BILL ANALYSIS
SB 963
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 963 (Vincent)
As Amended September 6, 2001
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :24-8
EDUCATION 16-0 APPROPRIATIONS 20-0
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Strom-Martin, Leach, |Ayes:|Migden, Bates, Alquist, |
| |Alquist, Calderon, | |Aroner, Ashburn, |
| |Correa, Goldberg, Liu, | |Washington, Corbett, |
| |Maddox, Rod Pacheco, | |Correa, Daucher, |
| |Pavley, Reyes, Salinas, | |Goldberg, |
| |Vargas, Washington, | |Robert Pacheco, Papan, |
| |Wyland, Zettel | |Pavley, Runner, Simitian, |
| | | |Thomson, Wesson, Wiggins, |
| | | |Wright, Zettel |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY : Authorizes, until January 1, 2005, probation officers
and social workers access to pupil records for purposes of
casework planning and for monitoring progress of wards of the
court, foster children, or youth on probation. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Requires school districts to notify parents that probation
officers and social workers may access pupil records.
2)Requires the probation officers and social workers to certify
in writing to the school district that the information will be
used only for the stated purposes.
3)Requires school districts to make the information available at
the schoolsite within five working days.
4)Requires the school district to determine the most
cost-effective manner in which to send the information in
order to make it available at the schoolsite to the probation
officer or social worker within five working days.
EXISTING LAW prohibits a school district from permitting access
to student records to any person without written parental
consent or under judicial order with certain exceptions.
SB 963
Page 2
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, annual General Fund (Proposition 98) costs, probably
in excess of $200,000, to school districts to accommodate
appropriate schoolsite access to pupil records, as specified,
within five working days. This assumes 100,000 children in
foster care or on probation and at least two schoolsite visits
at a cost of approximately $1 per pupil record.
COMMENTS : According to the County of Los Angeles (co-sponsor of
the measure), without current pupil information, probation
officers and social workers cannot develop the best casework
plans or accurately monitor the academic progress of wards,
probationers or dependent minors. Pupil information allows a
probation officer or social worker to know whether a casework
plan should focus resources on academic needs or if focus should
be on areas outside of the school.
Analysis Prepared by : Aimee Scribner / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN:
0003164