BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1111|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1111
Author: Lara (D)
Amended: 4/21/14
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 6-1, 4/24/14
AYES: Liu, Block, Galgiani, Hancock, Hueso, Monning
NOES: Huff
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wyland, Correa
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-2, 5/23/14
AYES: De Le�n, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Gaines
SUBJECT : Pupils: involuntary transfer
SOURCE : American Civil Liberties Union
Children Now
Public Counsel
Youth Justice Coalition
Youth Law Center
DIGEST : This bill requires parental consent for referrals to
a county community school by a school attendance review board
(SARB), school district, or probation department, except for
situations where a student is expelled or pursuant to a court
order. This bill also establishes the right of a student to
reenroll in his/her former school or another school upon
completion of the term of involuntary transfer to a county
community school.
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ANALYSIS : Existing law provides for various educational
options outside of a traditional comprehensive public school,
for students who are expelled from traditional schools or
referred to them by a SARB or probation officer.
The governing board of a school district (GBSD), at the time
expulsion is ordered, must ensure that an educational program is
provided to the pupil. The district or county program
(community day schools or community schools, respectively) is
the only program required to be provided to expelled pupils.
Each GBSD may elect to provide additional programmatic options.
Pupils expelled from school for serious offenses such as
possessing a firearm, brandishing a knife, causing serious
physical injury, selling a controlled substance or committing a
sexual assault are prohibited from enrolling in any school other
than a community school, community day school, or juvenile court
school.
A county board of education is authorized to maintain one or
more community schools to serve pupils who have been expelled,
referred by probation or an attendance review board, or are
homeless.
Existing law provides that juvenile court schools are public
schools or classes operated by the county superintendent of
schools in juvenile halls, homes, day centers, ranches, camps,
and youth correctional facilities.
Existing law requires the GBSD to recommend a plan of
rehabilitation for the pupil at the time of the expulsion order,
which may include periodic review as well as assessment at the
time of review for readmission. The plan may also include
recommendations for improved academic performance, tutoring,
special education assessments, job training, counseling,
employment, community service, or other programs.
The GBSDs are further required to set a date, not later than the
last day of the semester following the semester in which the
expulsion occurred, when the pupil shall be reviewed for
readmission to a school within the district or the school the
pupil last attended.
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The GBSDs are required to set a date of one year from the date
the expulsion occurred for a pupil who has been expelled for:
(a) possessing, selling, or furnishing a firearm; (b)
brandishing a knife at another person; (c) unlawfully selling a
controlled substance; (d) committing or attempting to commit a
sexual assault; or, (e) possession of an explosive.
Existing law requires each school district to adopt rules and
regulations establishing a procedure for the filing and
processing of requests for readmission and the process for the
required review of all expelled pupils for readmission.
The GBSD may permit, after the term of expulsion, the enrollment
of a pupil expelled from another district for one of the most
serious offenses if the SARB determines the pupil no longer
poses a threat.
The GBSD that receives a request for enrollment from a pupil who
has been expelled from another school district, for acts other
than the most serious offenses, must hold a hearing to determine
whether the individual poses a continuing danger to pupils or
employees. If the SARB finds the pupil does not pose a danger,
the pupil must be permitted to enroll if the pupil has
established residence in the district or enrolled pursuant to an
interdistrict agreement.
Existing law prohibits a pupil from being denied enrollment or
readmission to a public school solely on the basis that he/she
has had contact with the juvenile justice system, including
arrest, adjudication by a juvenile court, supervision by a
probation officer, detention in a juvenile facility, or
enrollment in a juvenile court school.
A GBSD, upon voting to expel a pupil, may suspend the
enforcement of the expulsion order for up to one calendar year
and may, as a condition of the suspension of the enforcement,
assign the pupil to a school, class or program that is deemed
appropriate for the rehabilitation of the pupil. Upon
satisfactory completion of the rehabilitation assignment, the
GBSD must reinstate the pupil in a school within the district
and may also order the expungement of any or all records of the
expulsion proceedings.
This bill:
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1. Makes numerous changes to statute and practice governing
pupil transfers to county community schools by districts,
SARBs, and probation officials; revises the list of pupils
who may be involuntarily enrolled in a county community
school to limit the kind of probation referrals and remove
homeless children; and requires the consent of the pupil's
parent or guardian for the enrollment of a pupil who is
referred as the result of a recommendation by a SARB.
2. Requires, based on the educational assessment or
rehabilitation plan of a student, the student to be enrolled
in or have access to programs either at the school or through
community organizations: (a) counseling; (b) mental health
counseling or other support services; (c) access to services
necessary to transition the student back to his or her prior
school or to another comprehensive school; (d) mediation,
conflict resolution, or alternative behavior interventions;
and (e) supplemental services to assist with passage of the
high school exit exam.
3. Provides a pupil who is involuntarily enrolled in a county
community school the right to reenroll in his/her former
school or another comprehensive school immediately after
being readmitted from expulsion or court-ordered placement,
as specified. Prohibits imposition of additional academic or
behavioral criteria or conditions that extends the duration
of the placement of a pupil in a county community school
beyond the terms of the initial or subsequent expulsion order
from being added.
4. Requires, with regard to an expulsion hearing, upon the
decision of a hearing officer or administrative panel not to
expel a student, a student is permitted to return to the
classroom instructional program from which the expulsion
referral was made, unless the parent, guardian or responsible
adult requests another school placement in writing.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
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County community schools . Potentially significant ongoing
savings, to the extent that students that will have enrolled
in county community schools instead of attending traditional
schools.
Mandate: Individual education services . To the extent that
this bill expands a local education agency's (LEA's) role in
providing or securing services related to a pupil's
educational assessment, those additional activities may
constitute a reimbursable state mandate.
Mandate: Expulsion procedures . This bill creates a new
mandate on LEAs by changing expulsion hearing requirements.
The long-term result is likely minor ongoing savings, but
there may be one-time reimbursable costs to change LEA
process, materials and training.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/22/14)
American Civil Liberties Union (co-source)
Children Now (co-source)
Public Counsel (co-source)
Youth Justice Coalition (co-source)
Youth Law Center (co-source)
Advancement Project
Black Parallel School Board
Centro CHA, Inc.
Children's Defense Fund-California
Families in Good Health
Fight Crime, Invest in Kids
Gay-Straight Alliance Network
Labor/Community Strategy Center
Legal Services for Children
Los Angeles County Office of Education
Mills Legal Clinic
National Association of Social Workers
National Center for Youth Law
Peace Over Violence
Policy Link
San Francisco Counsel for Families and Children
Strategy Center
W. Haywood Burns Institute
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Youth and Education Law Project, Mills Legal Clinic
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Sponsors of this bill indicate that
this bill intends to establish a clear and transparent transfer
process with built-in safeguards to reduce improper transfers
and ensure that both students and parents have a meaningful say
in the student's academic success. The confusion around the
transfer process and lack of safeguards for students who desire
to return to a traditional school has resulted in too many
students either leaving school altogether or attending a school
that cannot meet their educational needs. Such transfers
disproportionally affect students of color who make up a
majority of these schools' populations. According to the
sponsors, while county community schools are only supposed to be
short-term placements, students who have been involuntarily
transferred are either prohibited from returning to a
comprehensive school or are faced with hurdles to returning to a
district school.
PQ:d 5/25/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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