BILL NUMBER: AB 42 CHAPTERED 08/23/00 CHAPTER 222 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE AUGUST 23, 2000 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR AUGUST 22, 2000 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 7, 2000 PASSED THE SENATE JULY 6, 2000 AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 22, 2000 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 12, 2000 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 3, 2000 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Zettel (Coauthors: Assembly Members Robert Pacheco and Runner) DECEMBER 7, 1998 An act to amend Sections 48321, 48325, and 49076 of the Education Code, relating to pupil truancy. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 42, Zettel. Pupil truancy. (1) Existing law establishes the School/Law Enforcement Partnership, composed of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Attorney General. Existing law requires the partnership to establish a statewide interagency school safety cadre for the purpose of facilitating interagency coordination among school districts, county offices of education, and law enforcement agencies to develop programs to, among other things, reduce truancy rates. Existing law also provides that a school district may not permit access to pupil records to any person without written parental consent or under judicial order with specified exceptions. This bill would provide for an additional exception for a judge or probation officer for the purposes of conducting a truancy mediation program for a pupil or presenting evidence in a truancy petition, and would require a school district, in releasing information pursuant to this exception to inform, or provide written notice to, the parent or guardian of the pupil. (2) Existing law authorizes the establishment of a county, local, and state school attendance review board and sets forth membership for the boards. This bill would require an invitation to be extended to a representative from the health care profession to be a member of the state board and would provide for a representative of school or county health care personnel to be a member of the county and local boards. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 48321 of the Education Code is amended to read: 48321. (a) (1) A county school attendance review board may be established in each county. (2) The county school attendance review board, if established, shall include, but need not be limited to, all of the following: (A) A parent. (B) A representative of school districts. (C) A representative of the county probation department. (D) A representative of the county welfare department. (E) A representative of the county superintendent of schools. (F) A representative of law enforcement agencies. (G) A representative of community-based youth service centers. (H) A representative of school guidance personnel. (I) A representative of child welfare and attendance personnel. (J) A representative of school or county health care personnel. (3) The school district representatives on the county school attendance review board shall be nominated by the governing boards of school districts and shall be appointed by the county superintendent of schools. All other persons and group representatives shall be appointed by the county board of education. (4) If a county school attendance review board exists, the county superintendent of schools shall, at the beginning of each school year, convene a meeting of the county school attendance review board for the purpose of adopting plans to promote interagency and community cooperation and to reduce the duplication of services provided to youth who have serious school attendance and behavior problems. (b) (1) Local school attendance review boards may include, but need not be limited to, all of the following: (A) A parent. (B) A representative of school districts. (C) A representative of the county probation department. (D) A representative of the county welfare department. (E) A representative of the county superintendent of schools. (F) A representative of law enforcement agencies. (G) A representative of community-based youth service centers. (H) A representative of school guidance personnel. (I) A representative of child welfare and attendance personnel. (J) A representative of school or county health care personnel. (2) Other persons or group representatives shall be appointed by the county board of education. (c) The county school attendance review board may elect pursuant to regulations adopted pursuant to Section 48324, one member as chairperson with responsibility for coordinating services of the county school attendance review board. (d) The county school attendance review board may provide for the establishment of local school attendance review boards in any number as shall be necessary to carry out the intent of this article. (e) In any county in which there is no county school attendance review board, a school district governing board may elect to establish a local school attendance review board, which shall operate in the same manner and have the same authority as a county school attendance review board. (f) The county school attendance review board may provide consultant services to, and coordinate activities of, local school attendance review boards in meeting the special needs of pupils with school attendance or school behavior problems. (g) When the county school attendance review board determines that the needs of pupils as defined in this article can best be served by a single board, the county school attendance review board may then serve as the school attendance review board for all pupils in the county, or, upon the request of any school district in the county, the county school attendance review board may serve as the school attendance review board for pupils of that district. (h) Nothing in this article is intended to prohibit any agreement on the part of counties to provide these services on a regional basis. SEC. 2. Section 48325 of the Education Code is amended to read: 48325. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that statewide policy coordination and personnel training with respect to county attendance review boards will greatly facilitate the achievement of the goals expressed in Section 48320. It is therefore the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section to do the following: (1) Encourage the cooperation, coordination, and development of strategies to support county school attendance review boards in carrying out their responsibilities to establish local school attendance review boards as necessary. These strategies may include, but need not be limited to, plans for the training of school attendance review board personnel. (2) Divert pupils with serious attendance and behavioral problems from the juvenile justice system to agencies more directly related to the state public school system by developing a system for gathering and dispensing information on successful community-based and school-based programs. (3) Reduce duplication of the services of state and county agencies in serving high-risk youth, including youth with school attendance or behavioral problems. (4) Reduce the number of dropouts in the state public education system by promoting interagency cooperation among those agencies which have as their goals preventing students from dropping out, and increasing the holding power of the public schools. (b) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall coordinate and administer a state school attendance review board, as follows: (1) On or before January 31 of each year, the superintendent shall extend invitations of participation to representatives of appropriate groups throughout the state, including, but not limited to, representatives of school districts, parent groups, county probation departments, county welfare departments, county superintendents of schools, law enforcement agencies, community-based youth service centers, school guidance personnel, child welfare and attendance personnel, the health care profession and state associations having an interest in youth with school attendance or behavioral problems. The superintendent shall also request the participation of representatives from interested state agencies or departments, including, but not limited to, the Department of the California Youth Authority, the Department of Justice, the State Department of Social Services, and the Office of Criminal Justice Planning. To the extent feasible, members of the board shall include persons who are currently members of county or local school attendance review boards. For every year after the first year that the board is convened, the purpose of the invitations of participation shall be to inform appropriate groups, state agencies, and departments of the purposes of the board, to fill vacancies, and to supplement the membership of the board as necessary. (2) The superintendent shall prescribe an appropriate deadline for acceptance of invitations of participation as a member of the state school attendance review board for that particular year, and the invitations accepted on or before the deadline shall constitute the board for that year, except that the board shall also include a representative of the State Department of Education designated by the director of that department. The representative of the State Department of Education shall be the chairperson of the board. (3) The superintendent shall convene the board at least four times during the year. At its first meeting, the board shall elect any officers, other than its chairperson, as it deems necessary. Members of the board shall serve without compensation and without reimbursement of travel and living expenses. (4) The State Department of Education shall provide assistance as requested by the Superintendent of Public Instruction in order to implement the provisions of this section. (c) The state school attendance review board shall make recommendations annually to the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and to state agencies as deemed appropriate, regarding the needs and services provided to high-risk youth, including youth with school attendance or behavioral problems, in the state public schools, and shall propose uniform guidelines or other means to attain the goals stated in subdivision (a). SEC. 3. Section 49076 of the Education Code is amended to read: 49076. A school district is not authorized to permit access to pupil records to any person without written parental consent or under judicial order except that: (a) Access to those particular records relevant to the legitimate educational interests of the requester shall be permitted to the following: (1) School officials and employees of the district, members of a school attendance review board appointed pursuant to Section 48321, and any volunteer aide, 18 years of age or older, who has been investigated, selected, and trained by a school attendance review board for the purpose of providing followup services to students referred to the school attendance review board, provided that the person has a legitimate educational interest to inspect a record. (2) Officials and employees of other public schools or school systems, including local, county, or state correctional facilities where educational programs leading to high school graduation are provided, where the pupil intends to or is directed to enroll, subject to the rights of parents as provided in Section 49068. (3) Authorized representatives of the Comptroller General of the United States, the Secretary of Education, and administrative head of an education agency, state education officials, or their respective designees, or the United States Office of Civil Rights, where the information is necessary to audit or evaluate a state or federally supported education program or pursuant to a federal or state law, provided that except when collection of personally identifiable information is specifically authorized by federal law, any data collected by those officials shall be protected in a manner which will not permit the personal identification of students or their parents by other than those officials, and any personally identifiable data shall be destroyed when no longer needed for the audit, evaluation, and enforcement of federal legal requirements. (4) Other state and local officials to the extent that information is specifically required to be reported pursuant to state law adopted prior to November 19, 1974. (5) Parents of a pupil 18 years of age or older who is a dependent as defined in Section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. (6) A pupil 16 years of age or older or having completed the 10th grade who requests access. (7) Any district attorney who is participating in or conducting a truancy mediation program pursuant to Section 48263.5, or Section 601.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or participating in the presentation of evidence in a truancy petition pursuant to Section 681 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. (8) A prosecuting agency for consideration against a parent or guardian for failure to comply with the Compulsory Education Law (Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 48200) of Part 27 of Division 4 of Title 2) or with Compulsory Continuation Education (Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 48400) of Part 27 of Division 4 of Title 2). (9) Any probation officer or district attorney for the purposes of conducting a criminal investigation or an investigation in regards to declaring a person a ward of the court or involving a violation of a condition of probation. (10) Any judge or probation officer for the purpose of conducting a truancy mediation program for a pupil, or for purposes of presenting evidence in a truancy petition pursuant to Section 681 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. The judge or probation officer shall certify in writing to the school district that the information will be used only for truancy purposes. A school district releasing pupil information to a judge or probation officer pursuant to this paragraph shall inform, or provide written notification to, the parent or guardian of the pupil within 24 hours of the release of the information. (b) School districts may release information from pupil records to the following: (1) Appropriate persons in connection with an emergency if the knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of a student or other persons. (2) Agencies or organizations in connection with a student's application for, or receipt of, financial aid. However, information permitting the personal identification of students or their parents may be disclosed only as may be necessary for purposes as to determine the eligibility of the pupil for financial aid, to determine the amount of the financial aid, to determine the conditions which will be imposed regarding the financial aid, or to enforce the terms or conditions of the financial aid. (3) The county elections official, for the purpose of identifying students eligible to register to vote, and for conducting programs to offer students an opportunity to register to vote. The information, however, shall not be used for any other purpose or given or transferred to any other person or agency. (4) Accrediting associations in order to carry out their accrediting functions. (5) Organizations conducting studies for, or on behalf of, educational agencies or institutions for the purpose of developing, validating, or administering predictive tests, administering student aid programs, and improving instruction, if the studies are conducted in a manner that will not permit the personal identification of students or their parents by persons other than representatives of the organizations and the information will be destroyed when no longer needed for the purpose for which it is obtained. (6) Officials and employees of private schools or school systems where the pupil is enrolled or intends to enroll, subject to the rights of parents as provided in Section 49068. This information shall be in addition to the pupil's permanent record transferred pursuant to Section 49068. No person, persons, agency, or organization permitted access to pupil records pursuant to this section shall permit access to any information obtained from those records by any other person, persons, agency, or organization without the written consent of the pupil's parent. However, this paragraph shall not be construed as requiring prior parental consent when information obtained pursuant to this section is shared with other persons within the educational institution, agency, or organization obtaining access, so long as those persons have a legitimate interest in the information. (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any school district, including any county office of education or superintendent of schools, may participate in an interagency data information system that permits access to a computerized data base system within and between governmental agencies or districts as to information or records which are nonprivileged, and where release is authorized as to the requesting agency under state or federal law or regulation, as long as each of the following requirements are met: (1) Each agency and school district shall develop security procedures or devices by which unauthorized personnel cannot access data contained in the system. (2) Each agency and school district shall develop procedures or devices to secure privileged or confidential data from unauthorized disclosure. (3) Each school district shall comply with the access log requirements of Section 49064. (4) The right of access granted shall not include the right to add, delete, or alter data without the written permission of the agency holding the data. (5) No agency or school district may make public or otherwise release information on an individual contained in the data base where the information is protected from disclosure or release as to the requesting agency by state or federal law or regulation.