BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1732|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1732
Author: Campos (D), et al.
Amended: 6/7/12 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/13/12
AYES: Lowenthal, Alquist, Hancock, Huff, Liu, Price,
Simitian
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Blakeslee, Vargas, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 4/16/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Suspension and expulsion: bullying via
electronic acts
SOURCE : Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety
DIGEST : This bill identifies conduct that constitutes a
post on a social media Web site, relative to cyberbullying.
ANALYSIS : Existing 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.
Existing 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
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any time, including but not limited to the following:
While on school grounds.
While going to or coming from school.
During the lunch period whether on or off campus.
During, or while going to or coming from, a
school-sponsored activity.
Discretion to suspend . Schools may suspend a pupil for
violating any number of acts, some of which include:
1.Attempting to cause or threatening to cause physical
injury to another person. (Expulsion must be recommended
for causing serious physical injury.)
2.Being under the influence of a controlled substance.
(Expulsion must be recommended for possession or the sale
of controlled substances.)
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.
Existing 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
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health.
3.Causing a reasonable pupil to experience substantial
interference with his/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.
Existing law defines "electronic act" as the transmission
of 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.
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.
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.
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.
This bill identifies conduct that constitutes a post on a
social media Web site, relative to cyberbullying.
Specifically, this bill includes the following as a post on
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a social network Web site:
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 existing law,
which are:
A. Placing a reasonable pupil or 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/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.
Comments
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A 2007 report by the National Association of Attorneys
General Task Force on School and Campus Safety warns, "The
growth in the use of technology and social networking sites
by younger Americans has fueled a fear among professionals
that cyber bullying will become the means most often
utilized to harass, threaten or otherwise cause distress.
And while certainly more prevalent in the elementary and
secondary school setting, issues related to bullying or
intimidation are increasingly relevant in other
nontraditional settings. The Task Force recognizes that
educators, parents, law enforcement and other stakeholders
in school safety should remain vigilant in addressing
bullying, including cyber bullying."
Last year's AB 1156 (Eng), Chapter 732, Statutes of 2011,
changes the definition of "bullying" to mean any severe or
pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct, including
communications made in writing or by means of an electronic
act, and including one or more acts committed by a pupil or
group of pupils engaging in sexual harassment, hate
violence, harassment, threats, or intimidation, directed
toward one or more pupils that has or can be reasonably
predicted to cause fear and have an impact on a student's
physical and mental health, academic performance, or a
student's ability to participate in school and school
activities.
AB 746 (Campos), Chapter 72, Statutes of 2011, adds "a post
on a social network Internet Web site" to the definition of
bullying via an electronic act. "Electronic act" is
defined as the transmission of a communication, including,
but not limited to, a message, text, sound, or image, or a
post on a social network Internet Web site, by means of an
electronic device, including, but not limited to, a
telephone, wireless telephone or other wireless
communication device, computer, or pager.
Burn pages . Media in other states have reported on the
harm caused by "burn pages." Burn pages are set up with
the intention to harass and intimidate another individual
or individuals. Earlier this year, an article from the
Deccan Chronicle in New Hampshire reported that as many as
700 students participated in the posting of vile and
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abusive messages about their peers through burn pages, some
of which were sexual in nature. The article suggests that
the phenomenon was inspired by the film "Mean Girls," which
depicts students sharing gossip and writing hurtful
comments using a burn book. Local and school police
officials in New Hampshire have warned students about the
consequences of such participation, including charges of
harassment and assault that could lead to imprisonment.
Burn pages have been used to make written threats. The
Virginia Gazette reported in February 2011 that James City
police used information from a burn page to charge four
teenage girls with making a written threat to kill or harm
a 16-year-old girl.
Credible impersonation . This bill defines "credible
impersonation" as knowingly and without consent impersonate
a person in a manner such that another person would
reasonably believe, or has reasonably believed, that the
pupil was or is the person who was impersonated. A person
who creates a page using the identity and picture of
another person is an example of impersonation.
False profiles . Impersonation is a type of "false
profile." Another type of false profile is one where a
fictitious profile is created that may or may not be based
on the characteristics of another person. In 2006, a
13-year-old Missouri girl committed suicide after a
16-year-old boy she befriended on a social network Internet
Web site posted cruel messages about her and then "dumped"
her. The profile of the 16-year-old boy was fictitious,
created by the mother of a former friend who wanted to find
out what the 13-year-old girl was saying about her
daughter.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/12/12)
Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety (source)
California Police Chiefs association
City of Sunnyvale
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : 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 because it clarifies acts
for school administrators who are trying to effectively
identify and understand this ever evolving world of social
media."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 4/16/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Atkins, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer,
Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall,
Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber, Hueso,
Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning,
Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V.
Manuel P�rez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio,
Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams,
Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ammiano, Cedillo, Davis, Donnelly,
Furutani, Mansoor
PQ:do 6/14/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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