BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2034
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 24, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
AB 2034 (Knight) - As Amended: March 16, 2010
SUBJECT : Public school volunteers: persons convicted of sex or
controlled substance offenses.
SUMMARY : Prohibits school districts that elect to fingerprint
volunteers from allowing individuals with specific sex or
controlled substance offenses to volunteer in schools.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Authorizes school districts to opt into the Safe School
Volunteers Program (SSVP) by enacting a board resolution.
2)Commencing July 1, 2011, requires school districts that have
opted to participate in the SSVP to perform, or arrange for
the performance of, background checks for persons, other than
students of the district, who seek to voluntarily participate
in any district activities.
3)Specifies that any person who would be prohibited from
employment under Education Code Section 44836 shall also be
prohibited from voluntary participation in any activities of
the district.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Specifies, notwithstanding any other law, that any person,
except a person required to register as a sex offender
pursuant to Section 290 of the Penal Code, may be permitted by
the governing board of any school district to perform the
duties specified in Section 44814 or 44815 related to
supervising pupils during breakfast, lunch or other nutrition
period, or to serve as a non-teaching volunteer aide (NTVA)
under the immediate supervision and direction of the
certificated personnel of the district to perform
non-instructional work which serves to assist the certificated
personnel in performance of teaching and administrative
responsibilities. (Education Code 35021)
2)Specifies that a school district or county office of education
may request that a local law enforcement agency conduct an
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automated records check of a prospective NTVA in order to
ascertain whether the prospective NTVA has been convicted of
any sex offense as defined in Section 44010. A plea or verdict
of guilty, a finding of guilt by a court in a trial without
jury, or a conviction following a plea of nolo contendere
shall be deemed to be a conviction within the meaning of this
section. If the local law enforcement agency agrees to provide
that automated records check, the results therefrom shall be
returned to the requesting district or county office of
education within 72 hours of the written request. A local law
enforcement agency may charge a fee to the requesting agency
not to exceed the actual expense to the law enforcement
agency. (Education Code 35021.1)
3)Specifies when a school district or county office of education
pursuant to Section 11105.3 of the Penal Code requests from
the Department of Justice records involving criminal offenses
committed by a prospective volunteer, the school district or
county office of education may request that the Department of
Justice provide subsequent arrest notification service
pursuant to Section 11105.2 of the Penal Code and specifies
the Department of Justice shall comply with a request made
pursuant to this section. (Education Code 35021.2)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Background regarding Nonteaching Volunteer Aides
(NTVA) . NTVAs are under the immediate supervision and direction
of certificated personnel of a district and are generally
parents who choose to volunteer in their child's classroom, in
the school office, or for school field trips. Current law
authorizes any individual to volunteer in school districts,
unless that individual is a registered sex offender. Current
law also authorizes school districts to fingerprint NTVAs to
ascertain whether the prospective volunteer has been convicted
of certain sex offenses that would prohibit employment of that
individual by the school district. In practice, many school
districts require volunteers to be fingerprinted; however, there
is no state statutory requirement for districts to do so.
The intent of this bill is to prohibit districts from allowing
individuals, such as NTVAs, from volunteering in schools, if the
district chooses to fingerprint them, and finds that they have
been convicted of the same sex, drug and violent/serious
offenses that would prohibit that person from otherwise being
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employed by the school district. The bill creates the SSVP in a
separate code section from the existing sections related to
NTVAs. Staff recommends the bill be amended to implement the
author's intended statutory changes in Section 35021.1.
Amending Section 35021.1 will also clearly separate the
background check requirements created by this bill for NTVAs and
the existing requirements for after school activity supervisors
and coaches, pursuant to Section 49024.
According to the author, local school districts have reported
instances where parents of students and other individuals will
offer to volunteer in their child's classroom, on field trips
and/or for other district activities. However, when the
district has run their fingerprints, the State Department of
Justice report comes back showing convictions for offenses that
would prohibit the district, under current law, from employing
them but does not prohibit them from volunteering. While school
districts want to encourage parents to participate in their
children's education, they must at the end of the day ensure the
safety of all students, staff and other district visitors.
Employment Prohibition . Several sections of the Education code
currently deal with criminal offenses that prohibit individuals
from being employed by school districts. Section 45122.1 of the
Education code lists specific felonies and misdemeanors and
violent/serious felonies that prohibit classified staff from
being employed by school districts. Section 44010 of the
Education code lists specified sex offenses and Section 44011
lists controlled substance offenses. Both Section 44010 and
44011 are included in Section 44836, which prohibits anyone
convicted of these offenses from being employed by a school
district. Individuals who are convicted of these offenses,
except those that require the applicant to register as a sex
offender, become eligible for school district employment if they
obtain an expungement pursuant to Section 1203.4 of the Penal
Code. By referencing these same employment code sections, NTVAs
will also be provided the same opportunity to expunge their
record under Section 1203.4.
This bill specifies that volunteers who have been convicted of
the sex and drug offenses in Section 44010 and 44011 shall not
be allowed to volunteer at a school district, but the bill does
not prohibit volunteers who have been convicted of the
violent/serious crimes listed in Section 45122.1. Staff
recommends the bill be amended to also prohibit individuals from
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volunteering at school districts if they have been convicted of
the same violent/serious crimes that prohibit employment.
Charter Schools . This bill prohibits school districts from
allowing individuals convicted of certain crimes from
volunteering at the public schools within the district. As
drafted, the bill would not extend these same protections to
charter schools and county offices of education. Staff
recommends the bill be amended to specify that charter schools
and county offices of education must also comply with
fingerprinting laws for NTVAs. Staff also recommends the bill
be amended to specify that charter schools must also comply with
existing fingerprinting laws for employees and after school
activity supervisors/coaches.
Committee Amendments: Staff recommends the following amendments:
1)Amend Section 35021.1 related to NTVAs rather than create a
new program and code section.
2)If a school district elects to fingerprint volunteers,
prohibit individuals from volunteering at school districts if
they have been convicted of the same violent/serious crimes
that prohibit employment pursuant to 45122.1.
3)Specify that charter schools and county offices of education
shall comply with fingerprinting laws for volunteers, and that
charters shall comply with fingerprinting laws for employees
and after school activity supervisors/coaches.
Related legislation : AB 1698 (Conway) from 2010, pending
referral in the Assembly Rules Committee, is a spot bill related
to the fingerprinting of student activity coaches and
volunteers.
AB 1025 (Conway) Chapter 379, Statutes of 2009, authorizes the
Commission on Teacher Credentialing to issue an Activity
Supervisor Clearance Certificate to allow non-credentialed
individuals, in a paid or volunteer capacity, to supervise or
coach a pupil activity program.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
AB 2034
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Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087