Bill Text

Bill Information


Add To My Favorites | print page

AB-331 School safety: persistently dangerous schools.(2007-2008)

SHARE THIS: share this bill in Facebook share this bill in Twitter
AB331:v99#DOCUMENT


CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2007–2008 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 331


Introduced  by  Assembly Member Emmerson

February 13, 2007


An act to amend Section 33126 of, and to add Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 48316) to Chapter 2 of Part 27 of Division 4 of Title 2 of, the Education Code, relating to school safety.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 331, as introduced, Emmerson. School safety: persistently dangerous schools.
Existing law, the Classroom Instructional Improvement and Accountability Act, requires each school district to develop and implement a school accountability report card, as prescribed. The act prohibits any change to its provisions, except a change to further its purpose enacted by a bill passed by a vote of 2/3 of the Legislature and signed by the Governor. The act requires that the school accountability report card include an assessment of, among other specified school conditions, classroom discipline and climate for learning, including suspension and expulsion rates for the most recent 3-year period.
Existing federal law, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, requires each state that receives funds under that act to establish and implement a statewide policy requiring that a pupil attending a persistently dangerous public elementary school or secondary school, as determined by the state, be allowed to attend a safe public elementary school or secondary school within the local educational agency, including a charter school.
This bill would require the assessment of classroom discipline and climate for learning included in the school accountability report card at each reporting school to also include, for a school that meets the criteria for a “persistently dangerous” school, as specified, the number of incidents, as defined, of various specified types of criminal violations that occurred at that school during the applicable period of 3 consecutive fiscal years. By requiring school districts to include additional information in the school accountability report card, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would define the term “persistently dangerous” for purposes of that provision and for purposes of implementing the existing federal law described above. The bill would also require the State Board of Education to adopt regulations consistent with that definition.
The bill would state findings and declarations of the Legislature that the changes made to the Classroom Instructional Improvement and Accountability Act by its provisions further the purposes of that act.
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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Vote: 2/3   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 33126 of the Education Code is amended to read:

33126.
 (a) The school accountability report card shall provide data by which a parent can make meaningful comparisons between public schools that will enable him or her to make informed decisions on which school to enroll his or her children.
(b) The school accountability report card shall include, but is not limited to, assessment of the following school conditions:
(1) (A) Pupil achievement by grade level, as measured by the standardized testing and reporting programs pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section 60640) of Chapter 5 of Part 33.
(B) Pupil achievement in and progress toward meeting reading, writing, arithmetic, and other academic goals, including results by grade level from the assessment tool used by the school district using percentiles when available for the most recent three-year period.
(C) After the state develops a statewide assessment system pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 60600) and Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 60800) of Part 33, pupil achievement by grade level, as measured by the results of the statewide assessment.
(D) Secondary schools with high school seniors shall list both the average verbal and math Scholastic Assessment Test scores to the extent provided to the school and the percentage of seniors taking that exam for the most recent three-year period.
(2) Progress toward reducing dropout rates, including the one-year dropout rate listed in the California Basic Education Data System or any successor data system for the schoolsite over the most recent three-year period, and the graduation rate, as defined by the State Board of Education state board, over the most recent three-year period when available pursuant to Section 52052.
(3) Estimated expenditures per pupil and types of services funded. The assessment of estimated expenditures per pupil shall reflect the actual salaries of personnel assigned to the schoolsite. The assessment of estimated expenditures per pupil shall be reported in total, shall be reported in subtotal by restricted and by unrestricted source, and shall include a reporting of the average of actual salaries paid to certificated instructional personnel at that schoolsite.
(4) Progress toward reducing class sizes and teaching loads, including the distribution of class sizes at the schoolsite by grade level, the average class size, and, if applicable, the percentage of pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 3, inclusive, participating in the Class Size Reduction Program established pursuant to Chapter 6.10 (commencing with Section 52120) of Part 28, using California Basic Education Data System or any successor data system information for the most recent three-year period.
(5) The total number of the school’s fully credentialed teachers, the number of teachers relying upon emergency credentials, the number of teachers working without credentials, any assignment of teachers outside their subject areas of competence, misassignments, including misassignments of teachers of English learners, and the number of vacant teacher positions for the most recent three-year period.
(A) For purposes of this paragraph, “vacant teacher position” means a position to which a single-designated certificated employee has not been assigned at the beginning of the year for an entire year or, if the position is for a one-semester course, a position of which a single-designated certificated employee has not been assigned at the beginning of a semester for an entire semester.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, “misassignment” means the placement of a certificated employee in a teaching or services position for which the employee does not hold a legally recognized certificate or credential or the placement of a certificated employee in a teaching or services position that the employee is not otherwise authorized by statute to hold.
(6) (A) Quality and currency of textbooks and other instructional materials, including whether textbooks and other materials meet state standards and are adopted by the State Board of Education state board for kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, and adopted by the governing boards of school districts for grades 9 to 12, inclusive, and the ratio of textbooks per pupil and the year the textbooks were adopted.
(B) The availability of sufficient textbooks and other instructional materials, as defined in Section 60119, for each pupil, including English learners, in each of areas enumerated in clauses (i) to (iii), inclusive. If the governing board determines, pursuant to Section 60119 that there are insufficient textbooks or instructional materials, or both, it shall include information for each school in which an insufficiency exists, identifying the percentage of pupils who lack sufficient standards-aligned textbooks or instructional materials in each subject area. The subject areas to be included are all of the following:
(i) The core curriculum areas of reading/language arts, mathematics, science, and history/social science.
(ii) Foreign language and health.
(iii) Science laboratory equipment for grades 9 to 12, inclusive, as appropriate.
(7) The availability of qualified personnel to provide counseling and other pupil support services, including the ratio of academic counselors per pupil.
(8) Availability of qualified substitute teachers.
(9) Safety, cleanliness, and adequacy of school facilities, including any needed maintenance to ensure good repair as specified in Section Sections 17014, Section and 17032.5, subdivision (a) of Section 17070.75, and subdivision (b) of Section 17089.
(10) Adequacy of teacher evaluations and opportunities for professional improvement, including the annual number of schooldays dedicated to staff development for the most recent three-year period.
(11) Classroom discipline and climate for learning, including suspension and expulsion rates for the most recent three-year period. both of the following:
(A) Suspension and expulsion rates for the most recent three-year period.
(B) For a school that meets the criteria for a “persistently dangerous” school pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 48316, the number of incidents described in that subdivision that occurred at the school during the applicable period of three consecutive fiscal years.
(12) Teacher and staff training, and curriculum improvement programs.
(13) Quality of school instruction and leadership.
(14) The degree to which pupils are prepared to enter the workforce.
(15) The total number of instructional minutes offered in the school year, separately stated for each grade level, as compared to the total number of the instructional minutes per school year required by state law, separately stated for each grade level.
(16) The total number of minimum days, as specified in Sections 46112, 46113, 46117, and 46141, in the school year.
(17) The number of advanced placement courses offered, by subject.
(18) The Academic Performance Index, including the disaggregation of subgroups as set forth in Section 52052 and the decile rankings and a comparison of schools.
(19) Whether a school qualified for the Immediate Intervention Underperforming Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program pursuant to Section 52053 and whether the school applied for, and received a grant pursuant to, that program.
(20) Whether the school qualifies for the Governor’s Performance Award Program.
(21) When If available, the percentage of pupils, including the disaggregation of subgroups, as set forth in Section 52052, completing grade 12 who successfully complete the high school exit examination, as set forth in Sections 60850 and 60851, as compared to the percentage of pupils in the district and statewide completing grade 12 who successfully complete the examination.
(22) Contact information pertaining to any organized opportunities for parental involvement.
(23) For secondary schools, the percentage of graduates who have passed course requirements for entrance to the University of California and the California State University pursuant to Section 51225.3 and the percentage of pupils enrolled in those courses, as reported by the California Basic Education Data System or any successor data system.
(24) Whether the school has a college admissions test preparation course program.
(25) Career technical education data measures, including all of the following:
(A) A list of programs offered by the school district that pupils at the school may participate in and that are aligned to the model curriculum standards adopted pursuant to Section 51226, and program sequences offered by the school district. The list should identify courses conducted by a regional occupation center or program, and those conducted directly by the school district.
(B) A listing of the primary representative of the career technical advisory committee of the school district and the industries represented.
(C) The number of pupils participating in career technical education.
(D) The percentage of pupils that complete a career technical education program and earn a high school diploma.
(E) The percentage of career technical education courses that are sequenced or articulated between a school and institutions of postsecondary education.
(c) If the Commission on State Mandates finds a school district is eligible for a reimbursement of costs incurred complying with this section, the school district shall be reimbursed only if the information provided in the school accountability report card is accurate, as determined by the annual audit performed pursuant to Section 41020. If the information is determined to be inaccurate, the school district is not ineligible for reimbursement if the information is corrected by May 15.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that schools make a concerted effort to notify parents of the purpose of the school accountability report cards, as described in this section, and ensure that all parents receive a copy of the report card; to ensure that the report cards are easy to read and understandable by parents; to ensure that local educational agencies with access to the Internet make available current copies of the report cards through the Internet; and to ensure that administrators and teachers are available to answer any questions regarding the report cards.

SEC. 2.

 Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 48316) is added to Chapter 2 of Part 27 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, to read:
Article  7.5. Safe School Choice

48316.
 (a) For purposes of implementing the unsafe school choice policy of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 7912), a school is “persistently dangerous” if, in each of three consecutive fiscal years, one of the following criteria has been met:
(1) For a school of fewer than 300 enrolled pupils, the number of incidents of firearm violations committed by nonpupils on school grounds during school hours or during a school-sponsored activity, plus the number of incidents for any of the violations delineated in subdivision (b) is greater than three.
(2) For a school with 300 or more enrolled pupils, the number of incidents of firearm violations committed by nonpupils on school grounds during school hours or during a school-sponsored activity, plus the number of incidents for any of the violations delineated in subdivision (b) is greater than one per 100 enrolled pupils or a fraction thereof.
(b) The violations specified in subdivision (a) are any of the following:
(1) Assault or battery, as defined in Sections 240 and 242 of the Penal Code, upon any school employee.
(2) Brandishing a knife at another person.
(3) Causing serious physical injury to another person, except in self-defense.
(4) Hate violence, as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 233.
(5) Possessing, selling, or otherwise furnishing a firearm.
(6) Possessing an explosive.
(7) Robbery or extortion.
(8) Unlawfully selling a controlled substance listed in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11053) of Division 10 of the Health and Safety Code.
(9) Committing or attempting to commit a sexual assault as defined in Section 261, 266c, 286, 288, 288a, or 289 of the Penal Code, or committing a sexual battery as defined in Section 243.4 of the Penal Code.
(c) For purposes of this section, “incident” means an offense that occurs in a school building or schoolbus, on school grounds, or at a school-sponsored event, and that results in the issuance of a criminal citation to a pupil or any other person by a law enforcement agency or by school police.
(d) The state board shall adopt regulations consistent with this section.

SEC. 3.

 The Legislature finds and declares that the changes made to Section 33126 of the Education Code by Section 1 of this act further the purposes of the Classroom Instructional Improvement and Accountability Act.

SEC. 4.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because this act implements a federal law or regulation and results only in costs mandated by the federal government, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.