BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Gloria Romero, Chair
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 1007
AUTHOR: Carter
AMENDED: April 15, 2009
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: July 15, 2009
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Lynn Lorber
SUBJECT : Pupil members of a school district governing board.
SUMMARY
This bill establishes a timeline by which a K-12 school
district governing board must include a pupil as a member of
the board, based on the current process of the submission of
a pupil petition requesting such an appointment.
BACKGROUND
Current law:
1) Authorizes the submission of a pupil petition to the
governing board of a school district (maintaining one or
more high schools) requesting that the board appoint one
or more non-voting pupils to the board, and requires
such petitions to contain the signatures of the lesser
of:
a) At least 500 pupils enrolled in the district's
high schools.
b) At least 10% of the district's high school
enrollment.
2) Requires the governing board to appoint at least one
non-voting pupil member upon receipt of a pupil petition
requesting such an appointment.
ANALYSIS
This bill establishes a timeline by which a K-12 school
district governing board must include a pupil as a member of
the board, based on the current process of the submission of
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a pupil petition requesting such an appointment.
Specifically, this bill:
1) Establishes a timeline of 30 days from the receipt of a
pupil petition within a school district governing board
must make its currently required appointment of one or
more non-voting pupils to the board.
2) Authorizes school district governing boards to appoint a
pupil member at its next regularly scheduled meeting if
no meeting is held within the 30 day timeline.
3) Authorizes the governing board of a school district to
create a pupil advisory board to assist any pupil
members of the governing board in their duties, and
requires that the structure and composition of the
advisory board be determined by the governing board.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Existing process . Current law requires K-12 school
district governing boards to include a pupil member of
the board upon receipt of a pupil petition requesting
the inclusion of a pupil board member. However, current
law is silent as to how soon after receipt of the pupil
petition the governing board must make such an
appointment. This bill should not impose a burden upon
districts as it allows the appointment of the pupil
member at the next meeting of the governing board if no
meeting is planned within the 30-day timeline.
2) Fiscal impact . According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee analysis, this bill would impose minor
absorbable General Fund (Prop 98) reimbursable mandate
costs upon school districts.
3) Prior legislation . AB 1897 (Reyes, 2004) would have
required the governing board of a school district to
appoint to its membership a preferential voting pupil
member, and also requires school districts with more
than one high school to select a pupil member from a
different high school each year on a rotating basis. AB
1897 was vetoed by the Governor, whose veto message
read:
"The State Board of Education includes a student member
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whose participation brings a vibrant dynamic to the
statewide policy debate. I am especially pleased with
the contributions that the student member I recently
appointed has brought to the current State Board.
However, mandating that school districts appoint a
preferential voting student member to local school board
is unnecessary since existing law already provides a
mechanism for student representation on local school
boards. As such, I encourage all interested students to
pursue the wonderful opportunity of being appointed to
their local school board, under the provisions of
current law."
SUPPORT
Alliance for Education Solutions
California Association of Student Councils
San Francisco Unified School District
Youth Leadership Institute
OPPOSITION
None received.