BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1450|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1450
Author: Garcia (D)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/14/14
AYES: Liu, Wyland, Block, Hancock, Hueso, Huff, Monnin
NO VOTE RECORDED: Correa, Galgiani
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 4/1/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Pupils: grounds for suspension and expulsion:
bullying
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill modifies the definition of bullying via an
electronic act, for the purposes of student suspension and
expulsion, from the "creation or transmission" of a
communication to the "creation or transmission" of a
communication by means of an electronic device, as specified.
ANALYSIS : Existing law prohibits a student from being
suspended or recommended for expulsion unless the principal of
the school determines that the student has committed certain
acts, and gives schools the discretion to take action for most
offenses.
Students may be suspended for a first offense if the school
principal determines that the student committed certain acts or
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that student's presence causes a danger to persons or property
or threatens to disrupt the instructional process or the student
committed certain acts.
Bullying
Relative to bullying, current law authorizes schools to suspend
or recommend for expulsion a student who engages in an act of
bullying, which is defined as any severe or pervasive physical
or verbal act or conduct, including communications made in
writing or by means of an electronic act, directed toward one or
more students that has or can be reasonably predicted to have
the effect of one or more of the following:
1.Placing a reasonable student or students in fear of harm to
that student's or those students' person or property.
2.Causing a reasonable student to experience a substantially
detrimental effect on his/her physical or mental health.
3.Causing a reasonable student to experience substantial
interference with his/her academic performance.
4.Causing a reasonable student to experience substantial
interference with his/her ability to participate in or benefit
from the services, activities, or privileges provided by a
school.
Existing law defines "electronic act" as the creation and
transmission, originated on or off the schoolsite, by means of
an electronic device, including but not limited to a telephone,
wireless telephone, or other wireless communication device,
computer, or pager, of a communication, including but not
limited to any of the following:
1.A message, text, sounds, or image.
2.A post on a social network website including, but not limited
to:
A. Posting to or creating a burn page, as defined, created
for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed
above.
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B. Creating a credible impersonation of another actual
student, as defined, for the purpose of having one or more
of the effects listed above.
C. Creating a false profile, as defined, for the purpose of
having one or more of the effects listed above.
Existing law prohibits a student from being suspended or
expelled unless the act is related to a school activity or
school attendance. Schools are specifically authorized to
suspend or expel a student for acts that are related to a school
activity or school attendance that occur at any time, including
but not limited to:
1.While on school grounds.
2.While going to or coming from school.
3.During the lunch period whether on or off the campus.
4.During, or while going to or coming from, a school-sponsored
activity.
This bill modifies the definition of bullying via an electronic
act, for the purposes of student suspension and expulsion, from
the "creation or transmission" of a communication to the
"creation or transmission" of a communication by means of an
electronic device, including, but not limited to, a telephone,
wireless telephone, or other wireless communication device,
computer, or pager, of a communication, including, but not
limited to, any of the following:
1.A message, text, sound, or image.
2.A post on a social network Internet Web site, including, but
not limited to posting to or creating a burn page. "Burn
page" means an Internet Web site created for the purpose of
having one or more of the effects, as specified.
Prior Legislation
AB 1216 (Campos, 2013) would have added to the list of acts for
which a student may be suspended or recommended for expulsion,
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willful injury, intimidation, interference with, oppression or
threaten any other student because of actual or perceived
characteristics of the victim of familial status, socio-economic
status or weight. AB 1216 was never heard.
SB 231 (Correa, 2013) would have established the California
Bullying Prevention Clearinghouse and required the
Superintendent of Public Instruction to convene an advisory
council to provide technical assistance on best practices that
reduce bullying. SB 231 was held on the Assembly Appropriations
Committee's suspense file.
AB 2242 (Dickinson, 2012) would have prohibited students 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, 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
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, 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
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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 5/15/14)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
California Communities United Institute
California Federation of Teachers
California Teachers Association
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/15/14)
American Civil Liberties Union
Public Counsel
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The California Federation of Teachers
writes in support, "?child safety is a number one priority and
that no student should be subjected to bullying. In an age of
technology where students have instant access to electronic
devices and spend hours at a time online, bullying through
electronic means has increased significantly. Recent reports of
teenage suicides caused by this type of bullying are becoming
more and more prevalent."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Public Counsel Law Center writes in
opposition, "This is the third year in a row that legislation to
expand the ability to suspend pupils for bullying has been
proposed. In the two prior years, legislation was enacted but
there is no evidence that bullying incidents have been reduced
or eliminated by passage of these bills. We understand the
desire to punish this conduct but research does not support
suspension as a punishment that works to prevent or stop
bullying."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 4/1/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon,
Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Dababneh,
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Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove,
Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez, Holden, Jones-Sawyer,
Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor,
Medina, Melendez, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian,
Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez,
Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner,
Stone, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams,
Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Bonta, Donnelly, Gorell, Jones,
Rendon, Ting
PQ:nl 5/16/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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