Existing law, the Interagency School Safety Demonstration Act of 1985, requires school districts and county offices of education to be responsible for the overall development of comprehensive school safety plans for its schools operating kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive. The act establishes the School/Law Enforcement Partnership, comprised of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Attorney General, whose duties include, among others, the development of programs and policies necessary to implement the provisions of the Education Code relating to school safety plans. Existing law prohibits the suspension, or recommendation for expulsion, of a pupil from school unless the superintendent of the school district or the principal of the school determines that the pupil has committed any of various specified acts, including, but not limited to, engaging in an act of bullying or willfully using force or violence upon the person of another unless in self-defense. For a pupil subject to such discipline, existing law authorizes a superintendent of the school district or principal to use his or her discretion to provide alternatives to suspension or expulsion that are age appropriate and designed to address and correct the pupils specific misbehavior.

This bill would authorize the Superintendent to investigate complaints of bullying or other cases of pupil victimization at his or her discretion, and would authorize the Superintendent to share that information with state or local law enforcement agencies. The bill also would, by no later than January 1, 2018, require the principal of each public school school, by no later than January 1, 2018, to ensure that a conspicuous notice, as specified and relating to pupil victimization reporting, that is accessible to all pupils is posted in a common area of the school. By imposing additional duties on school officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill also would specifically prohibit a pupil from being suspended, recommended for expulsion, or otherwise punished if the pupil only responded with reasonable force to an unjustified physical attack upon himself or herself, or upon another pupil.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

Existing law, the Interagency School Safety Demonstration Act of 1985, requires school districts and county offices of education to be responsible for the overall development of comprehensive school safety plans for its schools operating kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive. The act establishes the School/Law Enforcement Partnership, comprised of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Attorney General, whose duties include, among others, the development of programs and policies necessary to implement the provisions of the Education Code relating to school safety plans. Existing law prohibits the suspension, or recommendation for expulsion, of a pupil from school unless the superintendent of the school district or the principal of the school determines that the pupil has committed any of various specified acts, including, but not limited to, engaging in an act of bullying or willfully using force or violence upon the person of another unless in self-defense. For a pupil subject to such discipline, existing law authorizes a superintendent of the school district or principal to use his or her discretion to provide alternatives to suspension or expulsion that are age appropriate and designed to address and correct the pupils specific misbehavior.

This bill would authorize the Superintendent to investigate complaints of bullying or other cases of pupil victimization at his or her discretion, and would authorize the Superintendent to share that information with state or local law enforcement agencies. The bill also would, by no later than January 1, 2018, require the principal of each public school to ensure that a conspicuous notice, as specified and relating to pupil victimization reporting, that is accessible to all pupils is posted in a common area of the school. By imposing additional duties on school officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill also would specifically prohibit a pupil from being suspended, recommended for expulsion, or otherwise punished if the pupil only responded with reasonable force to an unjustified physical attack upon himself or herself, or upon another pupil.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON

Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair

2015 - 2016 Regular Session

SB 1411 (Runner) - Pupil safety: notification: pupil victimization reporting

This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.

Bill Summary:

This bill requires that the principal of each public school ensure that an anti-bullying notice is accessible to all students in a common area of the school by January 1, 2018.

Fiscal Impact:

Unknown reimbursable state mandate costs, but potentially in the hundreds of thousands to purchase the custom notice and post it at school sites. Actual costs would depend upon factors such as the size and materials schools choose to use for the notice. To the extent the Commission on State Mandates (COSM) determines these activities to be reimbursable, it could create pressure to increase the K-12 mandate block grant to account for this mandate. (Proposition 98)

Background:

Existing law authorizes schools to suspend or recommend for expulsion a student who engages in an act of bullying, which is defined as any severe or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct. This includes communications made in writing or by means of an electronic act, directed toward one or more students that has or will have one or more of the following effects: causes the student to be fearful, to have a detrimental effect on his or her physical or mental health, or interferes with his or her academic performance or participation in school activities.

The California Department of Education (CDE) is required, among other things, to monitor whether school districts have adopted a process for receiving and investigating complaints relating to discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying. CDE is also required to develop an online training module on bullying and cyberbullying for school staff, school administrators, parents, students, and community members.

According to the author’s office, the objective of posting an actual, tangible “Respect for All” sign in each school is to help deter prospective bullies and to provide some relief to victims by directing them to a path for remediation.

Proposed Law:

This bill requires that the principal of each public school ensure that an anti-bullying notice is accessible to all students in a common area of the school by January 1, 2018. Specifically, the notice must include the following four bulleted notifications:

• “All students are entitled to a fear-free learning environment.”
• “Any student who has been the victim of discrimination, harassment, intimidation, bullying, or cyberbullying by another student should report the incident to a teacher or other school employee.”
• “A student, parent, teacher, or other concerned party may report incidents of bullying or other cases of student victimization to the district superintendent of schools or the county superintendent of schools.”
• “A student found to have threatened, intimidated, or bullied another student may be subject to suspension or recommended for expulsion pursuant to Section 48900 of the Education Code, or to criminal prosecution.”

Staff Comments:

This bill requires staff at the state’s over 10,000 public schools to create a custom notice that includes the language specified in the bill and post the notice in a common area of the school. The additional activities imposed upon school principals would likely be determined by the COSM to impose a reimbursable state mandate.

Costs for school staff to comply with the bill’s requirements depend on a number of factors including the size and materials used for the notice. Notices that may already be accessible to students at school would likely not fulfill the requirements of this bill as it requires specified text. Assuming each school purchases one poster at a cost of $25 each, statewide costs incurred could be in the low hundreds of thousands. If it took staff at each school one hour to identify a poster for purchase and post it on campus, school districts could potentially claim costs of about $500,000 statewide. Charter schools would also incur similar costs as traditional public schools but they are not eligible to submit claims for reimbursement for state-mandated activities.

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SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Senator Carol Liu, Chair

2015 - 2016 Regular

Bill No:

Subject:

SUMMARY

This bill requires an anti-bullying, “Respect for All” sign, to be posted in a common area of all public schools no later than January 1, 2018.

BACKGROUND

Existing law requires school districts to adopt a policy that prohibits discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying based on the actual or perceived characteristics in the Penal Code, as specified, and disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics. (Education Code § 234.1)

Existing law:

1. Requires each school district and county office of education to be responsible for the overall development of all comprehensive school safety plans for its schools. The schoolsite council is required to write and develop a comprehensive school safety plan relevant to the needs and resources of that particular school.
   
2. Authorizes the schoolsite council to delegate responsibility for the development of the school safety plan to a school safety planning committee, composed of the principal, one teacher who is a representative of the recognized certificated employee organization, one parent whose child attends the school, one classified employee who is a representative of the recognized classified employee organization, and other members if desired.
   
3. Requires the comprehensive school safety plan to include (1) an assessment of the current status of school crime committed on school campuses and at school-related functions and (2) identification of appropriate strategies and programs that will provide or maintain a high level of school safety and detail procedures for complying with existing laws; disaster procedures; policies regarding suspension or expulsion; a discrimination and harassment policy; and, a safe and orderly environment conducive to learning.
   
4. Requires the comprehensive school safety plan to be evaluated at least once a year. (Education Code § 32281 and Education Code § 32282)
   

Existing law also authorizes schools to suspend or recommend for expulsion a student who engages in an act of bullying, which is defined as any severe or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct, including communications made in writing or by means of an electronic act, directed toward one or more students that has or can be reasonably predicted to have the effect of one or more of the following:

1. Placing a reasonable student or students in fear of harm to that student’s or those students’ person or property.
2. Causing a reasonable student to experience a substantially detrimental effect on his or her physical or mental health.
3. Causing a reasonable student to experience substantial interference with his or her academic performance.
4. Causing a reasonable student to experience substantial interference with his or her ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by a school. (Education Code § 48900(r)(1))
   

Existing law defines “electronic act” as the creation or transmission, originated on or off the schoolsite, by means of an electronic device, including but not limited to a telephone, wireless telephone, or other wireless communication device, computer, or pager, of a communication, including but not limited to any of the following:

1. A message, text, sounds, or image.
2. A post on a social network website including, but not limited to:
   1. Posting to or creating a burn page, as defined, created for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed above.
   2. Creating a credible impersonation of another actual student, as defined, for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed above.
   3. Creating a false profile, as defined, for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed above. (Education Code § 48900(r)(2))
      

Existing law prohibits a student from being suspended or expelled unless the act is related to a school activity or school attendance. Schools are specifically authorized to suspend or expel a student for acts that are related to a school activity or school attendance that occur at any time, including but not limited to:

1. While on school grounds.
2. While going to or coming from school.
3. During the lunch period whether on or off the campus.
4. During, or while going to or coming from, a school-sponsored activity.

(Education Code § 48900(s))

ANALYSIS

This bill:

1. Requires the principal of each school, by no later than January 1, 2018, to ensure that a conspicuous notice that is accessible to all pupils is posted in a common area of the school.
2. Requires that the first line of the notice include only the words “Respect for All.”
3. Requires that under the first line of the notice, there shall be four bulleted notifications as follows:
   1. “All students are entitled to a fear-free learning environment.”
   2. “Any student who has been the victim of discrimination, harassment, intimidation, bullying, or cyberbullying by another student should report the incident to a teacher or other school employee.”
   3. “A student, parent, teacher, or other concerned party may report incidents of bullying or other cases of student victimization to the district superintendent of schools or the county superintendent of schools.”
   4. “A student found to have threatened, intimidated, or bullied another student may be subject to suspension or recommended for expulsion pursuant to Section 48900 of the Education Code, or to criminal prosecution.”

STAFF COMMENTS

1. Need for the bill. The author’s office indicates that “while bullying was historically dismissed as a rite of passage, modern educators recognize bullying as a systemic problem that is difficult to solve. Bullying is both an impediment to effective education and a painful experience that can scar the victim with sometimes tragic results. Bullying and discrimination based upon ethnicity, religion, or sexual identity can be particularly hurtful. In recent years, cyberbullying has proven to be both prevalent and difficult to control because it occurs outside of the school facility. Despite teacher training and anti-bullying advertising campaigns, the problem persists. Many students and parents are unaware of the anti-bullying provisions within the Education Code.”
2. Purpose of the sign. The author’s office indicates that this bill seeks to inform every child that they are entitled to a fear free learning environment and that there is help at their school and beyond the school walls to protect their rights. Specifically, “the objective of posting an actual, tangible “Respect for All” sign in each school is to help deter prospective bullies and to provide some relief to victims by directing them to a path for remediation.”
3. Existing efforts to address bullying. Current law prohibits discrimination in public schools on the basis of disability, gender, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic that is contained in the definition of hate crimes. Additionally, the State Department of Education (SDE) is required to monitor, through its categorical monitoring process, whether school districts have adopted policies prohibiting discrimination based on the actual or perceived characteristics including disability, gender, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or association with a person or group with one or more of those characteristics. Further, the SDE is required to monitor whether school districts have adopted a process for receiving and investigating complaints relating to discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying, including a requirement that school personnel who witness such acts take immediate steps to intervene when safe to do so and a timeline for the investigation and resolution of complaints, and an appeal process. SDE is also required to develop an online training module on bullying and cyberbullying for school staff, school administrators, parents, students, and community members.

Given the efforts that are currently in place to address bullying, the committee may wish to consider whether the additional requirements imposed by this measure are necessary.

1. Prior legislation.

AB 827 (O’Donnell, Chapter 562, Statutes of 2015), requires SDE, as part of its compliance monitoring process, to assess whether local educational agencies have provided information to certificated staff serving grades 7-12 on schoolsite and community resources for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) students.

SUPPORT

None received.

OPPOSITION

Anti-Defamation League

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