BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1511
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1511 (De Leon)
As Amended April 29, 2009
Majority vote
EDUCATION 6-1 PUBLIC SAFETY 5-0
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|Ayes:|Brownley, Arambula, |Ayes:|Solorio, Furutani, Hill, |
| |Carter, Eng, Solorio, | |Ma, Skinner |
| |Torlakson | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Miller | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Authorizes a governing board of a school district or
a county superintendent of schools to enter into a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) with a prosecuting city attorney's office or
district attorney's office having filing jurisdiction over the
school district to facilitate the placement of one or more
prosecutors on one or more school district campuses in order to
promote public safety. Specifically, this bill :
1)States that criminal prosecutors and schools have mutual
responsibility to ensure and create a safe environment for
children in and around schools.
2)Describes a successful partnership between the Los Angeles
City Attorney's office and the Los Angeles Unified School
District (LAUSD) that has increased test scores and the
graduation rate in a middle school in Los Angeles. Declares
that the partnership can be used as a model for school safety
reform and its replication should be encouraged in other
jurisdictions.
3)Specifies that participation shall be at the option of each
agency. A school district, district attorney, or prosecuting
city attorney shall not be required by the other party to
enter into the MOU.
4)Requires the two agencies to work together to develop the
terms and conditions of the MOU. Requires the MOU to
incorporate the conditions described by this bill, and
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provisions deemed by the agencies as reasonably necessary to
fulfill the purpose of school safety and to ensure compliance
with the MOU and the provisions of this bill.
5)Specifies that the MOU shall include, but is not limited to,
the following provisions:
a) The time period for the agencies' participation in the
school safety program and the procedures for the placement
of one or more prosecutors directly onto one or more
campuses under the jurisdiction of the school district;
b) The scope of work to be given to the prosecutor and how
the prosecutor is to work with the administration of the
specific school;
c) A procedure for funding the school safety program that
includes, but is not limited to, declarations that the
agencies have adequate funds available to provide for the
costs that arise from placing a prosecutor on a school
campus;
d) Performance measures to evaluate the effectiveness of
the school safety program, including, but not limited to,
annual progress reports; and,
e) A statement that the primary purpose of the partnership
is to promote pupil safety and that the prosecutor shall
attempt, whenever possible, to prevent problems before they
escalate.
6)Provides the following definitions for the purposes of this
bill:
a) "Agency" means a governing board of a school district, a
county superintendent of schools, a district attorney, or a
prosecuting city attorney; and,
b) "School safety program" means the placement of one or
more prosecutors on one or more local school district
campuses in order to promote public safety.
7)Specifies that nothing in this bill prohibits a governing
board of a school district or a county superintendent of
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schools from adopting an alternative model of collaboration.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Legislative Counsel, this bill
is non-fiscal.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "A primary responsibility of
any local prosecutor is to ensure that children feel safe on and
around school campuses, so that they - and their teachers - can
focus on learning and achievement.
"Although school districts and law enforcement agencies play
different roles in our communities, there are some significant
areas of commonality:
Both schools and law enforcement agencies are
responsible for the safety and well-being of students;
Schools represent the natural centers of our
communities. Working within the schools is a logical
extension of law enforcement's responsibility for public
safety in the broader community; and,
Both schools and law enforcement agencies can play an
important role in helping youth become dynamic, productive
adults.
"Local prosecutors are in an ideal position to work with their
respective local school districts to implement strategies aimed
at reversing and preventing conditions that produce and
perpetuate an unsafe school environment."
The author cites, as an example, a collaboration between the Los
Angeles City Attorney and the LAUSD, in the development of a
program which placed a prosecutor at a middle school site,
Markham Middle School, in the Watts area of south Los Angeles.
Markham Middle School had long been plagued by crime and gang
violence. Within a year's time, pupil standardized test scores
increased from 519 to 542, and the eighth grade graduation rate
increased from 66% to 80%.
This bill authorizes a governing board or a county
superintendent of schools to enter into a MOU with a district
attorney or prosecuting city attorney to place one or more
prosecutor on one or more school sites. The bill specifies that
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the MOU shall include specified components, including the time
frame for participation, the scope of work, how the program will
be funded, and evaluation measures.
This bill's proposal is similar to a program that is already in
place nationally and statewide. Many local city or county law
enforcement agencies partner with their LEAs through a School
Resource Officer program (SRO). The SRO program assigns one or
more police officers to work with LEAs to create and maintain a
safe environment and provide support and training to school and
district officials on crime prevention, gang intervention and
school safety. Some SROs assign one officer to each middle
and/or high school in a district or one officer to work with
several middle and/or high schools, while others assign one
officer to work with the whole district. Some SROs are on
campuses daily. According to the California Commission on Peace
Officer Standards and Training, which produces a training
document for SROs, the SRO concept started in Michigan in the
1950's and the placement of sworn peace officers in the schools
in now commonplace throughout the country.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) opposes this bill and
states that "This bill unnecessarily promotes the idea of
criminalizing youth. School resource officers - full fledged
law enforcement officers - currently regularly patrol school
campuses throughout the state. And children of color and
students with disabilities are disproportionately represented
among those students arrested at school. This bill adds yet
another layer of law enforcement officers to the schools getting
further and further away from a school mediation and prevention
model and moving toward a law enforcement model. Rather than
further escalating the use of a criminal justice model in
schools, we believe that positive behavior supports and
progressive discipline policies are preferable."
This bill was also heard by the Assembly Public Safety
Committee. The committee's analysis states, in part:
"This bill indicates that it is the 'prosecutor's responsibility
to ensure that children feel safe in and around schools so that
they can focus on learning.' Is that really what attorneys are
trained to do? What makes a deputy district attorney or city
attorney more qualified to enhance school safety? These
attorneys are not trained in the same manner as peace officers.
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Peace officers placed on school campuses receive special
training to deal with the specialized problems faced in such
environments. No such training is being given to these
attorneys. Peace officers are trained and hired to ensure the
safety of all; prosecutors are trained and hired to prosecute
crimes after those crimes have happened. There is little nexus
between an attorney being present on campus and the prevention
of crime."
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0000508