BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2242|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2242
Author: Dickinson (D), et al.
Amended: 7/5/12 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 5-3, 6/27/12 (FAIL)
AYES: Lowenthal, Alquist, Liu, Price, Vargas
NOES: Blakeslee, Huff, Simitian
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Hancock, Vacancy
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 6-3, 7/3/12
AYES: Lowenthal, Alquist, Hancock, Liu, Price, Vargas
NOES: Blakeslee, Huff, Simitian
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 46-25, 5/31/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Pupils: suspension and expulsion
SOURCE : Public Counsel
DIGEST : This bill prohibits pupils who are found to have
disrupted school activities or otherwise willfully defied
the authority of school officials from being subject to
extended suspension, or recommended for expulsion.
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
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action for most offenses. (Education Code (ED) Section
48900)
1. Discretion to Suspend
Schools may suspend a pupil for violating any number of
acts, some of which include:
A. Attempting to cause or threatening to cause
physical injury to another person. (Expulsion must
be recommended for causing serious physical injury.)
(ED Section 48915)
B. Being under the influence of a controlled
substance. (Expulsion must be recommended for
possession or the sale of controlled substances.)
(ED Section 48915)
C. Caused or attempted to cause damage to school
property.
D. Possessed or used tobacco.
E. Committed an obscene act or engaged in habitual
profanity or vulgarity.
F. Possessed, offered, arranged or negotiated to sell
drug paraphernalia.
G. Engaged in, or attempted to engage in, hazing.
H. 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.
I. Engaged in an act of bullying. (ED Section 48900,
48900.2, 48900.3, 48900.4, and 48900.7)
Pupils may be suspended for a first offense if the
school principal determines that the pupil committed
certain acts or that pupil's presence causes a danger to
persons or property or threatens to disrupt the
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instructional process or the pupil committed certain
acts. (ED Section 48900.5)
2. Subjective Decision Expel
Schools may expel pupils for various offenses, including
disruption and defiance, upon finding either of the
following:
A. Other means of correction are not feasible or have
repeatedly failed to bring about proper conduct.
B. 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. (ED Section
48915(e))
3. Mandatory Suspension and Recommended Expulsion
School principals are required to immediately suspend,
and recommend expulsion of, a pupil who has committed
any of the following acts at school or a school activity
off school grounds:
A. Possessing, selling, or furnishing a firearm.
(This is consistent with the federal Gun-Free Schools
Act.)
B. Brandishing a knife at another person.
C. Unlawfully selling a controlled substance.
D. Committing or attempting to commit a sexual
assault.
E. Possession of an explosive. (ED Section 48915(c))
4. Prior to Suspension
Existing law states that suspension shall be imposed
only when other means of correction fail to bring about
proper conduct. (ED Section 48900.5)
Suspension by the principal must be preceded by an
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informal conference between the principal, pupil and
whenever practicable, the teacher, supervisor or school
employee who referred the pupil to the principal.
School principals may suspend a pupil without first
holding an informal conference with the pupil if an
emergency situation exists. A school employee is
required to make a reasonable effort to contact the
pupil's parents at the time of suspension; however,
whenever a pupil is suspended from school (as opposed to
suspension from a class) the parent must be notified in
writing. (ED Section 48911)
5. Decision to Suspend
The governing board of a school district is required,
unless a request has been made to the contrary, to hold
closed sessions if the board is considering suspending
or taking other disciplinary action (other than
expulsion) if a public hearing would lead to the release
of confidential information. School districts are
required to notify, in writing, the pupil and the
pupil's parent of the intent to call and hold a closed
session. (ED Section 48912)
6. Alternatives to Out-of-School Suspension
School district superintendents and school principals
are authorized to use discretion to provide alternatives
to suspension or expulsion, including counseling and an
anger management program. (ED Section 48900(v))
School principals are authorized to assign a suspended
pupil to a supervised suspension classroom for the
entire period of suspension if the pupil poses no
imminent danger or threat to the campus, pupils, or
staff, or if an action to expel the pupil has not been
initiated. (ED Section 48911.1)
Existing law states that schools should consider
implementing at least one of the following if the number
of pupils suspended during the prior school year
exceeded 30% of the school's enrollment:
A. A supervised suspension program.
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B. A progressive discipline approach during the
schoolday on campus (as an alternative to off-campus
suspension), using any of the following activities:
(1) Conferences between the school staff,
parents and pupils.
(2) Referral to the school counselor,
psychologist, child welfare attendance personnel,
or other school support service staff.
(3) Detention.
(4) Study teams, guidance teams, resource panel
teams, or other assessment-related teams. (EC �
48911.2)
Teachers may suspend pupils from class for the day and
the following day. If the pupil is to remain on campus
during that suspension, the pupil must be under
appropriate supervision. Teachers must ask the parent
to attend a parent-teacher conference regarding the
suspension. Pupils are prohibited from returning to the
class from which he or she was suspended, during the
period of the suspension, without the concurrence of the
teacher and principal. (ED Section 48910)
Schools are authorized to require a pupil to perform
community service as part of or instead of suspension or
expulsion for most offenses. (ED Section 48900.6)
7. Missed Assignments
The teacher of any class from which a pupil is suspended
is authorized to require the pupil to complete any
assignments and tests missed during the suspension. (ED
Section 48913)
8. Number of Days of Suspension
The number of days that a pupil may be suspended from
school is capped at five consecutive schooldays. (ED
Section 48911)
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With some exception, the total number of days for which
a pupil may be suspended is capped at 20 schooldays per
school year, unless the pupil enrolls in or is
transferred to another regular school, an opportunity
school or a continuation school, in which case the cap
is 30 schooldays per school year. School districts are
authorized to count suspensions that occur while a pupil
is enrolled in another school district toward the
maximum numbers of days for which a pupil may be
suspended in any school year. (ED Section 48903)
In cases where expulsion from any school or suspension
for the remainder of the semester from continuation
schools is being processed by a school district, the
district superintendent may extend the suspension until
the governing board has rendered a decision. (ED
Section 48911(g))
9. Length of Expulsion
School district governing boards are required to set a
date, not later than the last day of the semester
following the semester in which the expulsion occurred,
when the pupil shall be reviewed for readmission to a
school within the district or the school the pupil last
attended. (ED Section 48916(a))
School district governing boards are required to set a
date of one year from the date the expulsion occurred
for a pupil who has been expelled for:
A. Possessing, selling, or furnishing a firearm.
B. Brandishing a knife at another person.
C. Unlawfully selling a controlled substance.
D. Committing or attempting to commit a sexual
assault.
E. Possession of an explosive. (ED Section 48916(a))
10. Pupils with exceptional needs
Schools are authorized to suspend or expel an individual
with exceptional needs in accordance with federal law.
If a pupil with an individualized education program
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(IEP) exhibits behavior problems, the IEP team must make
a determination if the behavior is a manifestation of
the disability and whether the strategies in the IEP are
effective to address the behavior. If it is determined
that the IEP is ineffective, a functional analysis is
then amended to include a behavior intervention plan.
(ED Section 48915.5, 56523, and California Code of
Regulations Title 5, Section 3052)
This bill:
1. Prohibits pupils who have been determined to have
disrupted school activities or otherwise willfully
defied the valid authority of supervisors, teachers,
administrators, school officials, or other school
personnel engaged in the performance of their duties
from being subject to an extended suspension,
recommended for expulsion, or expelled.
2. Authorizes pupils who have been determined to have
disrupted school activities or otherwise willfully
defied the valid authority of supervisors, teachers,
administrators, school officials, or other school
personnel engaged in the performance of their duties to
be subject to, in addition to suspension:
A. Other means of correction pursuant to current law.
B. Community service during non-school hours.
C. In-school suspension in a supervised suspension
classroom.
3. Moves provisions related to the discipline of pupils who
have been determined to have disrupted school activities
or willfully defied school authority from the general
authority to suspension or expel for certain acts to a
new section of the Education Code located near
provisions related to in-school suspension and other
alternatives to off-campus suspension.
Comments
According to the Senate Education Committee analysis:
This bill removes the discretion of schools to impose an
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extended suspension or recommend expulsion of a pupil who
has been found to have disrupted school activities or
otherwise willfully defied the authority of school
officials. Schools would continue to have the authority
to suspend a pupil for disruption or willful defiance.
Prior versions of this bill prohibited out-of-school
suspension for disruption or defiance but was amended to
reduce costs (of in-school suspension or alternative
means of correction). While it is desirable to keep
pupils in school and truly addressing the problem
behavior, requiring in-school suspension or other means
of correction would nevertheless impose costs that
schools are unlikely to be able to absorb at this time.
Capacity . Implementation of alternative means of
correction could include the need for staff training,
school counselors and psychologists, staff to supervise
pupils who serve in-school suspensions, and classrooms to
house pupils who serve in-school suspensions. This bill
does not require schools to use alternative means of
correction.
Los Angeles Unified School District . On October 11, 2011,
it was announced that the Los Angeles Unified School
District (LAUSD) entered into a voluntary agreement with
the federal Department of Education's Office of Civil
Rights. Under the agreement, LAUSD will revamp its
entire program for English learners and accelerate its
efforts focused on closing the achievement and
opportunity gap for African-American pupils. As part of
the agreement, LAUSD is to take steps to report disparate
discipline rates, and eliminate inequitable and
disproportionate discipline practices.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/5/12)
Public Counsel (source)
American Civil Liberties Union
Black Organizing Project
Black Parallel School Board
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California Association for Parent-Child Advocacy
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
California State Conference of the NAACP
California State PTA
Center on Juvenile & Criminal Justice
Children Now
Children's Defense Fund
Community Asset Development Re-defining Education
Community Coalition
Congregations Building Community
Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
Disability Rights Legal Center
Fight Crime: Invest in Kids
Gay-Straight Alliance Network
InnerCity Struggle
Labor/Community Strategy Center
Legal Advocates for Children & Youth
Legal Services for Children
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
Los Angeles Unified School District
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
National Center for Youth Law
Northern California Association of Counsel for Children
Oakland Unified School District
PICO California
PolicyLink
Restorative Schools Vision Project
Youth and Education Law Project, Mills Legal Clinic
Youth Justice Coalition
Youth Law Center
OPPOSITION : (Verified 7/5/12)
Association of California School Administrators
California County Superintendents Educational Services
Association
California School Boards Association
Riverside County School Superintendents' Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, "Existing
law provides that students can be suspended, expelled or
given an extended suspension (more than five days in
preparation for expulsion) from a school district for
willful defiance, defined simply as disrupting school
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activities or otherwise willfully defying the valid
authority of school staff. This offense is only one of the
more than 24 offenses for which suspensions and expulsion
are permissible or mandatory. According to unofficial data
obtained from the California Department of Education, it is
estimated that 'willful defiance' was identified as the
most severe grounds for 42% of all suspensions in 2010-11
and as much as 12% of all expulsions. Under this
subjective category, students are sent home for extended
periods of time, often without instruction, and expelled
from their school district and denied valuable learning
time for anything from failing to turn in homework, not
paying attention, refusing to follow directions, taking off
a coat or hat, or swearing in class."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The California School Boards
Association writes:
AB 2242 provides that the act of disrupting school
activities or otherwise willfully defying the valid
authority of school personnel would subject a pupil to
in-school suspension in a supervised suspension classroom
or in an alternative setting, but not to off-campus
suspension, extended suspension, recommendation for
expulsion, or expulsion.
This bill is one of many this session that attempt to
reduce the use of punitive, zero-tolerance measures and
focus, instead, on alternatives to address the causes of
a pupil's behavior. Under current provisions and
reporting requirements, the category of "disruption of
school activities and willful defiance" is very broad and
can encompass a number of offenses. Willful defiance can
range in its severity, but can and does contribute to an
overall disruption of the learning environment leading to
classroom management and safety issues.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 46-25, 5/31/12
AYES: Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block,
Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Butler, Charles
Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Davis,
Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Galgiani, Gordon,
Halderman, Hall, Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez, Hill, Hueso,
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Huffman, Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mitchell, Monning,
Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson,
Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NOES: Achadjian, Bill Berryhill, Conway, Cook, Donnelly,
Beth Gaines, Garrick, Gatto, Gorell, Grove, Hagman,
Harkey, Huber, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue, Miller,
Morrell, Nielsen, Olsen, Portantino, Silva, Smyth, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Buchanan, Fletcher, Furutani, Mansoor,
Mendoza, Nestande, Norby, Torres, Valadao
PQ:m 7/5/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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