BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Gloria Romero, Chair
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 346
AUTHOR: Conway
AMENDED: June 3, 2010
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: June 16, 2010
URGENCY: Yes CONSULTANT:Beth Graybill
NOTE: This bill has been amended to replace its contents and
this is the first time the bill is being heard in its current
form.
SUBJECT : Schools employees and volunteers: Activity
Supervisor Clearance
Certificate.
SUMMARY
This bill, an urgency measure, delays until July 1, 2011, the
requirement that a noncertificated individual who is paid or
volunteers to supervise, direct, or coach an extracurricular
pupil activity program undergo a background check and obtain
an Activity Supervisor Clearance Certificate from the
Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
BACKGROUND
Existing law requires, beginning July 1, 2010, all
noncertificated paid and volunteer school personnel who
supervise, direct, or coach a pupil activity program
sponsored by, or affiliated with, a school district, to
obtain from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing an
Activity Supervisor Clearance Certificate.
(Education Code 49024)
Prior to issuing an Activity Supervisor Clearance
Certificate, existing law requires the CTC to submit to the
Department of Justice, fingerprint images and related
information for the purpose of obtaining criminal background
information and verifying that a candidate meets professional
fitness requirements.
(EC 44346.5)
Existing law prohibits public and private schools from
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employing individuals in non-credentialed positions without
first conducting a criminal background check of the
individual. Existing law also provides that employees of
entities providing certain contracted services to school
districts who may come into contact with pupils must be
fingerprinted and prohibits employees of those entities from
coming into contact with pupils if they have been convicted
of a serious or violent felony. (EC 45125 and 45125.1)
ANALYSIS
This bill , an urgency measure:
1) Delays the certificate requirement for individuals who
supervise, direct, or coach a pupil activity to July 1,
2011.
2) Authorizes the CTC to issue an Activity Supervisor
Clearance Certificate before July 1, 2011.
3) Declares the act to be an urgency statute and specifies
it is necessary for the act to take effect immediately
in order to delay the requirement that would otherwise
become effective on July 1, 2010.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill : Existing law permits school
districts to employ on a part-time basis, individuals to
supervise, direct, or coach a pupil activity program
such as yearbook, band, chorus, and cheerleading. Under
current law, "walk on" coaches employed by a school
district must be fingerprinted and undergo a criminal
background check. However, walk on coaches who
volunteer or who are employed by school-affiliated
groups (such as a booster club) may not always be
fingerprinted. AB 1025 (Conway, Chapter 379, Statutes
of 2009) closed this loophole by requiring all
individuals who supervise, direct, or coach a pupil
activity program sponsored by or affiliated with a
school district to obtain a certificate from the CTC
that verifies they have passed a criminal background
check. The intent of this law was to enhance the safety
of students participating in programs such as "mock
trial" or photography club where the activity may be
lead by an adult who does not possess a teaching
credential. The purpose of the certificate was to
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provide a process by which the CTC could notify
districts about any arrests or convictions subsequent to
the issuance of the certificate and to provide a means
for individuals who may coach activities in more than
one district to avoid having to be fingerprinted at each
district. The provisions of AB 1025 become effective
July 1, 2010.
Subsequent to enactment, representatives from the Association
of California School Administrators and the California
School Employees Association raised questions and
expressed concern about the impact and costs of the
requirements. According to the author's office,
postponing the AB 1025 requirement to July 1, 2011
should allow stakeholders and the author to develop a
proposal that will ensure pupil safety without creating
an unduly burdensome administrative process.
2) Related and prior legislation .
AB 2034 (Knight), scheduled to be heard by this Committee on
June 16, 2010, prohibits school districts, county
offices of education, or charter schools that elect to
fingerprint volunteers from allowing individuals who
have been convicted of specific violent, sex, or drug
offenses to provide volunteer services in the district.
AB 2685 (De La Torre), scheduled to be heard by this
Committee on June 23, enables the Commission on Teacher
Credentialing to make available its All Points Bulletin
(a list of credential holders who have had final adverse
action taken against their credential) to private
schools in an electronic format instead of sending the
list through the U.S. Mail.
AB 1025 (Conway, Chapter 379, Statutes of 2009), was heard
and passed with amendments by this Committee on an 8-0
vote, requires non-credentialed individuals who
volunteer or are paid to supervise, direct, or coach a
pupil activity program to be fingerprinted and undergo a
criminal background check.
SUPPORT
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Association of California School Administrators
California School Boards Association
Kern County Superintendent of Schools
OPPOSITION
None received.