BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2537
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 11, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
AB 2537 (V. Manuel Perez) - As Introduced: February 24, 2012
SUBJECT : Pupil discipline: suspensions and expulsions
SUMMARY : Limits the acts committed by pupils that result in
mandatory expulsion; authorizes, rather than requires, a school
district to expel a student for committing specified acts; and
authorizes, rather than requires, a principal to notify
appropriate law enforcement authorities of specified acts
committed by pupils. Specifically, this bill :
1)Expresses the intent of the Legislature that the acts
enumerated in the sections of law dealing with suspensions and
expulsions form the exclusive bases for the imposition of
suspension and expulsion. Expresses the Legislature's intent
that the sections of law dealing with suspensions and
expulsions grant to school districts the discretion to suspend
or expel a pupil for any of the specified acts, except the
acts that require mandatory expulsions.
2)Authorizes, rather than requires, a principal or a principal's
designee, to do the following:
a) Notify, prior to the suspension or expulsion of a pupil,
the appropriate law enforcement authorities of the county
or city in which the school is situated of any specified
acts committed by the pupil, including assault with a
deadly weapon; possession, use, sale, or otherwise
furnishing of controlled substance or narcotics;
possession, sale, or otherwise furnishing of firearm; and
possession of explosive.
b) Ensure that copies of the special education and
disciplinary records of a pupil with exceptional needs are
transmitted, as described in federal law, for consideration
by the appropriate law enforcement authorities to whom a
principal or a principal's designee reported the criminal
activity.
c) Expel a pupil for any of the following acts committed at
school or at a school activity off school grounds:
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i) Causing serious physical injury to another person,
except in self-defense;
ii) Possession of any knife or other dangerous object of
no reasonable use to the pupil;
iii) Unlawful possession of any controlled substance as
specified in the Health and Safety Code;
iv) Robbery or extortion; or,
v) Assault or battery upon any school employee.
3)Deletes the provision specifying that willful failure of a
principal or the principal's designee to make any required
report to local law enforcement agencies is an infraction
punishable by a fine of $500.
4)Specifies that the decision of a local governing board to
expel a pupil who committed specified acts, including physical
injury; possession or furnishing of a firearm, knife, or
explosive; and offering, arranging sale of controlled
substance; shall be based on both, rather than one, of the
following:
a) Other means of correction are not feasible or have
repeatedly failed to bring about proper conduct; and,
b) Due to the nature of the act, the presence of the pupil
causes a continuing danger to the physical safety of the
pupil or others.
5)Authorizes, rather than requires, a principal or
superintendent of schools to recommend expulsion of a pupil
who committed the following acts:
a) Selling or otherwise furnishing a firearm;
b) Brandishing a knife at another person;
c) Unlawfully selling a controlled substance; and,
d) Committing or attempting to commit a sexual assault or
sexual battery.
6)Requires a principal or superintendent to recommend expulsion
of a pupil that he or she determines has committed either of
the following acts at school or at a school activity off
school grounds:
a) Possession of a firearm unless the pupil had obtained
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prior written permission to possess the firearm from a
certificated school employee, concurred in by the
principal.
b) Possession of an explosive.
7)Specifies that the decision of a local governing board to
expel a pupil who committed specified acts at school or at a
school activity off of school grounds, including damaging
school property; stealing or attempting to steal school
property; possessing or using tobacco; committing an obscene
act or engaging in habitual profanity or vulgarity; unlawfully
possessing or unlawfully offering, arranging or negotiating to
sell drug paraphernalia; disrupting school activities or
otherwise willfully defying school authorities; knowingly
receiving stolen school or private property; and possessing an
imitation firearm; shall be based on both, rather than one, of
the following:
a) Other means of correction are not feasible or have
repeatedly failed to bring about proper conduct; and,
b) Due to the nature of the act, the presence of the pupil
causes a continuing danger to the physical safety of the
pupil or others.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes or requires a principal or a superintendent of
schools to suspend or expel a student committing any of a
number of specified acts. (Education Code (EC) Sections
48900, 48900.2, 48900.3, 48900.4, 48900.7, 48915)
2)Requires the principal or superintendent to recommend
expulsion of a pupil for any of the following acts committed
at school or at a school activity off school grounds, unless
the principal or superintendent finds that expulsion is
inappropriate, due to the particular circumstance:
a) Causing serious physical injury to another person,
except in self-defense.
b) Possession of any knife or other dangerous object of no
reasonable use to the pupil.
c) Unlawful possession of any controlled substance, except
for the first offense for the possession of no more than
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one avoirdupois ounce of marijuana, other than concentrated
cannabis.
d) Robbery or extortion.
e) Assault or battery upon any school employee. (EC
Section 48915)
3)Requires a principal or superintendent to immediately suspend
and recommend expulsion of a pupil that he or she determines
has committed any of the following acts at school or at a
school activity off school grounds:
a) Possessing, selling, or otherwise 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. (EC Section 48915)
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Legislative Counsel, this bill
is non-fiscal.
COMMENTS : Background . Under existing law, a principal or a
superintendent may suspend or expel a pupil for committing any
of a number of specified acts. The California Department of
Education (CDE) reported 700,884 suspensions and 18,649
expulsions in 2010-11.
For expulsions, current law specifies three categories: 1) acts
committed by a pupil that result in immediate suspension and
recommendation for 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 particular circumstance; and 3) acts
committed by a pupil for which a principal or superintendent
have discretion to determine expulsion. The chart on page 4
prepared by the Los Angeles Unified School District shows the
three levels.
This bill eliminates all requirements to expel pupils and
instead gives principals and superintendents the discretion to
determine whether a pupil should be expelled, with the exception
of two categories: 1) possession of a firearm; and 2)
possession of an explosive. The category of "possessing,
selling, or otherwise furnishing a firearm" is divided.
"Selling or otherwise furnishing a firearm" becomes an act that
may result in an expulsion, while possession of a firearm is
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kept as a mandatory expulsion. Under this bill, category I will
only contain possession of a firearm and possession of an
explosive. All other acts under category I and all of category
II offenses would move to category III.
According to the sponsor of the bill, Public Counsel, possession
of a firearm or an explosive were kept as mandatory expulsions
because the federal Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994 requires
states, as a condition for receipt of federal funds, to require
school districts to expel pupils for possession of a firearm; an
explosive is considered a firearm.
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| | | |
| Category I | Category II* | Category III* |
| Student | Student Offenses | Student Offenses with |
|Offenses with | with | Broad Principal Discretion |
| No Principal |Limited Principal | |
| Discretion | Discretion | |
| (except as | | |
| otherwise | | |
| precluded by | | |
| law) | | |
| | | |
|--------------+------------------+-------------------------------------------|
| | | |
|Principal |Principal must |Principal may recommend expulsion when the |
|shall |recommend |following occur at any time, including, |
|immediately |expulsion when |but not limited to, while on school |
|suspend and |the following |grounds; while going to or coming from |
|recommend |occur at school |school; during the lunch period, whether |
|expulsion |or at a school |on or off the campus; or during, or while |
|when the |activity off |going to or coming from, a |
|following |campus unless the |school-sponsored activity. |
|occur at |principal | |
|school or at |determines that |(E.C. 48915İb] and İe]) |
|a school |the expulsion is | |
|activity off |inappropriate. | |
|campus. | | |
| |(E.C. 48915İa]) | |
|(E.C. | | |
|48915İc]) | | |
| | | |
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|--------------+------------------+-------------------------------------------|
| | | |
|1.Possessing, |2.Causing serious |3.Caused, attempted to cause, or |
| selling, or | physical injury | threatened to cause physical injury to |
| furnishing | to another | another person. |
| a firearm. | person, except | (Unless, in the case of "caused," |
| E.C. | in | the injury is serious. İSee II.1]) |
| 48915(c)(1);| self-defense. | E.C. 48900(a)(1); 48915(b) |
| 48900(b) | E.C. |2.First offense of possession of marijuana |
| | 48915(a)(1); | of not more than one ounce, or alcohol. |
| | 48900(a)(1), | E.C. 48900(c); 48915(b) |
| | maybe |3.Sold, furnished, or offered a substitute |
| | also | substance represented as a controlled |
| | 48900(a)(2) | substance. |
| | | E.C. 48900(d); 48915(b) |
| | | |
|--------------+------------------+-------------------------------------------|
| | | |
|1.Brandishing |2.Possession of |1.Caused or attempted to cause damage to |
| a knife at | any knife, | school or private property. E.C. |
| another | explosive, or | 48900(f); 48915(e) |
| person. | other dangerous |2.Stole or attempted to steal school or |
| E.C. | object of no | private property. E.C. 48900(g); |
| 48915(c)(2);| reasonable use | 48915(e) |
| | to the pupil. |3.Possessed or used tobacco. E.C. |
| 48900(a)(1) | | 48900(h); 48915(e) |
| and | |4.Committed an obscene act or engaged in |
| 48900(b) | E.C. | habitual profanity or vulgarity. E.C. |
| | 48915(a)(2); | 48900(i); 48915(e) |
| | 48900(b) | |
| | | |
|--------------+------------------+-------------------------------------------|
| | | |
|1.Unlawfully |2.Unlawful |1.Possessed, offered, arranged, or |
| selling a | possession of | negotiated to sell any drug |
| controlled | any controlled | paraphernalia. E.C. 48900(j); 48915(e) |
| substance. | substance, |2.Disrupted school activities or willfully |
| | except for the | defied the valid authority of school |
| E.C. | first offense | personnel. E.C. 48900(k); 48915(e) |
| 48915(c)(3| of no more than |3.Knowingly received stolen school or |
| ); | an ounce of | private property. E.C. 48900(l); |
| 48900(c) | marijuana. | 48915(e) |
| | E.C. |4.Possessed an imitation firearm. E.C. |
| | 48915(a)(3); | 48900(m); 48915(e) |
| | 48900(c) | |
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|--------------+------------------+-------------------------------------------|
| | | |
|1.Committing |2.Robbery or |1.Engaged in harassment, threats, or |
| or | extortion. | intimidation against a pupil or group of |
| attempting | E.C. | pupils or school district personnel. |
| to commit a | 48915(a)(4); | E.C. 48900.4**; 48915(e) |
| sexual | 48900(e) |2.Engaged in sexual harassment. E.C. |
| assault or | | 48900.2**; 48915(e) |
| committing | |3.Caused, attempted to cause, threatened |
| a sexual | | to cause, or participated in an act of |
| battery (as | | hate violence. |
| defined in | | E.C. 48900.3**; 48915(e) |
| 48900İn]). | |4.Made terrorist threats against school |
| E.C. | | officials or school property, or both. |
| 48915(c)(4| | E.C. 48900.7; 48915(e) |
| ); | | |
| 48900(n) | | |
|--------------+------------------+-------------------------------------------|
| | | |
|1.5. Possession | 5. Assault or |1.Willfully used force or violence upon |
|of an | battery upon | the person of another, except in |
|explosive | any | self-defense. E.C. 48900(a)(2); |
| E.C. | school | 48915(b) |
|48915(c)(5); | employee. |2.Harassed, threatened, or intimidated a |
|48900 (b) | E.C. | pupil who is a complaining witness or |
| | 48915(a)(5); | witness in a disciplinary action. |
| | | E.C. 48900(o); 48915(e) |
| | 48900(a)(1) and |3.Any behavior listed in Category l or ll |
| | 48900(a)(2) | that is related to school activity or |
| | | school attendance but that did not occur |
| | | on campus or at a school activity off |
| | | campus. E.C. 48915(b) |
| | |4.Unlawfully offered, arranged to sell, |
| | | negotiated to sell, or sold the |
| | | prescription drug Soma. |
| | | E.C. 48900(p); 48915(e) |
| | |5.Engaged in, or attempted to engage in, |
| | | hazing, as defined in Section 32050. |
| | | E.C. 48900(q); 48915(e) |
| | |6.Engaged in an act of bullying, |
| | | including, but not limited to, bullying |
| | | committed by means of electronic act |
| | | directed specifically toward a pupil or |
| | | school personnel. E.C. 48900(r); |
| | | 48915(e) |
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| | | |
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* For Categories ll and lll, the school must provide evidence of
one or both of the following additional findings : (1) Other
means of correction are not feasible or have repeatedly failed
to bring about proper conduct, (2) Due to the nature of the
act, the student's presence causes a continuing danger to the
physical safety of the pupil or others.
**Grades 4 through 12 inclusive.
Source: Los Angeles Unified School District
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The author states, "School officials are currently mandated to
automatically suspend and /or expel students for various broadly
defined acts. These policies, known as 'Zero Tolerance,' were
put in place over ten years ago as an effort to cut down on
school violence. Although these policies were written with the
best of intent, they have resulted in thousands of students
being suspended and/or expelled for low level offenses.
School administrators agree that there are instances in which a
student engages in an activity that merits immediate suspension
and/or expulsion, such as carrying a loaded weapon on school
premises. However, many also agree that there are gray İareas]
in the law."
The author provides the following example:
"In a well documented case, Danielle Brinkam, a model student at
Rowland High School in Rowland Hills, California was expelled in
2005. She was a straight A's student, had received perfect
attendance since kindergarten and was a member of the choir. She
worked at a local grocery store. She woke up late one morning
and put on her work pants, which contained a knife she used to
open boxes with. When the administration found her in possession
of a knife, İshe] was expelled, a shock to many who knew her.
Many agreed that the punishment didn't fit the crime because she
did not use the knife on anyone and did not pose a threat."
Impact of punitive policies . The sponsor states that research
has consistently shown that school removals and other "get
tough" punishments fail schools and students, are not effective
at transforming anti-social behavior into pro-social behavior
and in fact have the opposite effect of exacerbating the problem
and further alienating the child from the school environment and
"pushing" them out of school.
A University of California, Los Angeles' Civil Rights Project
October 2011 brief titled "Discipline Policies, Successful
Schools, and Racial Justice," report that data gathered by the
U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights shows
disparity in suspensions and expulsions for Black students,
especially males, and students with disabilities. An analysis
of data collected in 2006 shows that 28% of Black male middle
school students were suspended at least once, while the rate was
10% for while males. The report argues that disciplinary
actions that result in exclusion from school cause students to
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miss important instructional time and may result in a "greater
risk of disengagement and diminished educational opportunities."
School safety versus alternative reform . The goal of this bill
and several other bills introduced this year is to keep the
students at school so that alternative corrective measures can
be identified to help address the causes of the student's
behavior. Supporters of the bill believe that once a student
exits the education system, that student is at a much higher
risk of entering the juvenile justice system. According to
supporters of the bill, in 2008, California reported a total of
165,901 individual juvenile court matters. Garfield High School
in Los Angeles, which implemented the Foundational Discipline
Policy of School-Wide Positive Behavior Support that focuses on
the benefits of implementing positive behavior support programs
on a school wide basis, has reduced suspensions dramatically,
yet administrators do not believe school safety has been
compromised.
However, the Legislature established the different levels of
authority, from mandatory to permissive, for school safety
reasons. Many of the provisions in the EC were crafted
following violent crimes committed in elementary schools and
colleges campuses in California and in other states; the most
infamous being the Columbine massacre in 1999, where 13 people
were killed and 21 were injured by two students who ultimately
committed suicide. There are offenses the Legislature has
deemed to be serious enough to require mandatory expulsion while
giving principals and superintendents discretion over numerous
other offenses. The issue for the Committee to consider is
whether the Legislature should allow principals and
superintendents to evaluate each situation and determine whether
expulsion is warranted. The offenses proposed by this bill that
will go from mandatory to permissive expulsion include the
following:
1)Selling or furnishing a firearm.
2)Brandishing a knife at another person.
3)Unlawfully selling a controlled substance.
4)Committing or attempting to commit a sexual assault or
committing a sexual battery.
5)Causing serious physical injury to another person, except in
self-defense.
6)Possession of any knife, explosive or other dangerous object
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of no reasonable use to the pupil.
7)Unlawful possession of any controlled substance, except for
the first office of no more than an ounce of marijuana.
8)Robbery or extortion.
9)Assault or battery upon any school employee.
Concerns have been raised by the Association of California
School Administrators that with the discretion at the local
level, governing boards will need to have strong justification
for expulsions that are given for fear of lawsuits, which may
inhibit expulsions that may be warranted. Staff recommends
leaving the categories I and II offenses as required expulsions
but give principals some discretion to address situations like
that of the Rowland High School pupil described above.
Additional considerations for expulsions . For the offenses
listed under Category II and III of the chart, existing law
requires a decision to expel to be based on one or both of the
following:
1)Other means of correction are not feasible or have repeatedly
failed to bring about proper conduct; or,
2)Due to the nature of the act, the presence of the pupil causes
a continuing danger to the physical safety of the pupil or
others.
This bill requires the decision to be based on both criteria.
While using other means of corrections is an ideal goal, should
principals and superintendents be prohibited from suspending or
expelling a student until he or she attempts other corrections,
even if he or she believes the student poses a safety risk?
Staff recommends keeping current law for the offenses listed in
category II to continue giving principals and superintendents
the authority to recommend expulsion for safety reasons. Staff
also recommends not applying the two conditions on the offenses
currently under category I.
Should principals not be required to report certain incidences
to local law enforcement ? Current law requires a principal or
the principal's designee, frequently a vice principal, to notify
law enforcement authorities of crimes involving assault with a
firearm, an assault weapon, or a deadly weapon or instrument;
possession or sale of controlled substances; possessing,
selling, or otherwise furnishing a firearm; and possession of an
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explosive, prior to or after suspending or expelling a pupil.
Current law also specifies that the willful failure to make a
report is an infraction punishable by a fine of up to $500 to be
paid by the principal or principal's designee. This bill
eliminates the $500 fine and makes it permissive for a principal
or a principal's designee to contact local law enforcement
authorities.
The California Police Chiefs Association opposes this provision
of the bill and states, "Experience has shown that the failure
to report on-campus criminal activity to law enforcement
frequently leads to a repetition (and in some cases escalation)
of the criminal activity of the student in question. Repetition
of escalation of criminal activity on a campus jeopardizes the
safety of other students. Unlawful activity is just that,
unlawful; the reporting of that unlawful activity should remain
an obligation of school administrators."
Districts that have school police departments may likely already
have working relationships with local law enforcement agencies.
For example, the Los Angeles School Police Department submits
copies of crime reports to the appropriate law enforcement
agencies for statistical and information sharing purposes.
Related legislation . This bill is one of several bills
introduced this year attempting to reduce the use of punitive
measures to respond to disciplinary and attendance problems.
The pending bills include:
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| Bill | Summary |
|------------------+----------------------------------------------|
|AB 1729 (Ammiano) |Requires other means of correction to be used |
| |and documented prior to the suspension or |
| |expulsion of any student, and revises the |
| |steps taken for suspensions and expulsions of |
| |students with exceptional needs. |
|------------------+----------------------------------------------|
|AB 2242 |Imposes in-school suspension and prohibits |
|(Dickinson) |off-campus suspension or extended suspension, |
| |or expulsion, due to disruption of school |
|*also on today's |activities or willful defiance of school |
|agenda. |officials. |
|------------------+----------------------------------------------|
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|AB 2300 (Swanson) |Prohibits, at the request of a pupil or a |
| |pupil's parent or guardian, a school from |
|*also on today's |disclosing a pupil's disciplinary records |
|agenda. |relating to suspensions to a postsecondary |
| |educational institution. |
|------------------+----------------------------------------------|
|AB 2537 (V. |Limits the acts committed by pupils that |
|Manuel Perez) |result in mandatory expulsion; authorizes, |
| |rather than requires, a school district to |
| |expel a student for committing specified |
|*also on today's |acts; and authorizes, rather than requires, a |
|agenda. |principal to notify appropriate law |
| |enforcement authorities of specified acts |
| |committed by pupils. |
|------------------+----------------------------------------------|
|AB 2616 (Carter) |Eliminates the requirement and instead |
| |authorizes a school to use its discretion to |
| |classify a pupil who misses three full days |
|*pending in the |in one school year or is tardy or absent for |
|Assembly |more than a 30-minute period during the |
|Education |schoolday without a valid excuse on three |
|Committee |occasions in one school year, or any |
| |combination thereof, as a truant. |
|------------------+----------------------------------------------|
|SB 1235 |Requires a school district to, if the number |
|(Steinberg) |of pupils suspended from school during the |
| |prior school year exceeded 25% of a school's |
| |enrollment or any numerically significant |
| |racial or ethnic subgroup, implement for a |
|*pending in the |minimum of three years, an evidence-based |
|Senate Education |system of schoolwide positive behavioral |
|Committee |interventions or strategies that are evidence |
| |based and designed to address school climate. |
| | |
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Previous related legislation . AB 1390 (Blumenfield), Chapter
292, Statutes of 2009, requires a principal or a principal's
designee to report any incident involving the possession, sale,
or otherwise furnishing of a firearm and possession of an
explosive to the city police or county sheriff with jurisdiction
over the school and the school security department or the school
police department.
AB 1511 (De Leon), introduced in 2009, authorizes a governing
board of a school district or a county superintendent of schools
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to enter into a memorandum of understanding with a prosecuting
city attorney's office or district attorney's office having
filing jurisdiction over the school district to facilitate the
placement of one or more prosecutors on one or more school
district campuses in order to promote public safety. The bill
was gutted and amended into a different bill in 2010.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Public Counsel Law Center (sponsor)
American Civil Liberties Union
Center for Juvenile Law and Policy
Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice
Coleman Advocates for Children & Youth
Labor/Community Strategy Center's Community Rights Campaign
Legal Advocates for Children & Youth
Legal Services for Children
New America Foundation
Youth and Education Law Project, Mills Legal Clinic
Youth Law Center
Opposition
Association of California School Administrators
California Police Chiefs Association
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087