BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 326
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 26, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
SB 326 (Beall) - As Amended: May 28, 2013
[Note: This bill is doubled referred to the Assembly Public
Safety Committee and will be heard as it relates to issues under
its jurisdiction.]
SENATE VOTE : 37-0
SUBJECT : Sex offenders
SUMMARY : Authorizes the chief administrative official (CAO) of
a school to grant a person who is required to register as a sex
offender and is not a family member of a pupil who attends that
school permission to come into a school building or upon the
school grounds to volunteer at the school under specified
conditions. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the CAO to, at least 14 days prior to the first date
for which permission has been granted, notify the parent or
guardian of each child attending the school that a person who
is required to register as a sex offender has been granted
permission to come into a school building or upon school
grounds, the date or dates and times for which permission has
been granted, and his or her right to obtain information
regarding the person from a designated law enforcement entity.
Requires the notice to be provided by one of the methods
required for the annual parent notification.
2)Specifies that any CAO or school employee who in good faith
disseminates the notification and information shall be immune
from civil liability for action taken in accordance with this
bill.
3)Adds a requirement to specify the date or dates and times for
which permission is granted to a person who is required to
register as a sex offender to come into any school building or
upon any school ground for lawful business.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Specifies that any person who is required to register as a sex
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offender who comes into any school building or upon any school
ground without lawful business and written permission from the
CAO of that school is guilty of a misdemeanor. Specifies that
any violation shall be as follows:
a) Upon a first conviction, by a fine of not exceeding
$500, by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than
six months, or by both the fine and imprisonment.
b) If the defendant has been previously convicted once of
the violation, by imprisonment in a county jail for a
period of not less than 10 days or more than six months, or
by both imprisonment and a fine not exceeding $500, and
shall not be released on probation, parole, or any other
basis until he or she has served not less than 10 days.
c) If the defendant has been previously convicted two or
more times of the violation, by imprisonment in a county
jail for a period of not less than 90 days or more than six
months, or by both imprisonment and a fine not exceeding
$500, and shall not be released on probation, parole, or
any other basis until he or she has served not less than 90
days. (Penal Code (PC) Section 626.81)
2)Defines "CAO" for a school as the principal of the school, a
person who possesses a standard supervision credential or a
standard administrative credential and who is designated by
the principal, or a person who carries out the same functions
as a person who possesses a credential and who is designated
by the principal. (PC Section 626)
3)Specifies that, notwithstanding any other law, any person,
except a person required to register as a sex offender, may be
permitted by the governing board of any school district to
perform the duties related to supervising pupils during
breakfast, lunch or other nutrition period, or to serve as a
nonteaching volunteer aide. (Education Code (EC) Section
35021)
4)Provides parents and guardians with the right to participate
in the education of their children in specified ways,
including the opportunity to volunteer their time and
resources for the improvement of school facilities and
programs under the direct supervision of district employees.
Specifies that school districts are not authorized to permit
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participation by a parent or guardian if it conflicts with a
valid restraining order, protective order, or order for
custody or visitation issued by a court of competent
jurisdiction. (EC Section 51101)
5)Requires school districts to send a notification to parents or
guardians at the beginning of the first semester or quarter of
the regular school term with specified information.
Authorizes the notice to be sent by regular mail, providing
access to the notice electronically if the parent or guardian
makes such a request, or by any other method normally used to
communicate with the parents or guardians in writing. (EC
Section 48981)
FISCAL EFFECT : None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS : An individual who is convicted of specified
sex-related offenses is required to register with the local city
police department or the county sheriff's office in which he or
she is residing for the rest of his or her life. According to
the Department of Justice, there are about 75,000 registered sex
offenders living in the state.
Under current law, any person who is required to register as a
sex offender who comes into any school building or upon any
school ground without lawful business and written permission
from the CAO (principal or principal's designee) of that school
is guilty of a misdemeanor and may be imposed with a fine and
imprisonment. This bill requires the authorization by the CAO
to indicate the date or dates and times for which permission is
granted.
This bill also authorizes a CAO to allow a person who is
required to register as a sex offender and who is not a family
member of a pupil who attends that school to volunteer at the
school if the CAO sends a notification to all the parents and
guardians at the school at least 14 days prior to the date
permission is granted informing parents of the authorization and
their right to obtain information regarding the person from a
designated law enforcement entity. The method for the
notification would be the same methods used to provide the
annual parent notification of the rights of parents, which
includes regular mail, an electronic method if requested by the
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parent or guardian, or any other method normally used to
communicate with parents or guardians in writing. The bill does
not specify what actions must be taken or not taken if there is
objection by parents or guardians.
According to the author, current law's authorization for a
person who is required to register as a sex offender to come
into any school building or grounds for "lawful business" is
"vague and puts children at risk from sex offenders who may use
school functions as a way to gain access to school premises."
However, this bill does not provide any additional clarification
of "lawful business." Instead, this bill adds a provision
authorizing a person who is required to register as a sex
offender who is not a family member of a student to come into
any school building or grounds to volunteer at the school after
a notice is sent to parents, but the provision specifying that
the individual may not enter school building or ground without
lawful business remains a separate section. The CAO will
continue to have authority to authorize a person who is required
to register as a sex offender to enter school grounds for
"lawful business", whether or not the individual is a family
member of a pupil enrolled at the school. The CAO will also
continue to have authority to determine what constitutes "lawful
business".
Under current law, parents and guardians of pupils have a right
to participate in the education of their children (e.g., attend
special education hearings, parent-teacher conferences,
expulsion hearings, etc.). According to the Association of
California School Administrators, when notified that a parent or
guardian of a pupil is a person who must register as a sex
offender, principals honor the right of the parent or guardian
by making accommodations as to the place and time the parent or
guardian may participate in his or her child's education. For
example, a principal may make alternative drop off and pick up
arrangements, schedule meetings after school, or escort the
parent or guardian in and out of a school site.
This bill only addresses the situation where an individual who
is not a family member of a pupil enrolled in a school wishes to
volunteer at a school event or function. According to the
Senate Public Safety Committee analysis, a newspaper article
indicates that this bill was introduced due to parent outrage
over a parochial school event at which a convicted sex offender
was allowed to volunteer, with a permission slip from the
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Diocese of San Jose. It is unclear whether there have been
similar problems at public schools. According to the author's
office, the notification requirement may reduce the number of
such authorizations.
This bill raises a couple of policy questions. Should an
individual who is required to register as sex offender be
prohibited from volunteering at school community activities if
the offense occurred many years ago and the individual has not
committed any other offenses? Alternatively, rather than
requiring a principal to send a campus wide notification that
may result in targeting of the individual, should an individual
who is required to register as a sex offender who is not a
family member of a pupil be prohibited from volunteering?
Related legislation . SB 565 (Knight), pending in the Senate
Education Committee, narrows the list of persons eligible to
serve as nonteaching volunteer aides in schools by prohibiting
individuals who have been convicted of certain serious felonies
or that are on post release community supervision or parole from
volunteering, unless a waiver is granted by the school
district's governing board, as specified.
Prior related legislation . AB 13 (Knight) prohibits school
districts, county offices of education, or charter schools that
elect to fingerprint volunteers from allowing individuals who
have been convicted of specific felony drug offenses that
involve minors or violent offenses to volunteer in schools for
five years from the date of conviction, and requires charter
schools to comply with existing fingerprinting laws. The bill
failed passage in the Senate Education Committee in 2012.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Protective Parents Association (prior version)
Crime Victims United of California
The Children's Psychological Health Center, Inc. (prior version)
Many individuals
Opposition
None on file
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Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087