BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2368|
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 2368
Author: Block (D)
Amended: 6/13/12 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 9-0, 6/20/12
AYES: Lowenthal, Alquist, Blakeslee, Hancock, Huff, Liu,
Price, Simitian, Vargas
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 4/30/12 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : School security: school police departments
SOURCE : Peace Officers Research Association of
California
DIGEST : This bill reorganizes and clarifies the statute
governing school police and security departments. This
bill authorizes the governing board of a school district to
establish a school police department under the supervision
of a school chief of police, and would authorize the
employment of peace officers, as defined, to ensure the
safety of school district personnel and pupils, and the
security of the real and personal property of the school
district.
ANALYSIS : Existing law designates the following
individuals as peace officers and vests them with police
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powers:
1.Members of a California Community College police
department as specified.
2.Persons employed as members of a police department of a
school district, as specified.
3.Any peace officer employed by a K-12 public school
district or California Community College district who has
completed training prescribed by the Commission on Pease
Officer Standards and Training (POST).
Existing law authorizes a governing board to employ
personnel to ensure the safety of school district
personnel, pupils, and the real and personal property of
the school district. Under the direction of the
superintendent of the district, school districts may
establish a security department under a chief of security
or a police department under the supervision of a chief of
police. Additionally, school districts are authorized to
assign a deputized reserve officer to a school site to
supplement the duties of school police personnel. Current
law expresses the intent of the Legislature that a school
district police department or security department is
supplementary to city and county law enforcement agencies
and is not vested with police powers.
Existing law specifies that persons employed and
compensated as members of a school district police
department when appointed and duly sworn, are peace
officers for the purposes of carrying out their duties of
employment, as specified.
This bill:
1.Reorganizes and clarifies the statute governing school
police and security departments.
2.Authorizes the governing board of a school district that
establishes a school police department under the
supervision of a school chief of police, to employ peace
officers, as defined, to ensure the safety of school
district personnel and pupils and the security of the
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real and personal property of the school district.
Comments
The Education Code gives the governing board of a school
district the authority to establish a police department and
the Penal Code specifically extends peace officer powers to
school district police. Yet the same section of the
Education Code that authorizes the establishment of a
police department also expresses the intent of the
Legislature that a school district "police or security"
department is supplementary to city and county law
enforcement and is not vested with general police powers.
The sponsor of this bill, the Peace Officer Research
Association of California (PORAC), maintains that the
original purpose of this provision was to indicate the
Legislature's intent for security departments to be
supplemental to local law enforcement agencies. A review
of the legislative history did not reveal any explanation
for the conflict between the intent language and other
sections of the law.
According to information provided by the author's office,
the role of school police has grown since the time when the
terms campus security and campus police were used
interchangeably and when school districts were first given
authority to establish security patrols whose duties
related to the prevention of vandalism to school property
and physical assaults against personnel and pupils in or
about the school premises. Over the years, the role and
training of school police officers has grown to the same
level as municipal peace officers. Individuals who serve
as peace officers in a school police department undergo
POST training and complete additional training to work in a
school setting with juveniles. This bill updates the
intent language and terms in Section 38000 of the Education
Code to reflect the distinction that now exists between
campus security and campus police.
By creating separate subparagraphs pertaining to security
departments and police departments, limiting the intent
statement to the powers of school security departments and
by defining peace officers, AB 2368 provides much needed
clarification without expanding police powers.
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School police power and authority . Advocacy groups have
expressed concern about the over reliance on exclusionary
discipline in public schools, noting that as school police
have evolved to full-fledged peace officers, there has been
a rise in zero-tolerance discipline practices. They
further note that California's high suspension rate has
coincided with the increased use of school police by school
districts, with Black and Latino youth bearing a
disproportionate brunt of these practices.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/20/12)
Peace Officers Research Association of California (source)
San Diego Schools Police Officers Association
Los Angeles Unified School District
San Diego Schools Police Officers Association
OPPOSITION : (Verified 6/20/12)
Books Not Bars
Labor/Community Strategy Center
Youth Justice Coalition
Youth Law Center
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The San Diego Schools Police
Officers Association states, "When Education Code 38000 was
created, it was the intent of the Legislature for School
Police Officers to work on or about our schools, protect
school district property and protect our students at our
schools or as they travel to compete throughout the State
of California. With the evolution of law enforcement, as a
whole, the role and training of School Police Officer grew
to the same level as municipal peace officers with
additional training in the area of working with juveniles
and within the same school environment while still
maintaining the original intent of the Legislature. ? This
bill will maintain the original intent of the Legislature
while defining the distinctive role between a School Police
Department and the limited role of a School Security
Department."
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ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The Youth Justice Coalition
states that, "While we understand that the author contends
that this bill is intended to clarify existing law, to
address what they perceive to be an inconsistency in the
Education and Penal Codes, we respectfully disagree. This
bill removes language that explicitly states school polices
are distinct form city and county law enforcement in that
they are "not vested with general police power. In doing
so, AB 2368 further contributes to a lack of clarity
regarding the limitations of school police. In addition to
causing confusion on this point, AB 2368 creates potential
risks that are associated with an expansion of school
police power unnecessarily and without a thorough analysis
of the implications. In our current education climate,
where the phenomenon of the school-to-prison pipeline and
the relationship to school police are well documented, AB
2368 has the potential to exacerbate a problem with serious
far-reaching consequences. Further, while school district
police are issuing citation and arresting primarily youth
but also adults on and around school campuses routinely,
they are far from scrutiny and reporting requirements of
city and county law enforcement agencies that act under the
general police power and have extremely limited to no
infrastructure for oversight."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 4/30/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Bonilla, Bradford, Buchanan,
Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Chesbro,
Conway, Cook, Dickinson, Donnelly, 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, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,
Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell,
Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel
P�rez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson,
Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada,
John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Blumenfield, Brownley, Cedillo, Davis,
Furutani, Logue, Smyth
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PQ:n 6/21/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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