BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1643
Author: Buchanan (D)
Amended: 8/19/14 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/18/14
AYES: Liu, Wyland, Block, Correa, Hancock, Huff, Monning
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-0, 8/14/14
AYES: De Le�n, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters, Gaines
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 60-9, 5/29/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : School attendance review boards
SOURCE : Attorney General Kamala Harris
DIGEST : This bill authorizes a county school attendance
review board (SARB) to accept referral or requests for hearing
services from one or more school districts within its
jurisdiction; and authorizes a county SARB to be operated
through a consortium or partnership of a county with one or more
school districts or between two or more counties.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Authorizes, but does not require, a county and/or local SARB
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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.
2. Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to
coordinate and administer a state SARB, which provides
recommendations annually regarding the needs and services
provided to high-risk youth.
3. Defines a truant as a student who is absent for three full
days, or tardy or absent for more than a 30-minute period on
three occasions, without a valid excuse in one school year.
4. Authorizes a school district in a county that does not have a
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.
5. 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).
6. 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.
This bill:
1. Authorizes a county SARB to accept referrals or requests for
hearing services from one or more school districts within its
jurisdiction, as specified.
2. Specifies that a county SARB may be operated through a
consortium or partnership of a county with one or more school
districts or between two or more counties.
3. Adds a representative of the county district attorney's
office and a representative of the county public defender's
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office to the list of entities comprising the county and
local SARBs.
4. Provides that, for purposes of conducting hearings, the
chairperson of the county SARB is authorized to determine the
members needed at a hearing, based on the needs of the pupil,
in order to address attendance or behavioral problems.
5. Authorizes, for purposes of conducting hearings, a county
SARB to meet as needed.
6. Provides that a county SARB may provide guidance to local
SARBs.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Potentially significant local costs to counties that have
SARBs and elect to continue them, to ensure compliance with
these provisions.
Technical assistance: Likely minor additional costs to the
California Department of Education (CDE) to provide technical
assistance to county offices of education to ensure a county
SARB complies with the requirements of this bill.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/19/14)
Attorney General Kamala D. Harris (source)
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson
AFSCME
Alameda County District Attorney
American Academy of Pediatrics
Association of Black Correctional Workers
California Federation of Teachers
California State PTA
Continuing the Dream, California Department of Corrections &
Rehabilitation
Contra Costa County District Attorney
Fresno Unified School District Superintendent
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Girls Club of Los Angeles
Glendale Unified School District
Hemet Unified School District
Kings County Office of Education Superintendent
Lawndale Elementary School District
Lincoln Child Center
Los Angeles City Attorney
Los Angeles Unified School District
Rosemead School District
San Francisco District Attorney
Santa Barbara County District Attorney
Service Employees International Union
SIATech
Special Needs Network
Stockton Unified School District Superintendent
YMCA of San Francisco: Truancy Assessment & Resource Center
Program
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/19/14)
Department of Finance
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The bill's sponsor, Attorney General
Kamala Harris, writes, "This legislation will help ensure that
every county in California develop and implement interagency
strategies for combatting truancy in their school districts.
County SARBs serve a key role in our education system by
establishing rules and regulations regarding the handling of
attendance issues and providing training and guidance to local
SARBs. By establishing a SARB in each county, students across
the state will be in a better position to receive services
tailored specifically to their needs, and regular school
attendance for students in every county will be treated as a
priority."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The Department of Finance opposes
this bill for the following reasons:
School districts and county offices of education are already
required to address areas of student engagement as measured by
school attendance rates and chronic absenteeism rates among
high-risk sub groups through their Local Control and
Accountability Plans, which is the accountability component of
the local control funding formula.
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Currently, a local educational agency may establish a SARB or
choose a different method of addressing truancy that best
meets the needs of the local community, which aligns with the
Administration's policy of subsidiarity.
This bill imposes potentially significant reimbursable state
mandated costs on county offices of education to establish and
convene county SARBs as specified. This bill also creates
minor, ongoing state operations cost pressure for the CDE to
provide technical assistance to counties.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 60-9, 5/29/14
AYES: Alejo, Ammiano, Bloom, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta,
Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau,
Chesbro, Cooley, Dababneh, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell,
Hagman, Hall, Roger Hern�ndez, Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Levine,
Linder, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Medina, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Perea, John A. P�rez, V.
Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas,
Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Weber, Wieckowski,
Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NOES: Bigelow, Ch�vez, Conway, Dahle, Donnelly, Beth Gaines,
Gray, Grove, Jones
NO VOTE RECORDED: Achadjian, Allen, Harkey, Logue, Mansoor,
Melendez, Patterson, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk, Vacancy
PQ:MW:d 8/19/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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