BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 420|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 420
Author: Dickinson (D), et al.
Amended: 6/19/13 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 7-1, 6/26/13
AYES: Liu, Block, Correa, Hancock, Hueso, Monning, Torres
NOES: Huff
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 52-23, 5/30/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Pupil discipline: suspensions: willful defiance
SOURCE : ACLU
Brothers, Sons, Selves
Children Now
Fight Crime: Invest in Kids
Public Counsel
DIGEST : This bill eliminates the option to suspend or
recommend for expulsion a pupil who disrupted school activities
or otherwise willfully defied the authority of school officials
and instead authorizes schools to suspend a pupil in grades 6-12
who has substantially disrupted school activities or
substantially prevented instruction from occurring, as
specified. Also, states the intent of the Legislature to
address the disproportionate suspension of particular pupil
subgroups and encourage schools to prioritize and use alternate
means of correction, as specified.
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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 action for most offenses.
Discretion to suspend
Schools may suspend a pupil for violating any number of acts,
some of which include:
1.Attempting to cause or threatening to cause physical injury to
another person. (Expulsion must be recommended for causing
serious physical injury.)
2.Being under the influence of a controlled substance.
(Expulsion must be recommended for possession or the sale of
controlled substances.)
3.Caused or attempted to cause damage to school property.
4.Possessed or used tobacco.
5.Committed an obscene act or engaged in habitual profanity or
vulgarity.
6.Possessed, offered, arranged or negotiated to sell drug
paraphernalia.
7.Engaged in, or attempted to engage in, hazing.
8.Disrupting school activities or otherwise willfully defying
the valid authority of supervisors, teachers, administrators,
school officials, or other school personnel engaged in the
performance of their duties.
9.Engaged in an act of bullying.
Pupils may be suspended for a first offense if the school
principal determines that the pupil committed certain acts or
that a pupil's presence causes a danger to persons or property
or threatens to disrupt the instructional process or the pupil
committed certain acts.
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Subjective decision to expel
Schools may expel pupils for various offenses, including
disruption and defiance, upon finding either of the following:
1.Other means of correction are not feasible or have repeatedly
failed to bring about proper conduct.
2.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.
Prior to suspension
Existing law states that suspension shall be imposed only when
other means of correction fail to bring about proper conduct.
Suspension by the principal must be preceded by an 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.
Decision to suspend
The governing board of a school district (GBSD) is required,
unless a request has been made to the contrary, to hold closed
sessions if the GBSD 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.
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.
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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.
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:
1.A supervised suspension program.
2.A progressive discipline approach during the schoolday on
campus (as an alternative to off-campus suspension), using any
of the following activities:
A. Conferences between the school staff, parents and
pupils.
B. Referral to the school counselor, psychologist, child
welfare attendance personnel, or other school support
service staff.
C. Detention.
D. Study teams, guidance teams, resource panel teams, or
other assessment-related teams.
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.
Schools are authorized to require a pupil to perform community
service as part of or instead of suspension or expulsion for
most offenses.
Missed assignments
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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.
Number of days of suspension
The number of days that a pupil may be suspended from school is
capped at five consecutive schooldays.
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.
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.
Length of expulsion
GBSD 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.
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 (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.
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This bill eliminates the option to suspend or recommend for
expulsion a pupil who disrupted school activities or otherwise
willfully defied the authority of school officials and instead
authorizes schools to suspend a pupil in grades 6-12 who has
substantially disrupted school activities or substantially
prevented instruction from occurring. Specifically, this bill:
1.Eliminates the option to suspend or recommend for expulsion a
pupil who 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.
2.Authorizes schools to suspend a pupil in grades 6-12 who has
substantially disrupted school activities or substantially
prevented instruction from occurring.
3.Limits the authority to suspend a pupil for substantially
disrupting school activities or substantially preventing
instruction from occurring to the third or more offense in a
school year, and only if the pupil's parent, guardian or
educational rights holder has been informed that other means
of correction were attempted before the recommendation to
suspend.
4.Prohibits a pupil from being recommended for expulsion for
substantial disruption of school activities or substantial
prevention of instruction from occurring.
5.Specifically authorizes teachers to continue to suspend from
class for up to 2 days a pupil in any grade who disrupts
school activities or otherwise willfully defies the valid
authority of supervisors, teachers, administrators, school
officials, or other school personnel engaged in the
performance of their duties.
6.States it is the intent of the Legislature to address the
disproportionate suspension of particular pupil subgroups, and
to encourage schools to prioritize and use alternative means
of correction such as participation in a restorative justice
program or a positive behavior support system with tiered
interventions to improve educational outcomes for children.
Comments
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According to the author, "Existing law provides that students
can be suspended or recommended for expulsion from a school
district for willful defiance, defined simply as: disrupting
school activities or otherwise willfully defying the valid
authority of school staff. Without regard to the severity,
under this highly subjective category, students can be suspended
or expelled from the entire district and denied valuable
instructional time for any disruptive or defiant behavior
including failing to turn in homework, not paying attention, or
refusing to follow directions. California has one of the
highest rates of suspension in the nation, with more than
700,000 recorded suspensions in 2010-11. Nationally, nearly 43%
of all out-of-school suspensions are for insubordination,
whereas only .7% are for use or possession of a firearm or
explosive. 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. Under this highly
subjective category, students are sent home, too often to an
empty home, with no supervision, and denied valuable
instructional time for anything from failing to turn in
homework, not paying attention, or refusing to follow
directions, taking off a coat or hat, or swearing in class.
They can also be potentially expelled from a district for such
offenses."
Prior Legislation
AB 2242 (Dickinson, 2012) would have prohibited 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. AB 2242 was
vetoed by the Governor Brown, whose veto message read:
I cannot support limiting the authority of local school
leaders, especially at a time when budget cuts have greatly
increased class sizes and reduced the number of school
personnel. It is important that teachers and school
officials retain broad discretion to manage and set the
tone in the classroom.
The principle of subsidiarity calls for greater, not less,
deference to our elected school boards which are directly
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accountable to the citizenry.
SB 1235 (Steinberg, 2012) would have encouraged schools that
have suspended more than 25% of the school's enrollment or more
than 25% of any numerically significant racial or ethnic
subgroup of the school's enrollment in the prior school year to
implement, for at least three years, at least one specified
strategies to reduce the suspension rate or disproportionality.
SB 1235 was vetoed by the Governor Brown, whose veto message
read:
This bill requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction
each year to compile a list of schools which suspend too
high a percentage of their students and then invite
districts that have such schools to attend meetings to
discuss the problem.
My preference is to leave the matter of student suspension
to local school boards and the citizens who elect them.
I understand the author's concern, which is why I have
signed a number of other bills aimed at reducing the number
of student suspensions and expulsions.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/6/13)
ACLU (co-source)
Brothers, Sons, Selves (co-source)
Children Now (co-source)
Fight Crime: Invest in Kids (co-source)
Public Counsel (co-source)
Advancement Project
Alameda Unified School District
American Academy of Pediatrics
Attendance Works
Black Organizing Project
Black Parallel School Board
Brotherhood Crusade
Cadre
California Alliance of African American Educators
California Black Health Network
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California Correctional Peace Officers Association
California Mental Health Directors Association
California National Organization for Women
California School Health Centers Association
California State PTA
Californians for Justice
Child Care Results
Children's Defense Fund - California
Colibri Law Group
Community Asset Development Re-defining Education
Community Coalition
Community Works
Developmental Disabilities Area Board 10
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
Disability Rights Legal Center
East Bay Children's Law Offices
Equality California
Families In Schools
First 5 Fresno County
Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center of Orange County
Gay-Straight Alliance Network
George Stafford and Associates
Growing up in Santa Cruz
Homeboy Industries
Inner City Struggle
Intercity Struggle
Issokson and Associates
Khmer Girls in Action
Labor/Community Strategy Center
LAUSD Board President, Monica Garcia
Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights
Legal Advocates for Children and Youth
Legal Services for Children
Liberty Hill Foundation
Los Angeles Trust for Children's Health
Los Angeles Unified School District
Los Angeles Unified School District Board President, Monica
Garcia
MALDEF
MarinKids
Mental Health Advocacy Services
Mills Legal Clinic
Mission Readiness
National Lawyers Guild of Sacramento
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Nutritionally for You
Pacific Community Solutions, Inc.
PACT LA Positive Alternative Choice Today
Peace Over Violence
PICO California
Policy Link
Public Counsel
Respect Institute
Restorative Schools Vision Project
San Francisco Unified School District
San Mateo County Office of Education
State Council on Developmental Disabilities
The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy California Collaboration
The Center of Orange County
The Children's Movement Fresno
The Children's Movement of California
The Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles
University of California Student Association
Vallejo Unified School District
Valley LEAP
Weingart East Los Angeles YMCA
Western Center on Law and Poverty
Youth and Education Law Project
Youth Law Center
Youth Leadership Institute
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/5/13)
Association of California School Administrators
California Federation of Teachers
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
Small School Districts Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Supporters of this bill maintain that
to limit the use of suspension and expulsion for acts of
disruption and defiance encourages other means of correction as
the preferred remedy for such acts by only allowing high school
students to be suspended on these grounds, only permitting such
suspensions after multiple offenses, and removing the ability to
expel students for such acts.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Opponents argue that this bill
"restricts a district from suspending or expelling a student in
grades Kindergarten to Grade 5 for acts of will defiance.
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Suspension for willful defiance for students in grades 6 through
12 could only occur after the third documented offense provided
specified alternative corrective measures were attempted and
documented."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 52-23, 5/30/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bloom, Blumenfield,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Cooley, Daly,
Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Frazier, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez,
Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Hall, Roger Hern�ndez, Jones-Sawyer,
Levine, Lowenthal, Mitchell, Mullin, Nazarian, Nestande,
Olsen, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,
Skinner, Stone, Ting, Weber, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada,
John A. P�rez
NOES: Allen, Bigelow, Conway, Dahle, Donnelly, Beth Gaines,
Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Harkey, Jones, Linder, Logue,
Maienschein, Mansoor, Melendez, Morrell, Muratsuchi,
Patterson, Salas, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Fox, Holden, Medina, Pan, Vacancy
PQ:nl:d 8/8/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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