BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1174
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1174 (Furutani)
As Amended April 26, 2011
Majority vote
EDUCATION 6-3 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Brownley, Ammiano, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield, |
| |Buchanan, | |Bradford, |
| |Bonilla, Carter, Eng | |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Davis, Gatto, |
| | | |Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| | | |Mitchell, |
| | | |Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Norby, Hagman, Halderman |Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby, |
| | | |Wagner |
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SUMMARY : Expands an existing misdemeanor regarding disruption
of any public school or public school meeting to include
creating a disruption that threatens the physical safety of
school children coming to, leaving, or attending school.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, unknown, likely minor nonreimbursable local costs,
offset to a degree by increased fine revenue.
COMMENTS : This bill and a related bill pending in the Senate,
AB 123 (Mendoza), both address incidences of non-school-related
solicitations and messages imposed on students as students are
entering or leaving school grounds. The author states, "State
law requires children between the ages of 6 and 18 to attend
school. Because of this, students become a captive audience
while at school, and while considerable attention is placed on
what kids are exposed to in the classroom, there is little
oversight as soon as students are dismissed. Without the proper
tools, school administrators are unable to maintain a safe
learning environment and ensure students' safety."
1)The author cites the following examples of inappropriate
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interactions: In 2002, members of Survivors of the Abortion
Holocaust gathered outside Millikan High School in Long Beach.
The group, located on the sidewalk directly bordering the
high school, displayed gruesome signs and distributed leaflets
to students during dismissal.
2)At Lakewood High School in Long Beach Unified School District,
different individuals have been present during school
dismissal to distribute items such as flyers for a nearby
strip club.
The Education Code (EC) states that any person who willfully
disturbs any public school or any public school meeting is
guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punished by a fine of not
more than $500. The EC further states that an individual who is
not a pupil, parent or legal guardian, employee, or does not
have any other business with the school, who does not promptly
leave when requested by a principal or his/her designee, or
returns within seven days, is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall
be punished with penalties pursuant to the Penal Code (PC),
which include a fine of no more than $500, six months
imprisonment in a county jail or both a fine and imprisonment.
Penalties are more severe if the defendant has had similar prior
convictions. The author states that administrators cannot
intervene unless the solicitor is physically on school property.
The author states that he introduced this bill at the suggestion
of students enrolled in a legislative advocacy class at Lakewood
High School in Long Beach Unified School District, who feel
unsafe due to incidents where solicitors attempt to talk to
students and hand out materials, including bibles, on sidewalks
adjacent to schools as students are leaving school. The
students state that while they can choose to not answer the door
to strangers at home or patronize businesses where solicitors
are present, they are required to attend school and are
therefore a captured audience.
This bill expands the EC provision imposing a fine of not more
than $500 to include any person who creates a disruption that
threatens the physical safety of school children coming to,
leaving, or attending school. The language is modeled after a
footnote in the case of Center for Bio-Ethical Reform v. Los
Angeles County Sheriff's Department (2007) 533 F.3rd 780,784,
which prompted the introduction of AB 123 (Mendoza). The case
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involved a driver who drove around a middle school in Rancho
Palos Verdes with graphic photographs of first trimester aborted
fetuses on the side of a truck. Several children reported
becoming physically ill, some cried and many averted their eyes
from the photos. Los Angeles County Sheriff deputies found that
the driver violated PC Section 626.8 and asked the driver to
leave. The organization the driver was affiliated with filed
suit in federal court claiming civil rights violations. On
appeal, the Ninth Circuit Court found that the organization's
first amendment rights were violated. The court ruled that PC
Section 626.8 did not apply to the driver of the truck, stating
that government cannot restrict speech based on listeners'
reactions. The court, however, stated in footnote 9 that, "The
California Legislature may elect to draft a statute prohibiting
disruptive messages outside school buildings where the
disruption threatens the physical safety of school children
while they are coming to, leaving, or attending school. We do
not have before us, and therefore do not decide the
constitutionality of such a statute."
AB 123 (Mendoza) amends the PC and adds the penalty provision to
any person who willfully or knowingly creates a disruption with
the intent to threaten the immediate physical safety of pupils
in kindergarten through grade 8 while arriving at, attending, or
leaving school. In addition to the fact that one bill amends
the PC and the other the EC, the differences between the bills
currently are that: 1) AB 123 (Mendoza) increases the threshold
for what constitutes a disruption by requiring that an
individual must willfully and knowingly create the disruption
with the intent to threaten the immediate physical safety of
pupils; and, 2) AB 123 (Mendoza) applies to kindergarten through
grade 8 schools, while this bill applies to kindergarten through
grade 12.
The American Civil Liberties Union opposes this bill and urges
an amendment to model the language in AB 123 (Mendoza).
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0000540
AB 1174
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