BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1831
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 20, 2000
Counsel: Angelo Butler
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Carl Washington, Chair
SB 1831 (Hughes) - As Amended: May 22, 2000
SUMMARY : Appropriates $825,000 from the General Fund to the
Department of Justice (DOJ) to establish and implement the
School Safety Academy Pilot Project. Specifically, this bill :
1)Establishes the School Safety Academy Pilot Project, to be
administered by the DOJ, through the Crime and Violence
Prevention Center, from an $825,000 appropriation from the
General Fund. Of this amount, $750,000 shall be used for
local assistance beginning in the 2000-2001 fiscal year. DOJ
may reallocate funds that are not used by a school safety
academy to a different school safety academy. DOJ may use up
to $75,000 for state operations for the last six months of the
2000-2001 fiscal year to implement the project.
2)Provides that DOJ shall provide funding to the school safety
academies to develop and implement integrated, comprehensive
school safety training for those responsible for school safety
and school community violence prevention.
3)Requires that DOJ establish minimum standards, funding
schedules, and procedures for awarding grants, and DOJ shall
fund applicants that propose to establish an academy in
southern California, in northern California, or in central
California, or any combination of the three.
4)Requires DOJ, in consultation with the Commission on Peace
Officer Standards and Training (POST), to establish a
three-year School Safety Academy Pilot Project utilizing the
school safety academies.
5)Requires that DOJ provide the Governor and the Legislature
with an annual progress report after two years of operation,
and every year thereafter. DOJ shall evaluate the
effectiveness of the School Safety Academy Pilot Project by
contracting with an independent evaluator to deliver a final
SB 1831
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report to the Governor and the Legislature by January 1, 2005.
6)The project shall remain in effect until January 1, 2006, and
is repealed unless a statute enacted before January 1, 2006
deletes or extends that date.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Established the School Community Policing Partnership Act of
1998 to provide financial assistance to school districts and
county offices of education to ensure safe, secure, and
peaceful school campuses as guaranteed by the California
Constitution through the use of a community policing approach
to school crime and safety issues. The School Community
Policing Partnership Grant Program is administered by the
Department of Education through the School/Law Enforcement
Partnership. (Education Code Section 32296.1.)
2)Established the School Safety and Violence Prevention Act for
the purpose of promoting school safety and violence prevention
among children and youth in Grades 8 to 12. This statewide
program is administered by the Superintendent of Public
Instruction who shall provide funds to school districts for
the purpose of reducing school-site violence. (Education Code
Section 32228 et seq.)
3)Established the School Violence Prevention and Response Task
Force, whose members make policy recommendations on how to
enhance state and local programs and training to adequately
prepare school districts and county offices of education to
meet the challenges stemming from disruptive or violent acts,
or both, on or near school campuses. (Education Code Section
322395.5.)
4)Established the School Community Policing Partnership Act of
1998, to provide financial assistance to school districts and
county offices of education to ensure safe, secure, and
peaceful school campuses as guaranteed by the California
Constitution through the use of a community policing approach
to school crime and safety issues. The School Community
Policing Partnership Grant Program is administered by the
Department of Education through the School/Law Enforcement
Partnership and awards grants to school districts, county
offices of education, or a consortium of school districts and
county offices of education. (Education Code Section
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32296.1.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "There is no
single training center or institution in California for those
individuals responsible for school safety to train together.
Current school safety training programs are discipline-based
and, therefore, fragmented statewide. While there are many
individual school safety training programs being offered by
various training systems, no one entity has brought all of the
appropriate school safety personnel together to train them at
the same time. Many areas related to school community
policing and violence prevention, including collaboration with
other agencies and conflict resolution/youth meditation are
not covered in current training. Furthermore, school safety
personnel without peace officer status, teachers or parents
volunteering on school campuses cannot take POST courses.
"The academies will provide comprehensive training to all
individuals who work in or around a school campus.
Additionally, the academies would provide cross-training
between disciplines which increases the opportunities for
interagency school partnerships and enhances school safety."
2)School Safety Academies : Based upon a competitive selection
process, DOJ shall fund applicants that propose to establish a
school safety academy in southern California, in northern
California, or in central California, or any combination of
the three. Each academy shall provide training to juvenile
specialists, school district police officers, school resource
officers, school security officers, school administrators,
campus supervisors and monitors, parent volunteers, and others
responsible for school safety and school community violence
prevention.
The school safety academies will provide training on the role of
school police officers, the role of school administrators, the
role of campus security and safety personnel, school and
community relations, school crime reporting, conflict
resolution and youth mediation, crisis intervention and
response, juvenile justice system, diversity training, the
role of probation and parole officers, effective school safety
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strategies and planning, the role of law enforcement on school
campuses, the role of child protective services workers, and
hate crimes.
3)The DOJ And The Grant Process : DOJ shall establish minimum
standards, funding schedules, and procedures for awarding
grants, that include, but is not limited to: (a) demonstrated
ability to administer a comprehensive multidisciplinary
training program; (b) demonstrated ability to develop and
implement a training plan that provides comprehensive school
safety training to law enforcement, education, social service
agencies, youth organizations, probation, community, and other
school safety personnel. DOJ shall convene a workshop and a
workgroup comprised of school safety experts representing each
funded academy, education, probation, law enforcement, school
police, social services, mental health, school security,
school administrators, and parents, and shall include an
evaluator.
4)Crime Statistics : "During the 1996-1997 school year, school
districts and county offices of education reported a total of
21,947 crimes against persons; 19,876 drug and alcohol
offenses; 25,718 property crimes costing schools over $22.6
million; and 8,787 other crimes." (Education Code Section
32296(b).)
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Child, Youth and Family Coalition
California State Juvenile Officers Association
Fontana Unified School District Police Department
Kern County Superintendent of Schools
Sacramento City Unified School District
Sacramento Police Department
San Bernardino Sheriff's Department
Opposition
None on File
Analysis Prepared by : Angelo Butler / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744