BILL ANALYSIS
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1400|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1400
Author: Fong (D)
Amended: 6/29/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 8-0, 7/15/09
AYES: Romero, Huff, Alquist, Hancock, Liu, Padilla,
Simitian, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Maldonado
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 5/21/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Community colleges: expulsion: hearing
SOURCE : Peralta Community College District
DIGEST : This bill authorizes a community college
district, under specified circumstances, to deny or
condition enrollment to an individual who has been expelled
or is being considered for expulsion from a California
Community College for certain violent or serious offenses
as specified.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires a California Community
College (CCC) district to admit any California resident and
may admit any nonresident, possessing a high school diploma
or the equivalent thereof. CCC district governing boards
CONTINUED
AB 1400
Page
2
may admit persons who are over the age of 18 who do not
possess a high school diploma or its equivalent who are
capable of profiting from the instruction offered and are
also authorized to admit high school students if their high
school governing boards determine the student would benefit
from advanced scholastic or vocational work. Under current
law, the governing board of a CCC district may only exclude
"students of filthy or vicious habits, or students
suffering from contagious or infectious diseases" and "may
exclude from attendance in regular classes students whose
physical or mental disability is such as to cause his or
her attendance to be inimical to the welfare of other
students."
Existing law authorizes a CCC to expel a student for good
cause when other means of correction fail to bring about
proper conduct, or when the presence of the student causes
a continuing danger to the physical safety of the student
or others. The expulsion is required to be accompanied by
a hearing.
Existing federal law specifies that student disciplinary
records are protected by the Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act (FERPA) and are subject to the general
requirement that records regarding identifiable students
cannot be shared without the student's consent or a court
order. Current state law also provides these protections.
Existing law, the California Tort Claims Act, gives public
entities, including state and local governments, general
immunity from liability for injuries that may arise from an
act or an omission and extends that immunity to public
employees as specified.
This bill:
1. Authorizes a governing board of a community college
district to deny enrollment or permit conditional
enrollment to a student who has been expelled or is
being considered for expulsion from another district
within the preceding 10 years for specified violent and
criminal offenses upon determining through a hearing
that the individual poses a continuing danger to the
AB 1400
Page
3
physical safety of the students and employees in the
district. Defines violent offenses to include:
A. Committed or attempted to commit murder.
B. Caused, attempted to cause, or threatened to
cause physical injury to another person, including
assault or battery, as defined, except in
self-defense.
C. Committed or attempted to commit a sexual
assault, as defined, or committed sexual battery,
as defined.
D. Committed or attempted to commit kidnapping, or
seized, confined, inveigled, enticed, decoyed,
abducted, concealed, kidnapped, or carried away
another person by any means with the intent to hold
or detain that person for ransom or reward.
E. Committed or attempted to commit robbery.
F. Committed stalking, as defined.
G. Possessed, sold, or otherwise furnished a
firearm, knife, explosive, or other dangerous
objects.
2. Authorizes a CCC district to request information from
another community college district in determining
whether the applicant continues to pose a danger to the
physical safety of others and requires any community
college district receiving a request to respond within
five working days of receiving the request.
3. Requires a student who was expelled from a community
college for any of the specified actions and who seeks
admission in another community college district to
inform the receiving district of his or her prior
expulsion.
4. Authorizes a governing board to delegate authority
granted by this act to a district superintendent,
president or other designee, as specified.
AB 1400
Page
4
5. Grants a student who is denied enrollment the right to
appeal the decision to the district governing board.
6. Specifies that the measure does not impose a duty to
review applicants for admission or review previously
enrolled students, whether returning or continuing, or
to conduct a hearing in response to the receipt of any
information regarding a potential, former, or existing
student.
7. Specifies that a community college district, its
governing board members, district officers or employees,
including the superintendent, a college president, or
designees of those individuals, shall not be liable for
an injury as a result of exercising discretion pursuant
to this act.
8. Provides for reimbursement to CCC districts if the
Commission on State Mandates determines that this bill
contains state mandated costs.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee
analysis, there is minor nonreimbursable costs for legal
services to districts who conduct the specified hearings.
Assuming up to $5,000 per hearing, costs statewide would
probably not exceed $50,000 to $100,000. In addition, this
bill will have mandated and probably minor costs associated
with districts responding to requests for information.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/18/09)
Peralta Community College District (source)
Kern Community College District
Rio Hondo Community College District
San-Jose Evergreen Community College District
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
CCCs are the only public educational segment in California
without the ability to ensure campus safety at one CCC
district through a screening process of students who have
AB 1400
Page
5
been expelled from another CCC district. Currently, a
student who is expelled from one CCC district for a violent
offense and freely enroll in another CC district without
that CCC districts knowledge of his/her expulsion from the
first CCC district. Further, a CCC district that expels a
student for a violent act is not compelled to provide the
information surrounding the expulsion of the student even
upon the request of the receiving CCC district. Finally, a
CCC district may not conditionally enroll or deny
enrollment to a student based on a hearing that finds that
the student poses a continuing threat to the students,
faculty, and staff on the campus. This bill addresses
these problems.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher,
Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani,
Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi,
Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight,
Krekorian, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza,
Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A.
Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas,
Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland,
Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines,
Yamada
NO VOTE RECORDED: Saldana, Bass
DLW:do 8/18/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****