BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1511|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1511
Author: De Leon (D)
Amended: 4/29/09 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 8-0, 6/17/09
AYES: Romero, Huff, Alquist, Hancock, Maldonado, Padilla,
Simitian, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Liu
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-1, 7/7/09
AYES: Leno, Cedillo, Hancock, Huff, Steinberg, Wright
NOES: Benoit
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 62-1, 5/14/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Pupil safety
SOURCE : Los Angeles City Attorney
DIGEST : This bill authorizes a governing board of a
school district or a county superintendent of schools to
enter into a memorandum of understanding with a prosecuting
city attorneys 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.
ANALYSIS : Existing law, the Interagency School Safety
CONTINUED
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Demonstration Act of 1985, states that the intent of the
Legislature in enacting its provisions is to encourage
school districts, county offices of education, law
enforcement agencies, and agencies serving youth to develop
and implement interagency strategies, in-service training
programs, and activities that will, among other things,
reduce school crime and violence. Existing law establishes
the School/Law Enforcement Partnership and charges it with
undertaking several efforts intended to reduce school
crime, as specified.
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 memorandum of
understanding (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 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
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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.
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.
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 schools from adopting an alternative
model of collaboration.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/9/09)
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Los Angeles City Attorney (source)
Los Angeles School Police Department
Los Angeles Unified School District
OPPOSITION : (Verified 7/9/09)
American Civil Liberties Union
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : 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: [1] Both schools
and law enforcement agencies are responsible for the safety
and well-being of students; [2] 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, [3] 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
percent to 80 percent.
This bill authorizes a governing board or a county
superintendent of schools to enter into an MOU with a
district attorney or prosecuting city attorney to place one
or more prosecutor on one or more school sites. This bill
specifies that the MOU shall include specified components,
including the time frame for participation, the scope of
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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 local
education agencies (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 1950s and the placement of sworn
peace officers in the schools is now commonplace throughout
the country.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The American Civil Liberties
Union 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."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Arambula, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Tom
Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Brownley,
Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro,
Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, Emmerson, Eng,
Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuller, Furutani, Galgiani,
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Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman,
Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning, Nava, Niello, Nielsen,
John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Price,
Ruskin, Salas, Skinner, Solorio, Audra Strickland,
Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Yamada
NOES: Anderson
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ammiano, Conway, DeVore, Duvall,
Fuentes, Gaines, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Logue, Miller,
Nestande, Saldana, Silva, Smyth, Villines, Bass
DLW:mw 7/9/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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