BILL NUMBER: AB 2616 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 29, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Carter
FEBRUARY 24, 2012
An act to amend Section 48263.6 Sections
48260, 48260.5, and 48264.5 of the Education Code, relating to
truancy school districts .
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2616, as amended, Carter. Truancy: chronic truant.
School districts: truancy.
Existing law defines a truant as any pupil subject to compulsory
full-time education or to compulsory continuation education who is
absent from school without a valid excuse 3 full days in one school
year, or tardy or absent for more than any 30-minute period during
the schoolday without a valid excuse on 3 occasions in one school
year, or any combination thereof, and requires a school district to
notify a pupil's parent or legal guardian, as specified, when a pupil
is initially classified as a truant. Existing law specifies that a
pupil who is required to be reported as a truant may be required to
attend makeup classes, as specified.
This bill would remove the requirement that a pupil subject to
compulsory full-time education or to compulsory continuation
education who is absent from school without a valid excuse 3 full
days in one school year, or tardy or absent for more than any
30-minute period during the schoolday without a valid excuse on 3
occasions in one school year, or any combination thereof, is a
truant, and instead authorizes a school to use its discretion to
classify a pupil as a truant under those circumstances. The bill
would require a school district to notify a pupil's parent or legal
guardian, as specified, when a pupil is initially classified as a
truant at the discretion of the school. The bill also would specify
that a pupil who is classified as a truant at the discretion of the
school may be required to attend makeup classes, as specified, and
would make nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.
Existing law defines a truant as any pupil subject to compulsory
full-time education or to compulsory continuation education who is
absent from school without a valid excuse 3 full days in one school
year, or tardy or absent for more than any 30-minute period during
the schoolday without a valid excuse on 3 occasions in one school
year, or any combination thereof. Existing law defines a chronic
truant as any pupil subject to compulsory full-time education or to
compulsory continuation education who is absent from school without a
valid excuse for 10% or more of the schooldays in one school year,
from the date of enrollment to the current date, provided that the
appropriate school district officer or employee has complied with
specified provisions of law.
This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to that latter
provision.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 48260 of the
Education Code is amended to read:
48260. (a) Any A pupil
subject to compulsory full-time education or to compulsory
continuation education who is absent from school without valid excuse
three full days in one school year or tardy or absent for more than
any a 30-minute period during the
schoolday without a valid excuse on three occasions in one school
year, or any combination thereof, is may be
classified as a truant and , if the school, in its
discretion, classifies the pupil as a truant, the truant shall
be reported to the attendance supervisor or to the superintendent of
the school district.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), it is the intent of the
Legislature that school districts shall not change the method of
attendance accounting provided for in existing law and shall not be
required to employ period-by-period attendance accounting.
SEC. 2. Section 48260.5 of the
Education Code is amended to read:
48260.5. Upon a pupil's initial classification as a
truant, If a school, in its discretion, classifies a
pupil as a truant, the school district shall notify the pupil's
parent or legal guardian using the most cost-effective
method possible, which may include electronic mail or a telephone
call:
(a) That the pupil is truant.
(b) That the parent or legal guardian is obligated to
compel the attendance of the pupil at school.
(c) That parents or legal guardians who fail to meet
this obligation may be guilty of an infraction and subject to
prosecution pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 48290) of
Chapter 2 of Part 27.
(d) That alternative educational programs are available in the
school district.
(e) That the parent or legal guardian has the right to
meet with appropriate school personnel to discuss solutions to the
pupil's truancy.
(f) That the pupil may be subject to prosecution under Section
48264.
(g) That the pupil may be subject to suspension, restriction, or
delay of the pupil's driving privilege pursuant to Section 13202.7 of
the Vehicle Code.
(h) That it is recommended that the parent or legal
guardian accompany the pupil to school and attend classes with the
pupil for one day.
SEC. 3. Section 48264.5 of the
Education Code is amended to read:
48264.5. Any minor who is required to be reported
who the school district, in its discretion, classifies
as a truant pursuant to Section 48260 or 48261 may be required
to attend makeup classes conducted on one day of a weekend pursuant
to subdivision (c) of Section 37223 and is subject to the following:
(a) The first time a truancy report is required,
may be issued, the pupil may be personally given
a written warning by any peace officer specified in Section 830.1 of
the Penal Code. A record of the written warning may be kept at the
school for a period of not less than two years, or until the pupil
graduates, or transfers, from that school. If the pupil transfers,
the record may be forwarded to any the
school receiving the pupil's school records. A record of the written
warning may be maintained by the law enforcement agency in accordance
with that law enforcement agency's policies and procedures.
(b) The second time a truancy report is required
may be issued within the same school year, the
pupil may be assigned by the school to an afterschool or weekend
study program located within the same county as the pupil's school.
If the pupil fails to successfully complete the assigned study
program, the pupil shall be subject to subdivision (c).
(c) The third time a truancy report is required
may be issued within the same school year, the pupil
shall be classified a habitual truant, as defined in Section 48262,
and may be referred to, and required to attend, an attendance review
board or a truancy mediation program pursuant to Section 48263 or
pursuant to Section 601.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. If
the school district does not have a truancy mediation
program, the pupil may be required to attend a comparable program
deemed acceptable by the school district's attendance supervisor. If
the pupil does not successfully complete the truancy mediation
program or other similar program, the pupil shall be subject to
subdivision (d).
(d) The fourth time a truancy is required to be reported
may be issued within the same school year, the
pupil shall may be within the
jurisdiction of the juvenile court which that
may adjudge the pupil to be a ward of the court pursuant to
Section 601 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. If the pupil is
adjudged a ward of the court, the pupil shall be required to do one
or more of the following:
(1) Performance at court-approved community services sponsored by
either a public or private nonprofit agency for not less than 20
hours but not more than 40 hours over a period not to exceed 90 days,
during a time other than the pupil's hours of school attendance or
employment. The probation officer shall report to the court the
failure of the pupil to comply with this paragraph.
(2) Payment of a fine by the pupil of not more than one hundred
dollars ($100) for which a parent or guardian of the pupil may be
jointly liable.
(3) Attendance of a court-approved truancy prevention program.
(4) Suspension or revocation of driving privileges pursuant to
Section 13202.7 of the Vehicle Code. This subdivision shall apply
only to a pupil who has attended a school attendance review board
program, a program operated by a probation department acting as a
school attendance review board, or a truancy mediation program
pursuant to subdivision (c).
SECTION 1. Section 48263.6 of the Education
Code is amended to read:
48263.6. Any pupil subject to compulsory full-time education or
to compulsory continuation education who is absent from school
without a valid excuse for 10 percent or more of the schooldays in
one school year, from the date of enrollment to the current date, is
deemed a chronic truant, if the appropriate school district officer
or employee has complied with Sections 48260, 48260.5, 48261, 48262,
48263, and 48291.