BILL ANALYSIS
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 963|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 445-6614 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 963
Author: Vincent (D)
Amended: 9/6/01
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 8-0, 4/4/01
AYES: Vasconcellos, Alarcon, Alpert, Chesbro, Karnette,
Ortiz, Scott, Vincent
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 24-8, 5/10/01
AYES: Alarcon, Bowen, Burton, Chesbro, Dunn, Escutia,
Figueroa, Karnette, Kuehl, McPherson, Morrow, Murray,
O'Connell, Ortiz, Peace, Perata, Polanco, Poochigian,
Romero, Scott, Soto, Torlakson, Vasconcellos, Vincent
NOES: Ackerman, Brulte, Haynes, Knight, Margett,
McClintock, Monteith, Oller
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-2, 9/10/01 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Pupil records
SOURCE : Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
DIGEST : This bill provides that probation officers and
social workers may receive access to pupil records for the
purposes of casework planning and monitoring wards and
probationers.
Assembly Amendments (1) add provision to include a public
CONTINUED
SB 963
Page
2
defender or other defense attorney representing a pupil
access to records, and (2) require the district to
determine the most cost effective manner to send
information.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law prohibits a school district from permitting
access to student records to any person without written
parental consent or under judicial order, with the
following exceptions:
1.School officials and employees of the district, members
of a School Attendance Review Board, provided the person
has a legitimate educational interest to inspect record.
2.Officials and employees of other public schools or
school systems where the student intends to or is
directed to enroll, subject to specified parental rights
to receive a copy of the record and a right to a hearing
to challenge the content of the record.
3.Authorized representatives of the Comptroller General of
the United States, the Secretary of Health, Education
and Welfare, and administrative head of an education
agency, state education officials, or the United States
Office of Civil Rights, where the information is
necessary to audit or evaluate a state or federally
supported education program.
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 student, 18 years or older, who is a
dependent, as defined by the Internal Revenue Code.
6.A student, 16 years 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 or participating
in the presentation of evidence in a truancy petition.
SB 963
Page
3
8.A prosecuting agency for consideration against a parent
or guardian for failure to comply with the Compulsory
Education Law or with Compulsory Continuation Education.
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 (added by AB 42 [Zettel], Chapter 222, Statutes
of 2000).
This bill provides that, until January 1, 2005, probation
officers may receive access to pupil records for the
purposes of casework planning and monitoring wards and
probationers and social workers may receive access with
respect to a dependent child.. In addition, the bill
provides:
1.The probation officer and the social worker shall certify
in writing to the school district that the information
will be used only for the stated purposes.
2.The school district shall determine the most cost
effective manner in which to send the information, or
upon agreement with the probation worker or social
worker, make the information available at the school site
to the probation officer or social worker within five
working days.
3.The notification requirements in current law for school
districts shall include information to parents that these
probation officers and social workers have access to
relevant pupil records.
Comments
Need for the bill . The sponsors of this bill, the Los
Angeles County Board of Supervisors, believe that probation
SB 963
Page
4
officers should have access to pupil records because they
cannot develop the best casework plans or accurately
monitor the academic progress of wards or probationers.
Pupil information would "let a probation officer know
whether a casework plan should focus resources on academic
needs or if focus should be on areas outside of the
school."
In addition, the sponsors believe that monitoring of pupil
information will allow probation officers to modify a plan
on a timely basis, if a ward or probationer starts to
decline academically.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, annual
General Fund (Proposition 98) costs, probably in excess of
$200,000, to school districts to accommodate appropriate
school site 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 school site visits at
a cost of approximately $1 per pupil record.
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/10/01)
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (source)
California Probation, Parole, and Correctional Association
County Welfare Directors Association of California
County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors
Los Angeles County Office of Education
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Aanestad, Alquist, Aroner, Ashburn, Bates, Bogh,
Briggs, Calderon, Bill Campbell, John Campbell,
Canciamilla, Cardenas, Cardoza, Cedillo, Chan, Chavez,
Chu, Cogdill, Cohn, Corbett, Correa, Cox, Daucher, Diaz,
Dickerson, Dutra, Firebaugh, Florez, Frommer, Goldberg,
Harman, Havice, Horton, Jackson, Keeley, Kehoe, Kelley,
Koretz, La Suer, Leach, Leonard, Leslie, Liu, Longville,
Lowenthal, Maddox, Maldonado, Matthews, Migden, Nakano,
Nation, Negrete McLeod, Oropeza, Robert Pacheco, Rod
Pacheco, Papan, Pavley, Pescetti, Reyes, Richman, Runner,
SB 963
Page
5
Salinas, Shelley, Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland,
Strom-Martin, Thomson, Vargas, Washington, Wayne, Wesson,
Wiggins, Wright, Wyland, Wyman, Zettel, Hertzberg
NOES: Hollingsworth, Mountjoy
NC:cm 9/12/01 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****