntary transfer to a continuation school, to provide
written notice to the student and parent, and authorizes
the parent to request a meeting. Existing law provides
that parents are to be included in the hearings or referral
processes (expulsion or attendance review board hearing),
relating to the involuntary transfer of a student to a
community day school. This bill does not require parental
notification or participation in the determination prior to
transferring a student to an alternative school.
Existing law requires the decision to involuntarily transfer a
student to a continuation school to indicate whether the
decision is subject to periodic review and the procedure
therefor. This bill does not provide for an opportunity
for a student who is involuntarily transferred to return to
the school of origin.
SB 1343 (Wolk) Page 6
of ?
6) Restorative justice and multi-tiered systems of support.
The Legislature has recently passed several measures
relating to out-of-school discipline and support for the
establishment of restorative justice practices, whereby
schools address the root causes of behavior rather than
imposing out-of-school suspension or expulsion.
AB 104 (Committee on Budget, Ch. 13, 2015) among other things,
appropriated $10 million to the Superintendent of Public
Instruction to be apportioned to a designated county office
of education to provide technical assistance and develop
statewide resources to assist local educational agencies to
establish and align systems of learning and behavioral
supports. The Governor's proposed budget includes an
additional $30 million for these purposes.
7) Matriculation. This bill applies to schools serving any
and all grade levels. This bill makes no provision for
students who are transferred while in elementary or middle
school to matriculate to the next school that the student
would have attended. If a student is transferred while in
middle school, for example, will that student be allowed to
attend the high school in which he or she would have
attended if not transferred?
8) Related legislation. AB 2489 (McCarty) requires the
California Department of Education (CDE) to develop a
standard model to implement restorative justice practices
on a school campus and make the standard model available on
the CDE's Internet Web site for use by any school district
that chooses to implement restorative justice practices as
part of its campus culture. AB 2489 is pending in the
Assembly Appropriations Committee.
9) Prior legislation. AB 1025 (Thurmond, 2015) required the
CDE to establish a three-year pilot program in school
districts to encourage inclusive practices that integrate
mental health, special education, and school climate
interventions following a multi-tiered framework. AB 1025
was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
SB 1396 (Hancock, 2014) would have provided funding to a
designated county office of education for the purposes of
SB 1343 (Wolk) Page 7
of ?
establishing a multi-tiered intervention and support
program that includes, but is not limited, the Schoolwide
Positive Behavior Intervention and Support program. SB
1396 was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
SUPPORT
None received.
OPPOSITION
American Civil Liberties Union
Legal Services for Children
Public Advocates
Public Counsel
Youth Law Center
-- END --