BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Carol Liu, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 1643
AUTHOR: Buchanan
AMENDED: June 12, 2014
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: June 18, 2014
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Lynn Lorber
SUBJECT : School attendance review boards.
SUMMARY
This bill requires each county to have a school attendance
review board.
BACKGROUND
Current law:
School attendance review boards
1) Authorizes, but does not require, a county and/or
local school attendance review board (SARB) to be
established. SARB membership must include parents,
school districts, county probation, county welfare,
county superintendent of schools, law enforcement,
community-based youth services, and personnel
representing school guidance, child welfare and
attendance, school or county health care, and mental
health.
(EC � 48321)
2) Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to
coordinate and administer a state SARB, which is to
provide recommendations annually regarding the needs and
services provided to high-risk youth. (EC � 48325)
Truancy
1) Defines a truant as a student who is absent for three
full days, or tardy or absent for more than a 30-minute
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period on three occasions, without a valid excuse in one
school year. (EC � 48260)
2) Authorizes a school district in a county that does
not have a school attendance review board (SARB) to
notify the county district attorney or probation
officer, and authorizes those entities to notify the
parents of every truant that they may be subject to
prosecution for failure to compel the attendance of the
student. (EC � 48260.6)
Habitual truancy
1) Defines a habitual truant as a student who has been
reported as a truant three or more times per school year
(absent or tardy without an excuse for at least five
days). (EC�48262)
2) Authorizes the school district to refer the student
to, and requires the student to attend, a SARB or a
truancy mediation program. The student may be within
the jurisdiction of the juvenile court if the student
does not successfully complete the truancy mediation
program. (EC � 48264.5(c))
ANALYSIS
This bill requires each county to have a school attendance
review board. Specifically, this bill:
1) Requires, rather than authorize, each county to
establish a county school attendance review board
(SARB).
2) Establishes the primary purpose of county SARBs as
follows:
a) Develop guidelines, policies, or programs.
b) Administer the county SARBs.
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c) Advise the local SARB.
d) Adopt plans to:
i) Promote interagency and
community cooperation in order to address
attendance and behavioral problems.
ii) Improve the coordination and level of
community and school-based programs provided
to students and their families.
iii)Prevent entry into the juvenile justice
system.
3) Authorizes county SARBs to accept referrals or requests
for hearing services from school districts within its
jurisdiction, and authorizes county SARBs to be operated
through a consortium or partnership of a county with one
or more school districts or between two or more
counties.
4) Deletes the authority the county SARB to provide
consultant services to, and coordinate activities of,
local SARBs, and instead requires the county SARB to
provide guidance to local SARBs.
5) Authorizes the chairperson of the county SARB to
determine, for purposes of conducting hearings, which
members are needed at a hearing, based on needs of the
student.
6) Adds as representatives that must be included on county
SARBs and may be included on local (school district)
SARBs:
a) A representative of the county
district attorney's office, and may include a
representative of each county district attorney if
more than one county is represented in the SARB.
b) A representative of the county
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public defender's office, and may include a
representative of each county public defender if
more than one county is represented in the SARB.
7) Requires county SARBs to meet three times each school
year in addition to the meeting described below for the
purpose of assessing the effectiveness of services and
supports that its SARBs provide to youth and their
families, and to assess whether the local SARBs within
the county are improving the attendance and educational
outcomes for students.
8) Changes the purpose of the county SARB meeting that is
required at the beginning of each school year from
adopting plans to promote interagency and community
cooperation and reduce duplication of services, to
developing guidelines and policies and adopting plans as
described in #2 above.
9) Requires local SARBs to be bound by the rules and
regulations established in current law that are specific
to county SARBs.
10) States that county SARBs are to meet as needed.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Recent report on truancy . The California Attorney
General issued a report in the Fall of 2013 titled, In
School + On Track, which included several
recommendations, some of which:
a) District attorneys should participate on
school attendance review boards (SARBs).
b) Require statewide reporting of student
attendance records.
c) Require more comprehensive reporting of school
attendance review board activities.
https://oag.ca.gov/truancy
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2) How many counties have a SARB ? The State does not
collect data relative to which counties have a SARB or
which school districts have a local SARB. The Attorney
General's 2013 report indicates that at least 43 of the
58 counties in California have maintained a county or
local SARB. It is estimated that approximately one-half
of the counties may have a SARB.
3) Other truancy programs . Some truancy programs currently
operate that are not an actual SARB. For example, the
Monterey County District Attorney's Office conducts a
truancy abatement program that works with schools to
ensure compliance with compulsory education laws.
Monterey County does not have a county SARB; if this
bill were to become law, that county would be required
to establish a SARB, regardless of the operation or
success of the existing truancy program. What changes
would be necessary, and how difficult would it be, for
Monterey's truancy program to become the county SARB?
Should this bill allow other truancy programs to serve
as an alternative to a county SARB?
4) Primary purpose . Current law does not specify the
primary purpose(s) of a county SARB. This bill would
provide that the primary purposes are to, among other
things, advise and provide guidance to local SARBs;
assess the effectiveness of services and supports;
assess whether the local SARBs within the county are
improving the attendance and educational outcomes for
students. Do county SARBs have this capacity and
expertise, particularly in counties that do not
currently have a county SARB but do have local SARBs, or
another type of truancy program?
5) Members of the SARB . Current law prescribes the
representation on SARBs; this bill adds representatives
of the county district attorney and the county public
defender as members. This bill authorizes the
chairperson of the county SARB to determine, for
purposes of conducting hearings involving students,
which members are needed at a hearing, based on needs of
the student. Attendance at meetings to develop policies
and adopt plans is not discretionary.
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6) Broader structural issues . This bill does not address
other gaps in truancy laws, some of which were
highlighted in the Attorney General's 2013 report:
a) Upon the initial truancy, school districts are
authorized but not required to request the student
and parent attend a meeting to discuss the root
causes of the attendance issue and develop a joint
plan to improve attendance.
b) Local educational agencies (LEAs) are required
to notify parents upon the first truancy but not
upon the second truancy.
c) LEAs are authorized but not required to refer
a student to a SARB or a truancy mediation program.
7) Fiscal impact . According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill would impose:
a) Annual General Fund (GF) and Proposition 98
state mandated costs in the range of $1 million to
$3 million for all 58 county offices of education
to establish a SARB and conduct a minimum of four
meetings per year.
b) Ongoing administrative costs to California
Department of Education (CDE) of $76,000 GF to
provide technical assistance and training to
support counties in establishing county SARBs. This
support includes assisting a county with the
development of effective bylaws, rules and
regulations.
8) Related legislation . AB 1672 (Holden) expands the data
that local SARBs are currently required to submit to the
county superintendent of schools, to include specific
data regarding chronic absenteeism, and referrals to
SARBs or other interventions. AB 1672 is scheduled to
be heard in this Committee on June 25.
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SB 1107 (Monning) requires the California Department of
Education and Attorney General to report annually on
specific information regarding truancy and chronic
absenteeism in kindergarten through grade five. SB 1107
was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 1866 (Bocanegra) expands data in the California
Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System to include
chronic absentee numbers (in addition to existing
requirement to report rates), and truancy numbers and
rates. AB 1866 is scheduled to be heard by this
Committee on June 18.
AB 2141 (Hall) requires a state or local authority conducting
truancy-related mediation or prosecuting a student or
parent to provide to school districts, school attendance
review boards, the county superintendent of schools and
probation department with the outcome of each referral.
AB 2141 is scheduled to be heard in this Committee on
June 18.
SB 1296 (Leno) prohibits a court from imprisoning, holding in
physical confinement or placing in custody a minor for
contempt if the contempt consists of the minor's failure
to comply with a court order regarding truancy. SB 1296
is pending on the Assembly Floor.
SUPPORT
Los Angeles Unified School District
OPPOSITION
None on file.