BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1343
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Date of Hearing: June 22, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Patrick O'Donnell, Chair
SB
1343 (Wolk) - As Amended May 4, 2016
SENATE VOTE: 35-0
SUBJECT: Pupils: intradistrict transfer of pupil convicted of
violent felony or misdemeanor
SUMMARY: Authorizes a school district to transfer a pupil
convicted of a violent felony or a specified misdemeanor to
another school in the school district if the pupil and the
victim of the crime are enrolled at the same school.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the governing board of a school district to do the
following prior to transferring a pupil:
a) Adopt a policy at a regularly scheduled meeting that
contains all of the following provisions:
i) A requirement that the pupil and pupil's parent or
guardian be notified of the right to request a meeting
with the school principal or designee of the school or
school district.
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ii) A requirement that the school first attempt to
resolve the conflict before transferring a pupil,
including, but not limited to, using restorative justice,
counseling, or other services.
iii) Whether the decision to transfer a pupil is subject
to periodic review and the procedure for conducting the
review.
iv) The process to be used by the governing board of the
school district to consider and approve or disapprove of
the recommendation of the school principal or other
school or school district designee to transfer the pupil.
b) Provide notice of the policy to parents or guardians as
part of the annual parent notification.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires that each person between the ages of 6 and 18 years,
not otherwise exempted, be subject to compulsory full-time
education and attend the public full-time day school or
continuation school or classes in which their parent or
guardian resides, and that each parent, guardian or other
person having control or charge of the pupil ensure that
pupil's enrollment and attendance. (EC Section 48200)
2)Authorizes or requires a principal or a superintendent of
schools to suspend or expel a student committing any of a
number of specified acts. (EC Sections 48900, 48900.2,
48900.3, 48900.4, 48900.7, 48915)
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3)Specifies the process for expulsion, the requirement for the
governing board to recommend a plan of rehabilitation for the
pupil at the time of the expulsion order, the process for
readmission, the requirement for the governing board to
establish rules and regulations for expulsions, the right of a
pupil to have a hearing, the timeline for the hearing, and the
process for appealing an expulsion. (EC Sections 48916,
48916.1, 48918, 48918.5, 48919, 48919.5, 48920, 48921, 48922,
48923, and 48924)
4)Prohibits a pupil 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, but not
limited to: 1) arrest; 2) adjudication by a juvenile court; 3)
formal or informal supervision by a probation officer; and 4)
detention for any length of time in a juvenile facility or
enrollment in a juvenile court school. (EC Section 48645.5)
5)Requires the governing board of each high school or unified
school district which assigns pupils to continuation schools
to adopt rules and regulations governing procedures for the
involuntary transfer of pupils to continuation schools.
Specifies that a decision to transfer a pupil involuntarily
shall be based on a finding that the pupil committed one of
the acts that may result in suspension or expulsion or if the
pupil has been habitually truant. (EC Section 48432.5)
6)Specifies that a pupil who commits one of the acts that may
result in suspension or expulsion may be involuntarily
transferred to a continuation school if the principal
determines that the pupil's presence causes a danger to
persons or property or threatens to disrupt the instructional
process. (EC Section 48432.5)
7)Specifies that a pupil who has been determined by personnel of
either the district of residence or the district of proposed
enrollment to have been the victim of an act of bullying
committed by a pupil of the district of residence shall, at
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the request of the person having legal custody of the pupil,
be given priority for interdistrict attendance under any
existing interdistrict attendance agreement or, in the absence
of an agreement, be given additional consideration for the
creation of an interdistrict attendance agreement. (EC
Section 46600)
8)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 Section 667.5)
9)Sets forth misdemeanor penalties for offenses related to
possession of a firearm. (Penal Code Section 29805)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS: Purpose of the bill. The author states, "Recently a
student was convicted of an off-campus violent felony against
another student and the local school board was advised not to
transfer the perpetrator to a different high school because the
incident occurred off-campus and the district had only one
comprehensive high school. The victim obtained a temporary
restraining order but schools aren't enforcement agencies. As a
result, the victim had to change his classes to avoid direct
daily contact with his attacker. Because they were students at
the same school the perpetrator wasn't restricted in his access
to the victim or to school activities thus violating the
victim's constitutional right to attend a safe school."
This bill authorizes a school district to transfer a pupil who
has been convicted of a specified violent felony, including
murder, rape, great bodily injury, threats to a victim or
witness, robbery, and burglary, or a misdemeanor associated with
possession of a fire arm, if the pupil and the victim are
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enrolled in the same school. The bill requires the governing
board of a school district that chooses to exercise this
authority to first adopt a policy with specified requirements,
including the process that will be used to determine whether to
approve or disapprove a transfer and the requirement to first
attempt to resolve the conflict, such as through counseling or
restorative justice. The bill also requires the school district
to include notification of the policy in the annual parent
notification.
Transfers to alternative programs. Existing law allows a school
district to transfer a pupil involuntarily to a continuation
high school if a pupil has committed an act that may lead to a
suspension or expulsion and the principal determines that the
pupil's presence causes a danger to persons or property or
threatens to disrupt the instructional process.
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.
Existing law prohibits a school district from preventing
enrollment or readmission to a public school solely because the
pupil was involved in the juvenile justice system. Is the
involuntary transfer of a pupil who was convicted of a crime
inconsistent with this law? The Senate Floor analysis cites the
following related case law:
1)In Danielle S. v. Ezra C. (Westlaw 2840340, 2005), the Court
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ruled that "Appellant's right to attend school is neither
absolute nor unilateral. He is not constitutionally entitled
to attend a specific school, particularly where his presence
on school grounds may interfere with the peaceful conduct of
the activities of the school or disrupt the school, its
students, its teachers or its other employees. ? Schools
have the obligation to protect pupils from violence and
mistreatment by other children. Only a total deprivation of a
state-given right to education would violate the United States
Constitution."
2)In Nathan G. v. Clovis Unified School District (224
Cal.App.4th 1393 (2014), the Court held that "a school or
district is not required to exhaust all other means prior to
involuntary transfer to a continuation school, and involuntary
transfer to a continuation school did not substantially affect
the student's fundamental interest in access to public
education."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
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Analysis Prepared by:Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916)
319-2087