BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2032
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 18, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
AB 2032 (Mendoza) - As Introduced: February 23, 2012
SUBJECT : Charter schools: suspension and expulsion of pupils
SUMMARY : Requires charter schools to comply with the
provisions of law governing the procedures for suspension and
expulsion of pupils. Defines the following terms for purposes
of suspensions and expulsions of pupils:
1)"Governing board" means the governing board of a school
district or the governing body of a charter school.
2)"Principal" means the principal of the school or the site
administrator of a charter school.
3)"School" includes a charter school.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Charter Schools Act of 1992 which authorizes a
school district, a county board of education or the state
board of education (SBE) to approve or deny a petition for a
charter school to operate independently from the existing
school district structure as a method of accomplishing, among
other things, improved student learning. (Education Code (EC)
Sections 47600 and 47601)
2)Establishes a process for the submission of a petition for the
establishment of a charter school. Authorizes a petition,
identifying a single charter school to operate within the
geographical boundaries of the school district, to be
submitted to the school district. Authorizes, if the
governing board of a school district denies a petition for the
establishment of a charter school, the petitioner to elect to
submit the petition to the county board of education.
Authorizes, if the county board of education denies the
charter, the petitioner to submit the petition to the SBE.
Authorizes a school that serves a countywide service to submit
the charter petition directly to the county office of
education. Authorizes a school that serves a statewide
purpose to go directly to the SBE. (EC Section 47605)
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3)Requires a governing board of a school district to hold a
public hearing on the provisions of the charter no later than
30 days after receiving a petition and either grant or deny
the charter within 60 days of receipt of the petition.
Specifies that the governing board of a school district shall
not deny a petition for the establishment of a charter school
unless it makes written factual findings setting forth
specific facts to support the findings, including the
following, among others:
a) The petition does not contain reasonably comprehensive
description of the procedures that the school will follow
to ensure the health and safety of pupils and staff.
Specifies that the procedures shall include the requirement
that each employee of the school furnish the school with a
criminal record, as specified.
b) The petition does not contain reasonably comprehensive
description of the procedures by which pupils can be
suspended or expelled. (EC Section 47605)
4)Specifies that a charter school shall comply with charter
school laws but is otherwise exempt from the laws governing
school districts, except for all of the following:
a) Teacher participation in the State Teachers' Retirement
System (STRS) and the Public Employees' Retirement System
(PERS) if the charter chooses to offer coverage in either
or both of those systems.
b) Access to loans from the Charter School Revolving Loan
Fund.
c) All laws establishing minimum age for public school
attendance.
d) The California Building Standards Code. (EC Section
47610)
5)Authorizes or requires a principal or a superintendent of
schools to suspend or expel a student committing any of a
number of specified acts. (EC Sections 48900, 48900.2,
48900.3, 48900.4, 48900.7, 48915)
6)Specifies the number of days a suspension can occur, the
procedures for notifying parents or guardians and the
requirement to hold a conference. (EC Section 48911)
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7)Specifies the process for expulsion, the requirement for the
governing board to recommend a plan of rehabilitation for the
pupil at the time of the expulsion order, the process for
readmission, the requirement for the governing board to
establish rules and regulations for expulsions, the right of a
pupil to have a hearing, the timeline for the hearing, and the
process for appealing an expulsion. (EC Sections 48916,
48916.1, 48918, 48918.5, 48918.6, 48919, 48919.5, 48920,
48921, 48922, 48923, and 48924)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Background . According to the California Department
of Education (CDE), there are currently 983 charter schools
operating with student enrollment from 2010-11 of more than
369,000 in the state. This includes three statewide benefit
charters and 18 State Board of Education (SBE)-approved
charters. Some charter schools are new, while others are
conversions from existing public schools. Charter schools are
part of the state's public education system and are funded by
public dollars. A charter school is usually created or
organized by a group of teachers, parents and community leaders,
a community-based organization, or an education management
organization. Charter schools are authorized by school district
governing boards, county boards of education or the SBE.
Charter schools must comply with charter school provisions of
law and are generally exempt from most laws governing school
districts, with the exception of the following:
1)Teacher participation in the STRS and PERS if the charter
chooses to offer coverage in either or both of those systems.
2)Access to loans from the Charter School Revolving Loan Fund.
3)All laws establishing minimum age for public school
attendance.
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4)The California Building Standards Code.
As part of its request for approval of charter status, a charter
petition must include "reasonably comprehensive" descriptions of
specified information, including, among others, a description of
the educational program of the school, the governance structure
of the school, qualifications required by individuals to be
hired at the school, the manner by which annual, independent
financial audits will be conducted, the manner by which the
school's staff will be covered by the teachers' retirement
systems or federal social security and federal social security,
the procedures the school will follow to ensure the health and
safety of pupils and staff (including any employee criminal
record), and the procedures by which pupils can be suspended or
expelled.
This bill requires charter schools to comply with suspension and
expulsion procedures established in existing law. This bill is
sponsored by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD),
due to its concern about the lack of consistent policies for
expelling students by charters and the lack of notification to
districts when students are expelled. Once students are
expelled, charter schools do not always inform the district of
an expulsion or provide the reasons a student is expel. LAUSD
believes this bill will provide student rights and protections
some charter school students do not currently have. The LAUSD
states, "LAUSD has experienced students from charter schools
being referred back to the District before being expelled by the
charter and the failure of charter schools to notify the
District of the expulsion. There seems to be little evidence of
consistent student discipline policies among charter schools.
Reasons for student expulsion range from laughing at a teacher
who tripped, lack of parent volunteer hours, to attempted sexual
assault. Hearing and appeal processes are similarly varied or
non-existent."
The CDE reports 700,884 suspensions and 18,649 expulsions in
2010-11 in California's public schools. There were a total of
15,816 suspensions and 374 expulsions for charter schools. It
is unclear whether the data represents all charter schools. A
charter school is required to submit data if it receives federal
funding. Charter schools may also classify expulsions as
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"transfers" back to school districts rather than as expulsions.
Suspensions/Expulsions . Existing law establishes a list of
offenses committed by students that can result in suspension or
expulsion. For expulsions, current law specifies three
categories: 1) acts committed by a pupil for which a principal
or superintendent have discretion to determine expulsion; 2)
acts committed by a pupil for which a principal or
superintendent must recommend expulsion, unless the principal or
superintendent finds that expulsion is inappropriate, due to the
circumstances; and 3) acts committed by a pupil that result in
immediate suspension and recommendation for expulsion.
Existing law also establishes a process by which parents or
guardians of pupils who are suspended or expelled are informed
of suspensions and expulsions, specifies the number of days for
which a student can be suspended, a process that enables a pupil
to respond, gives the student the right to have a hearing, the
steps required for expulsions, and the process for appealing an
expulsion. The law attempts to balance school safety with
rights of students. Some charter schools do model their
suspension and expulsion policies based on existing law, but
according to the sponsor, not all charter schools have policies
that have fair bases for dismissal or that provide due process
rights. Examples provided by the sponsor include: charters not
allowing appeals of suspensions or expulsions, not providing
evidence of wrongdoing, lengthy suspensions, and questionable
reasons for suspensions, and long delays in convening the
meeting to discuss the suspension or expulsion.
Opponents of the bill may argue that this bill is unnecessary as
charter authorizers have the ability to request more specifics
in the petition. Opponents may also argue that charters were
created to provide choices and alternatives to traditional
public school education and should have the flexibility to
devise policies that are consistent with the goals, themes and
purposes of a school. However, all charter school students are
public school students, and as such, there should be consistent
policies that, at a minimum, are based on similar standards for
the policies, as suspension and expulsion have great impact on
students and their families.
SBE requirements for charter petitions . The SBE has adopted
regulations for the review or approval of statewide benefit
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charter school petitions and SBE-approved petitions that are not
as stringent as existing suspension or expulsion law, but do
offer a basis for the development of suspension and expulsion
policies that will ensure that all policies contain the same
components. The regulations require the following:
1)Identification of a list of offenses for which students in the
charter school must and may be suspended or must and may be
expelled.
2)Identification of the procedures by which pupils can be
suspended or expelled.
3)Identification of the procedures by which parents, guardians,
and pupils will be informed about the reasons for suspension
or expulsion and the students' due process rights.
4)Evidence that the petitioner has reviewed the list of offenses
and procedures that govern non-charter schools and evidence
indicating how the petitioner believes its proposed list of
offenses and procedures provide adequate safety for the school
community and will best serve the interests of pupils and
parents.
5)Due process for all pupils and a demonstration of an
understanding of the right of pupils with disabilities.
6)A description of how the policies and procedures will be
developed and periodically reviewed.
Committee amendments . It is unclear whether all sections of the
law are applicable to charter schools. For example, under
current law, appeals of expulsions are conducted by county
boards of education. County boards of education may or may not
be an appropriate appeals body for charter schools. Instead of
requiring charter schools to comply with existing suspension and
expulsion laws, staff recommends the following:
1)Amend the charter school law to require all charter petitions
to contain suspension and expulsion policies that meet the
requirements specified in the SBE regulations.
2)Add the following to the SBE regulations:
a) A requirement that the procedures by which students will
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be expelled or suspended include how long suspensions can
last and a right to a hearing.
b) A requirement that the procedure for notifying parents
of suspensions and expulsions include a timeframe.
c) Give parents or guardians the right to view the
evidence.
3)Require charter schools to notify the district of a pupil's
disenrollment or expulsion within 10 school days and require
the school to provide a copy of the pupil's cumulative student
record, including the reason for the pupil's departure.
These amendments will provide a minimum standard for all charter
school suspension and expulsion policies while giving charter
schools the ability to have some flexibility to develop
components that are unique to their schools.
The author may wish to consider exploring how an appeals process
would work for charter schools. The author may also wish to
consider how the policies will be shared with parents and
guardians.
Arguments in support . The American Civil Liberties Union
states, "The bill ensures that when charter schools choose to
take the extraordinary step of removing a student from their
educational program that they do so in a manner that provides
students with sufficient due process protections. The bill
further clarifies the notice requirements, expulsion hearing
procedures and rights, readmission requirements, and the
opportunity to appeal an expulsion hearing to an impartial
hearing body. We believe AB 2032 is a necessary step in
ensuring proper protection of charter school students and
families in school suspension and expulsion proceedings."
Arguments in opposition . The California Charter Schools
Association Advocates opposes this bill and states, "While the
sponsor, Los Angeles Unified School District, may argue that
there are isolated problems in isolated situations at isolated
schools, they cannot demonstrate a problem that justifies a
re-regulation of charter schools, especially the massive
re-regulation that would result from imposing statutory
expulsion requirements on charter schools."
Related legislation . AB 269 (Ma), held in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee suspense file in 2011, requires charter
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schools to comply with specified laws governing the health and
safety of pupils and school employees.
SB 433 (Liu) requires a charter school to comply with existing
law regarding the suspension and expulsion of pupils. The bill
was held by the author in the Senate Education Committee in
2011.
SB 755 (Lieu), earlier versions, extends the requirement to
develop a school safety plan to charter schools, among other
requirements. The bill was amended into a different subject
area and held in the Senate Education Committee in 2012.
This bill was heard by this Committee on April 11, 2012 and
failed passage. This bill is before this Committee as a vote
only item.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Los Angeles Unified School District (sponsor)
American Civil Liberties Union
California School Boards Association
California Teachers Association
Riverside County School Superintendents' Association
San Francisco Unified School District
Opposition
California Charter Schools Association Advocates
Charter Schools Development Center
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087