BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1216
Page 1
Date of Hearing: January 15, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
AB 1216 (Campos) - As Amended: January 6, 2014
SUBJECT : Pupil discipline: suspension and expulsion: hate
violence.
SUMMARY : Expands the list of acts for which a principal or a
superintendent of schools may suspend or recommend expulsion of
a pupil, as follows:
The pupil, by force or threat of force, willfully injured,
intimidated, interfered with, oppressed, or threatened any other
pupil because of one or more of the following actual or
perceived characteristics of the victim:
1)Familial status, as defined in Section 12955.2 of the
Government Code.
2)Socioeconomic status.
3)Weight.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that a pupil may be suspended or expelled for
committing any of the following offenses:
a) Causing, attempting to cause, or threatening to cause
physical injury to another person; or willfully using force
or violence upon another person, except in self-defense;
b) Possessing, selling, or otherwise furnishing a firearm,
knife, explosive, or other dangerous object;
c) Unlawfully possessing, using, selling or otherwise
furnishing a controlled substance;
d) Unlawfully offering, arranging or negotiating to sell a
controlled substance, alcoholic beverage, or an intoxicant
of any kind;
e) Committing or attempting to commit robbery or extortion;
f) Causing or attempting to cause damage to school property
or private property;
g) Stealing or attempting to steal school property or
private property;
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h) Possessing or using tobacco, or products containing
tobacco or nicotine products;
i) Committing an obscene act or engaging in habitual
profanity or vulgarity;
j) Unlawfully possessing or unlawfully offering, arranging
or negotiating to sell drug paraphernalia;
aa) Disrupting school activities or otherwise willfully
defying the authority of supervisors, teachers,
administrators, school officials or other school personnel
engaged in the performance of their duties;
bb) Knowingly receive stolen school property or private
property;
cc) Possessing an imitation firearm;
dd) Committing or attempting to commit a sexual assault or
sexual battery;
ee) Harassing, threatening or intimidating a pupil who is a
complaining witness or a witness in a school disciplinary
proceeding in order to prevent the pupil from being a
witness or retaliating against that pupil for being a
witness, or both;
ff) Unlawfully offering, arranging to sell, or negotiating
to sell the prescription drug Soma;
gg) Engaging in or attempting to engage in hazing;
hh) Engaging in the act of bullying, including, but not
limited to, bullying committed by means of an electronic
act;
ii) Committing sexual harassment (grades 4 through 12 only);
jj) Causing or attempting to cause, threatening to cause, or
participating in an act of hate violence (grades 4 through
12 only);
aaa) Engaging in harassment, threats, or intimidation against
school district personnel or pupils that have the effect of
disrupting classwork, creating substantial disorder and
invading the rights of either school personnel or pupils by
creating an intimidating or hostile educational environment
(grades 4 through 12 only); and,
bbb) Making a terroristic threat against school officials or
school property, or both. (Education Code (EC) Sections
48900, 48900.2, 48900.3, 48900.4, 48900.7)
2)Defines "bullying" to mean any severe or pervasive physical or
verbal act or conduct, including communications made in
writing or by means of an electronic act, and including one or
more acts committed by a pupil or group of pupils as defined
in Section 48900.2, 48900.3, or 48900.4, directed toward one
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or more pupils that has or can be reasonably predicted to have
the effect of one or more of the following:
a) Placing a reasonable pupil or pupils in fear of harm to
that pupil's or those pupils' person or property.
b) Causing a reasonable pupil to experience a substantially
detrimental effect on his or her physical or mental health.
c) Causing a reasonable pupil to experience substantial
interference with his or her academic performance.
d) Causing a reasonable pupil to experience substantial
interference with his or her ability to participate in or
benefit from the services, activities, or privileges
provided by a school. (EC 48900)
3)Defines "familial status" as one or more individuals under age
18 who reside with a parent, another person with care and
legal custody of that individual, a person who has been given
care and custody of that individual by a state or local
governmental agency that is responsible for the welfare of
children, or the designee of that parent or other person with
legal custody of any individual under age 18 by written
consent of the parent or designated custodian. (Government
Code Section 12955.2)
4)Defines "hate crime" as a criminal act committed, in whole or
in part, because of one or more of the following actual or
perceived characteristics of the victim:
a) Disability.
b) Gender.
c) Nationality.
d) Race or ethnicity.
e) Religion.
f) Sexual orientation.
g) Association with a person or group with one or more of
these actual or perceived characteristics. (Penal Code
Section 422.55)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Under existing law, a principal or a superintendent
may suspend or recommend expulsion of a pupil for committing any
of a number of specified acts, including, for a pupil in grades
4 through 12, causing, attempting to cause, threatening to
cause, or participating in an act of hate violence. Hate
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violence, as defined in Penal Code Section 422.55, means a
criminal act committed because of a specified characteristic of
a victim, including disability, gender, nationality, race or
ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or an association with
an individual or group with one or more of the characteristics.
This bill authorizes a principal or superintendent to suspend or
recommend expulsion of a pupil in grades 4 through 12, who, by
force or threat of force, willfully injures, intimidates,
interferes with, oppresses, or threatens any other pupil because
of the pupil's familial status, socioeconomic status, or weight.
The bill uses the definition of "familial status" under the
Government Code Section 12955.2, referring to an individual
under 18 years of age who resides with a parent, foster family,
or other legal custody agreement. According to the author's
office, this is added to protect pupils from bullying who are
cared for by a single parent, foster parent or foster home, and
socioeconomic status is added to protect pupils from bullying
due to their household income, income earners' education, and
their occupation.
Supporters would argue that because existing law defines a list
of characteristics for which hate violence is based, it makes
policy sense to ensure that the list is comprehensive to ensure
protection of all students. The author states, "While the
correlation between the definition of a 'hate crime' and
bullying is good policy, it is unfortunately, not comprehensive.
Nationally, other additional and common sense characteristics
are recognized. According to the U.S. Department of Health &
Human Services, California compares well to other states on
anti-bullying legislation, but could benefit from an expanded
definition."
However, it can also be argued that existing law already
provides broader protections. Education Code Section 48900.4
authorizes suspensions/expulsions for harassment, threats, or
intimation that is sufficiently severe or pervasive that the act
causes disruption of classwork, creation of substantial disorder
and creation of an intimidating or hostile environment. If a
pupil commits an act that is not due to a specific
characteristic specified under the law, but a pupil is harmed, a
principal or superintendent can suspend/expel a pupil under this
code provision. In addition, under current law, bullying is
defined as "any severe or pervasive physical or verbal act or
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conduct" that includes written and electronic communication, and
that may include acts of sexual harassment, hate violence,
harassment, threats and intimidation, that would have a harmful
impact on a pupil physically, mentally, or his/her property, or
interfere with the pupil's academics or his/her ability to
participate in school activities. The first clause of the
definition can encompass a number of acts, no matter the cause
of the acts.
Over the last couple of years, there have been several
legislative proposals and enacted legislation that promote less
punitive measures and more evaluative, pro-active activities to
reduce and prevent negative acts. The American Civil Liberties
Union has an "oppose" position and states, "Research has shown
that suspension and expulsion are disproportionately used
against vulnerable student populations, including LGBTQ
students, students of color, and student with disabilities.
Although the legislation intends to protect vulnerable student
populations from school bullying and harm, it is highly likely
that the bill, if passed, will only subject these same
vulnerable student populations to suspension and expulsion. In
contrast, effective discipline teaches students how to address
their misbehavior."
The problem with the code sections on suspension and expulsion
is that over time, through numerous piecemeal legislative
changes, frequently following a tragic incident, the code
sections have become convoluted. There is one long section
detailing the types of behaviors that can result in suspension
or expulsion, but there are also many other independent sections
that detail other types of behaviors with varying threshold for
when suspensions or expulsions may occur. Frequently, one
section of the law references one or more other sections, which
may reference yet other sections, making it very difficult to
track and understand. The Committee may wish to consider
whether existing suspension/expulsion provisions in the
Education Code need to be re-reviewed as a whole and revised to
streamline and reduce overlapping code sections.
Related legislation . AB 256 (Garcia), Chapter 700, Statutes of
2013, specifies, for the purposes of pupil suspensions and
expulsions, that bullying via an "electronic act" means the
creation and the transmission of a communication by means of an
electronic device, as specified, that was originated on or off
the schoolsite.
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AB 420 (Dickinson), pending in the Senate, authorizes the
superintendent of a school district or the principal of a school
to suspend a pupil enrolled in grades 6 through 12 for
substantially disrupting school activities or substantially
preventing instruction from occurring, on or after the third
offense in a school year. Eliminates the authority to suspend a
pupil for willfully defying the valid authority of supervisors,
teachers, administrators and school officials, or other school
personnel engaged in the performance of their duties.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
The Latina Center (prior version)
Opposition
American Civil Liberties Union
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087