BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Alan Lowenthal, Chair
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 1732
AUTHOR: Campos
AMENDED: June 7, 2012
FISCAL COMM: No HEARING DATE: June 13, 2012
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Lynn Lorber
SUBJECT : Suspension and expulsion: bullying via electronic
acts.
SUMMARY
This bill identifies conduct that would constitute a post
on a social media website, relative to cyberbullying.
BACKGROUND
Current law prohibits a pupil from being suspended or
recommended for expulsion unless the principal of the
school determines that the pupil has committed certain
acts, and gives schools the discretion to take action for
most offenses. (Education Code � 48900)
Current law prohibits a pupil from being suspended or
expelled unless that act is related to school activity or
school attendance. Pupils may be suspended or expelled for
acts related to school activity or attendance that occur at
any time, including but not limited to the following:
1) While on school grounds.
2) While going to or coming from school.
3) During the lunch period whether on or off campus.
4) During, or while going to or coming from, a
school-sponsored activity. (EC � 48900(s))
Discretion to suspend
Schools may suspend a pupil for violating any number of
acts, some of which include:
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1) Attempting to cause or threatening to cause physical
injury to another person. (Expulsion must be
recommended for causing serious physical injury.) (EC
� 48915)
2) Being under the influence of a controlled substance.
(Expulsion must be recommended for possession or the
sale of controlled substances.) (EC � 48915)
3) Caused or attempted to cause damage to school
property.
4) Committed an obscene act or engaged in habitual
profanity or vulgarity.
5) Engaged in, or attempted to engage in, hazing.
6) Engaged in an act of bullying. (EC � 48900, �
48900.2, � 48900.3,
� 48900.4, � 48900.7)
Current law defines "bullying" as any severe or pervasive
physical or verbal act or conduct, including communications
made in writing or by means of an electronic act, and
including sexual harassment, hate violence, harassment,
threats or intimidation, that has or can be reasonably
predicted to have the effect of one or more of the
following:
1) Placing a reasonable pupil or pupils in fear of harm
to person or property.
2) Causing a reasonable pupil to experience a
substantially detrimental effect on his or her
physical or mental health.
3) Causing a reasonable pupil to experience substantial
interference with his or her academic performance.
4) Causing a reasonable pupil to experience substantial
interference with his or her ability to participate in
or benefit from the services, activities, or
privileges provided by a school. (EC � 48900(r))
Current law defines "electronic act" as the transmission of
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a communication, including but not limited to a message,
text, sound or image, or a post on a social network
website, by means of an electronic device, including but
not limited to a telephone, wireless telephone or other
wireless communication device, computer, or pager. (EC �
48900(r))
Pupils may be suspended for a first offense if the school
principal determines that the pupil's presence causes a
danger to persons or property or threatens to disrupt the
instructional process or the pupil committed other certain
acts. (EC � 48900.5)
Subjective decision to suspend or expel
Schools may also suspend a student for disrupting school
activities or otherwise willfully defying the valid
authority of supervisor, teachers, administrators, school
officials, or other school personnel engaged in the
performance of their duties. (EC � 48900(k))
School may expel pupils for various offenses, including
disruption and defiance, upon finding either of the
following:
1) Other means of correction are not feasible or have
repeatedly failed to bring about proper conduct.
2) Due to the nature of the violation, the presence of
the pupil causes a continuing danger to the physical
safety of the pupil or others. (EC �
48915(e))
ANALYSIS
This bill identifies conduct that would constitute a post
on a social media website, relative to cyberbullying.
Specifically, this bill includes the following as a post on
a social network website:
1) Posting to or creating a burn page, and defines "burn
page" as a website created for purposes of having one
or more of the effects of bullying listed in current
law, which are:
a) Placing a reasonable pupil or
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pupils in fear of harm to that pupil's or those
pupils' person or property.
b) Causing a reasonable pupil to
experience a substantially detrimental effect on
his or her physical or mental health.
c) Causing a reasonable pupil to
experience substantial interference with his or
her academic performance.
d) Causing a reasonable pupil to
experience substantial interference with his or
her ability to participate in or benefit from the
services, activities, or privileges provided by a
school.
2) Creating a credible impersonation of another actual
pupil for the purpose of having one or more of the
effects listed above. This bill defines "credible
impersonation" as knowingly and without consent
impersonate a pupil for the purpose of bullying the
pupil and such that another person would reasonably
believe, or has reasonably believed, that the pupil
was or is the pupil who was impersonated.
3) Creating a false profile for the purpose of having one
or more of the effects listed above. This bill
defines "false profile" as a profile of a fictitious
pupil or a profile using the likeness or attributes of
an actual pupil other than the pupil who created the
false profile.
4) Prohibits an electronic act from constituting
pervasive conduct solely on the basis that it has been
transmitted on the Internet or is currently posted on
the Internet.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill . According to the author, "AB 1732
sheds light on 'burn pages' and 'false profiles'
through the addition of such definitions in the
Education Code. This bill essentially clarifies code
and does not add offenses. Under existing law, such
offenses are already covered. AB 1732 is important
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because it clarifies acts for school administrators
who are trying to effectively identify and understand
this ever evolving world of social media."
2) Already covered ? Current law authorizes schools to
suspend or expel pupils for bullying, engaging in
harassment, threats and intimidation, or disrupting
school activities. Current law defines "electronic
act," with regard to bullying, to include a message,
text, sound, image or post on a social network website
by means of an electronic device. Posting to or
creating a burn page and creating a credible
impersonation or false profile could arguably be
included in the current definitions related to
bullying.
3) Determination by school . Current law provides that
pupils cannot be suspended or expelled unless the act
is related to school activity or attendance. Schools
may suspend or expel pupils for acts committed off
campus and during hours school is not in session if
the acts disrupt or interferes with the school
environment or pupil performance. Schools must first
determine that the creation of a burn page, for
example, has interfered with the school environment
prior to suspending or expelling a pupil for such an
act.
4) Related legislation . SB 1088 (Price) requires school
districts to conduct a second review for the
readmission of pupils who have been expelled and
denied readmission, and prohibits school from denying
enrollment or readmission to pupils solely on the
basis that he or she has had contact with the juvenile
justice system. SB 1088 is pending in the Assembly.
SB 1235 (Steinberg) requires schools that have suspended
more than 25% of the school's enrollment or more than
25% of any numerically significant racial or ethnic
subgroup of the school's enrollment in the prior
school year to implement, for at least three years, at
least one specified strategies to reduce the
suspension rate or disproportionality. SB 1235 is
pending in the Assembly.
AB 1729 (Ammiano) authorizes the documentation of means of
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correction other than suspension and alternatives to
suspension or expulsion that are age appropriate and
designed to address the pupil's specific misbehavior;
and, defines means of correction other than
suspension. AB 1729 is pending in the Senate.
AB 2032 (Mendoza) requires charter schools to be subject to
the same suspension and expulsion provisions as other
public schools. AB 2032 was held on the Assembly
Appropriations Committee's suspense file.
AB 2145 (Alejo) relates to the disaggregation of suspension
and expulsion data by subgroup, and the reporting and
availability of suspension and expulsion data. AB
2145 is pending in the Senate.
AB 2242 (Dickinson) prohibits pupils who are found to have
disrupted school activities or otherwise willfully
defied the authority of school or school district
officials from being subject to extended suspension,
or recommended for expulsion or expelled. AB 2242 is
pending in the Senate.
AB 2300 (Swanson) requires school districts to expunge
from a pupil's records a suspension for certain acts
if the pupil completes five hours of community
service. AB 2300 was held on the Assembly
Appropriations Committee's suspense file.
AB 2537 (V. Manuel Perez) makes changes relative to
mandatory expulsions. AB 2537 is pending in the
Senate.
SUPPORT
None on current version.
OPPOSITION
None on file.