Amended in Assembly May 14, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1851

Introduced by Assembly Member Bradford

February 19, 2014

An act to amend begin delete and repeal end delete Section 46601 of the Education Code, relating to school attendance.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1851, as amended, Bradford. School attendance: interdistrict attendance.

Existing law authorizes the governing boards of 2 or more school districts to enter into an agreement for the interdistrict attendance of pupils who are residents of the school districts. If the governing board of either of 2 school districts subject to such an agreement fails to approve a request for a permit to attend another school district that is also a party to the agreement within 30 calendar days after the person having legal custody of a pupil has requested the permit, or, in the absence of an agreement between the school districts, fails or refuses to enter into an agreement, the person requesting the permit shall be advised of the right to appeal to the county board of education, as specified. Existing law requires the county board of education, within 30 calendar days after the appeal is filed, to determine whether the pupil should be permitted to attend the school district in which the pupil desires to attend and the applicable period of time, unless the county board of education is located in a class 1 or class 2 county, as defined, in which case the county board of education, until July 1, 2015, is required to make this determination within 40 schooldays.

This bill begin delete would delete the July 1, 2015, repeal date thereby indefinitely requiring end delete begin insert would, until July 1, 2018, require end insert a county board of education located in a class 1 or class 2 county, as defined, to determine within 40 schooldays whether the pupil should be permitted to attend the school district in which the pupil desires to attend and the applicable period of begin delete time. end delete begin insert attendance. end insert The bill would make nonsubstantive changes to begin delete this provision. end delete begin insert these provisions. end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 46601 of the Education Code, as amended
by Section 2 of Chapter 87 of the Statutes of 2011, is amended to
read:

46601.  

(a) If, within 30 calendar days after the person having
legal custody of a pupil has so requested, the governing board of
either school district fails to approve interdistrict attendance in the
current term, or, in the absence of an agreement between the school
districts, fails or refuses to enter into an agreement, the school
district denying the permit, or, in the absence of an agreement, the
school district of residence, shall advise the person requesting the
permit of the right to appeal to the county board of education.

(b) If, within 14 calendar days after the commencement of
instruction in a new term in each of the school districts,
respectively, when the person having legal custody of a pupil has
so requested separately of each school district not later than 30
calendar days before the commencement of instruction in that term
in that school district, the governing board of either school district
fails to approve interdistrict attendance in that term, or, in the
absence of an agreement between the school districts to permit
that attendance, fails or refuses to enter an agreement, the school
district denying the permit, or, in the absence of an agreement, the
school district of residence, shall advise the person requesting the
permit of the right to appeal to the county board of education.

(c) Notifying school districts shall also, in all instances, advise
persons making unsuccessful requests for interdistrict attendance
of all of the following:

(1) The person having legal custody may appeal, within 30
calendar days of the failure or refusal to issue a permit, or to enter
into an agreement allowing the attendance, to the county board of
education having jurisdiction over the school district of residence
of the parent or legal guardian or person having legal custody.
Failure to appeal within the required time is good cause for denial
of an appeal. An appeal shall be accepted only upon verification
by the county board of education’s designee that appeals within
the school districts have been exhausted. If new evidence or
grounds for the request are introduced, the county board of
education may remand the matter for further consideration by the
school district or districts. In all other cases, the appeal shall be
granted or denied on its merits.

(2) (A) (i) The county board of education shall, unless clause
(ii) applies, within 30 calendar days after the appeal is filed,
determine whether the pupil should be permitted to attend in the
school district in which the pupil desires to attend and the
applicable period of begin delete time. end delete begin insert attendance. end insert

(ii) The county board of education in a class 1 or class 2 county
shall, within 40 schooldays after the appeal is filed, determine
whether the pupil should be permitted to attend in the school
district in which the pupil desires to attend and the applicable
period of begin delete time. end delete begin insert attendance. end insert

(B) In the event that compliance by the county board of
education within the time requirement for determining whether
the pupil should be permitted to attend in the school district in
which the pupil desires to attend is impractical, the county board
of education or the county superintendent of schools, for good
cause, may extend the time period for up to an additional five
schooldays. The county begin insert board of education end insert shall provide adequate
notice to all parties of the date and time of any hearing scheduled
and of the opportunity to submit written statements and
documentation and to be heard on the matter pursuant to rules and
regulations adopted by the county board of education in accordance
with this chapter. The county board of education’s rules may
provide for the granting of continuances upon a showing of good
cause. The county board of education shall render a decision within
three schooldays of any hearing conducted by the county board of
education unless the person who filed the appeal requests a
postponement.

(C) In a class 1 or class 2 county, the county board of
education’s rules may provide for any hearing pursuant to this
section to be conducted by a hearing officer pursuant to Chapter
14 (commencing with Section 27720) of Part 3 of Division 2 of
Title 3 of the Government Code, or by an impartial administrative
panel of three or more certificated persons appointed by the county
board of education. Section 27722 of the Government Code applies
to a hearing by an impartial administrative panel and, for purposes
of this section, the term “hearing officer” in Section 27722 of the
Government Code includes an impartial administrative panel. A
member of the impartial administrative panel shall not be a member
of the county board of education, nor be employed by the school
district of residence or the school district of desired attendance.

(D) The definitions of “class 1 county” and “class 2 county” in
subdivision (e) of Section 48919.5 apply to this section. If the
hearing officer is not authorized to decide whether the pupil should
be permitted to attend in the school district in which the pupil
desires to attend, the county board of education, within 10 days of
receiving the recommended decision pursuant to subdivision (b)
of Section 27722 of the Government Code, shall render a decision.

(3) The county supervisor of attendance, or other designee of
the county superintendent of schools, shall investigate to determine
whether local remedies in the matter have been exhausted and to
provide any additional information deemed useful to the county
board of education in reaching a decision.

(4) If the interdistrict attendance involves school districts located
in different counties, the county board of education having
jurisdiction over the school district denying a permit, or refusing
or failing to enter into an agreement to allow for the issuance of a
permit, shall have jurisdiction for purposes of an appeal. If both
school districts deny a permit, or refuse or fail to enter into an
agreement to allow for the issuance of a permit, the county board
of education having jurisdiction over the school district of residence
shall have jurisdiction for purposes of an appeal and, upon granting
a pupil’s appeal, shall seek concurrence in the decision by the
county board of education of the other county begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert shall
provide adequate opportunity for the school district under its
jurisdiction to be heard on the matter before making a decision. If
the two county boards of education do not then concur, the pupil’s
appeal shall be denied.

(5) Pupils who are under consideration for expulsion, or who
have been expelled pursuant to Sections 48915 and 48918, may
not appeal interdistrict attendance denials or recisions while
expulsion proceedings are pending, or during the term of the
expulsion.

begin insert

(d) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2018, and,
as of January 1, 2019, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2019, deletes or
extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.

end insert

begin delete

SEC. 2.  

Section 46601 of the Education Code, as added by
Section 3 of Chapter 87 of the Statutes of 2011, is repealed.

end delete

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 46601 of the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert , as added by
Section 3 of Chapter 87 of the Statutes of 2011, is amended to
read: end insert

46601.  

(a) If, within 30 calendar days after the person having
legal custody of a pupil has so requested, the governing board of
either school district fails to approve interdistrict attendance in the
current term, or, in the absence of an agreement between the begin insert school end insert
districts, fails or refuses to enter into an agreement, the begin insert school end insert
district denying the permit, or, in the absence of an agreement, the
begin insert school end insert district of residence, shall advise the person requesting the
permit of the right to appeal to the county board of education.

(b) If, within 14 calendar days after the commencement of
instruction in a new term in each of the school districts,
respectively, when the person having legal custody of a pupil has
so requested separately of each begin insert school end insert district not later than 30
calendar days begin delete prior to end delete begin insert before end insert the commencement of instruction in
that term in that begin insert school end insert district, the governing board of either begin insert school end insert
district fails to approve interdistrict attendance in that term, or, in
the absence of an agreement between the begin insert school end insert districts to permit
that attendance, fails or refuses to enter an agreement, the begin insert school end insert
district denying the permit, or, in the absence of an agreement, the
begin insert school end insert district of residence, shall advise the person requesting the
permit of the right to appeal to the county board of education.

(c) Notifying begin insert school end insert districts shall also, in all instances, advise
persons making unsuccessful requests for interdistrict attendance
of all of the following:

(1) The person having legal custody may appeal, within 30
calendar days of the failure or refusal to issue a permit, or to enter
into an agreement allowing the attendance, to the county board of
education having jurisdiction over the begin insert school end insert district of residence
of the parent or legal guardian or person having legal custody.
Failure to appeal within the required time is good cause for denial
of an appeal. An appeal shall be accepted only upon verification
by the county begin delete board’s end delete begin insert board of education’s end insert designee that appeals
within the begin insert school end insert districts have been exhausted. If new evidence
or grounds for the request are introduced, the county board begin insert of
education end insert may remand the matter for further consideration by the
begin insert school end insert district or districts. In all other cases, the appeal shall be
granted or denied on its merits.

(2) (A) The county board of education shall, within 30 calendar
days after the appeal is filed, determine whether the pupil should
be permitted to attend in the begin insert school end insert district in which the pupil
desires to attend and the applicable period of begin delete time. end delete begin insert attendance. end insert

(B) In the event that compliance by the county board begin insert of
education end insert within the time requirement for determining whether
the pupil should be permitted to attend in the begin insert school end insert district in
which the pupil desires to attend is impractical, the county board
begin insert of education end insert or the county superintendent of schools, for good
cause, may extend the time period for up to an additional five
schooldays. The county begin insert board of education end insert shall provide adequate
notice to all parties of the date and time of any hearing scheduled
and of the opportunity to submit written statements and
documentation and to be heard on the matter pursuant to rules and
regulations adopted by the county board of education in accordance
with this chapter. The county board begin insert of education’s end insert rules may
provide for the granting of continuances upon a showing of good
cause. The county board of education shall render a decision within
three schooldays of any hearing conducted by the begin insert county end insert board begin insert of
education end insert unless the person who filed the appeal requests a
postponement.

(C) In a class 1 or class 2 county, the county board begin insert of
education’s end insert rules may provide for any hearing pursuant to this
section to be conducted by a hearing officer pursuant to Chapter
14 (commencing with Section 27720) of Part 3 of Division 2 of
Title 3 of the Government Code, or by an impartial administrative
panel of three or more certificated persons appointed by the county
board of education. Section 27722 of the Government Code begin delete is
applicable end delete begin insert applies end insert to a hearing by begin delete any end delete begin insert an end insert impartial administrative
panel and, for purposes of this section, the term “hearing officer”
in Section 27722 of the Government Code includes an impartial
administrative panel. begin delete No end delete begin insert A end insert member of the impartial administrative
panel shall begin insert not end insert be a member of the county board of education, nor
be employed by the school district of residence or the begin insert school end insert
district of desired attendance.

(D) The definitions of “class 1 county” and “class 2 county” in
subdivision (e) of Section 48919.5 apply to this section. If the
hearing officer is not authorized to decide whether the pupil should
be permitted to attend in the begin insert school end insert district in which the pupil
desires to attend, the county board of education, within 10 days of
receiving the recommended decision pursuant to subdivision (b)
of Section 27722 of the Government Code, shall render a decision.

(3) The county supervisor of attendance, or other designee of
the county superintendent of schools, shall investigate to determine
whether local remedies in the matter have been exhausted and to
provide any additional information deemed useful to the county
board begin insert of education end insert in reaching a decision.

(4) If the interdistrict attendance involves school districts located
in different counties, the county board of education having
jurisdiction over the begin insert school end insert district denying a permit, or refusing
or failing to enter into an agreement to allow for the issuance of a
permit, shall have jurisdiction for purposes of an appeal. If both
begin insert school end insert districts deny a permit, or refuse or fail to enter into an
agreement to allow for the issuance of a permit, the county board
begin insert of education end insert having jurisdiction over the begin insert school end insert district of residence
shall have jurisdiction for purposes of an appeal and, upon granting
a pupil’s appeal, shall seek concurrence in the decision by the
county board begin insert of education end insert of the other county begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert shall
provide adequate opportunity for the begin insert school end insert district under its
jurisdiction to be heard on the matter before making a decision. If
the two county boards begin insert of education end insert do not then concur, the pupil’s
appeal shall be denied.

(5) Pupils who are under consideration for expulsion, or who
have been expelled pursuant to Sections 48915 and 48918, may
not appeal interdistrict attendance denials or recisions while
expulsion proceedings are pending, or during the term of the
expulsion.

(d) This section shall become operative on July 1, begin delete 2015. end delete begin insert 2018. end insert