BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE RULES COMMITTEE SB 187
Office of Senate Floor Analyses
1020 N Street, Suite 524
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
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Bill No: SB 187
Author: Hughes (D)
Amended: 9/3/97
Vote: 21
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SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 8-1, 4/23/97
AYES: Greene, Alpert, Dills, Hayden, Hughes, McPherson,
Vasconcellos, Watson
NOES: Monteith
NOT VOTING: Haynes, Knight, O'Connell, Sher
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 10-0, 5/19/97
AYES: Johnston, Alpert, Burton, Calderon, Karnette,
Kelley, Lee, Leslie, McPherson, Mountjoy
NOT VOTING: Dills, Johnson, Vasconcellos
SENATE FLOOR : 24-6, 5/28/97
AYES: Alpert, Ayala, Burton, Calderon, Costa, Haynes,
Hughes, Johannessen, Johnston, Karnette, Kelley, Lee,
Leslie, Lockyer, McPherson, O'Connell, Polanco,
Rosenthal, Schiff, Sher, Solis, Thompson, Watson, Wright
NOES: Brulte, Hurtt, Knight, Lewis, Monteith, Mountjoy
NOT VOTING: Craven, Dills, Greene, Hayden, Johnson, Kopp,
Maddy, Peace, Rainey, Vasconcellos
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 51-24, 9/5/97 - See last page for vote
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SUBJECT : Comprehensive school safety plans
SOURCE : United Teachers of Los Angeles
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DIGEST : This bill requires school districts and county
offices of education (COE's) to develop comprehensive
school safety plans, as specified.
Assembly Amendments :
1.Provide that the bill will not limit or remove the
authority of school boards.
2.Delete the requirement that the plan be subject to
approval by a majority vote of employees.
3.Provide that an updated file of safety-related plans and
materials be readily available for inspection by the
public.
4.Provide for a public hearing.
5.Add co-authors.
ANALYSIS : Current law expresses the Legislature's intent
that all public schools develop comprehensive school safety
plans that address the safety concerns identified by the
site through a systematic planning process. Current law
identifies a number of items these plans may contain
including: (1) a current assessment of school crime, (2)
strategies and programs that will provide a high level of
school safety, and (3) specified actions to be taken in
conjunction with local law enforcement as specified.
Current law also expresses the Legislature's intent that,
in developing these plans, school sites use existing
resources including the materials, services and matching
grant funds of the School Safety Partnership, which is
elsewhere provided for in statute. Existing school site
councils are expressly authorized to be responsible for
developing these plans.
This bill:
1. Revises, and makes mandatory, provisions of existing law
relating to comprehensive safety plans for school sites.
2. Requires each school site, by September 1, 1998, to
develop a school safety plan, as specified, to be
evaluated annually and amended, if needed. The bill
provides that these plans be written and established by
the School Site Council and shall include, but not be
limited to, a number of specified components; current
law only authorizes that safety plans include these
components. The bill requires school sites to submit
their completed plans to their districts or COE, and for
the districts or COE's to notify the State Department of
Education by October 15, 1998 of any school sites which
have not so complied.
3. Requires the schoolsite council to consult with local
law enforcement in developing the plan.
4. Allows schools to submit existing safety plans to comply
with this requirement, so long as the plans are in
existence by December 31, 1997 and contain the required
information.
5. Requires schools to hold a public meeting to solicit
public opinion on their school safety plans before
approving them.
6. Establishes that nothing in the bill shall restrict the
authority of school boards as established by the
Education Code.
7. Authorizes the School Site Council to delegate its
responsibility to develop a site safety plan to a school
safety planning committee. The school safety committee
would, at a minimum have to include the following
members: the principal (or designee), a teacher who is
a representative of the recognized certificated employee
organization, a classified employee who is a
representative of the recognized classified employee
organization, a parent who's child attends the school,
and others as desired. If there is no school site
council, then the school safety planning committee,
composed of the specified members, would be required to
develop the school safety plan required by this bill.
8. Provides for a fine of up to $500 for the willful
failure to establish a school safety plan as required by
this bill.
9. Specifies that with regard to small school districts,
they have the option of developing districtwide
comprehensive school safety plans applicable to each
schoolsite.
10.Provides a sunset of January 1, 2000; however, the
comprehensive safety plan would continue to be evaluated
and amended by the schoolsite council. Schools must
maintain an updated file of safety-related plans and
materials for public viewing.
Comments
Law enforcement and educators have joined forces to require
school safety plans at each site.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No. Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
The actual costs of this bill are unknown and depend upon
the number of schools which have not prepared plans under
the permissive provisions of current law and the extent to
which existing resources can be used.
It is the intent of the bill to use existing resources in
the School Safety Partnership Program. They are allocated
$500,000 a year.
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/9/97)
United Teachers of Los Angeles (source)
Attorney General's Office
California Peace Officers Association
California Police Chiefs Association
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees
Berkeley Federation of Teachers
California Association of Supervisors of Child Welfare and
Attendance
California Federation of Teachers
Governmental Relations Oversight Comm.
CSEA
PTA
Los Angeles Unified School District Police Officers
Association
Montebello Teachers Association
Poway Federation of Teachers
San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office
San Jose Teachers Association
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Aguiar, Alquist, Aroner, Baca, Bowen, Bowler, Brown,
Campbell, Cardenas, Cardoza, Cunneen, Davis, Ducheny,
Escutia, Figueroa, Gallegos, Granlund, Havice, Hertzberg,
Honda, Keeley, Knox, Kuehl, Leach, Lempert, Machado,
Martinez, Mazzoni, Migden, Morrissey, Murray, Napolitano,
Ortiz, Pacheco, Papan, Perata, Prenter, Scott, Shelley,
Strom-Martin, Sweeney, Takasugi, Thomson, Torlakson,
Villaraigosa, Vincent, Washington, Wayne, Wildman,
Wright, Bustamante
NOES: Ackerman, Alby, Ashburn, Baldwin, Baugh, Bordonaro,
Brewer, Firestone, Frusetta, Goldsmith, House, Kaloogian,
Kuykendall, Leonard, Margett, McClintock, Miller, Morrow,
Olberg, Oller, Poochigian, Pringle, Runner, Woods
NOT VOTING: Battin, Floyd, Richter, Thompson
NC:ctl 9/9/97 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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