BILL NUMBER: AB 420	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 5, 2014
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 19, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 24, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 10, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Dickinson
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Alejo, Ammiano, Brown, John A. Pérez,
and V. Manuel Pérez)
   (Coauthor: Senator Leno)

                        FEBRUARY 15, 2013

   An act to amend  Sections 48900 and 48910  
Section 48900  of the Education Code, relating to pupil
discipline.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 420, as amended, Dickinson. Pupil discipline: suspensions:
willful defiance.
   Existing law prohibits a pupil from being suspended from school or
recommended for expulsion, unless the superintendent of the school
district or the principal of the school in which the pupil is
enrolled determines that the pupil has committed a specified act,
including, among other acts, disrupting school activities or
otherwise willfully defying the valid authority of supervisors,
teachers, administrators, school officials, or other school personnel
engaged in the performance of their duties.  Existing law
authorizes a teacher to suspend from his or her class a pupil in any
grade level for those same acts. 
   This bill would  limit that authority of a superintendent
of a school district and a principal regarding disruptive or similar
pupil conduct by prohibiting a recommendation of expulsion for a
pupil on those basis. It would limit   eliminate 
the authority to suspend  for disruptive or similar conduct
to a pupil who is   a pupil  enrolled in 
any of grades 6 to 12, inclusive, who has substantially disrupted
school activities or substantially prevented instruction from
occurring, only on or after the 3rd offense in a school year, and
only if the pupil's parent, guardian, or education rights holder has
been informed that other specified correction measures were attempted
before the recommendation to suspend. The bill also would state the
intent of the Legislature to, among other things, address the
disproportionate suspension of particular subgroups of pupils and
encourage schools to instead prioritize and use alternative means of
correction.   kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 3,
inclusive, and the author   ity to recommend for expulsion a
pupil enrolled in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive,
for disrupting school activities or otherwise willfully defying the
valid authority of those school personnel engaged in the performance
of their duties. The bill would make the restrictions inoperative on
July 1, 2018. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Section 48900 of the  
Education Code   is amended to read: 
   48900.  A pupil shall not be suspended from school or recommended
for expulsion, unless the superintendent of the school district or
the principal of the school in which the pupil is enrolled determines
that the pupil has committed an act as defined pursuant to any of
subdivisions (a) to (r), inclusive:
   (a) (1) Caused, attempted to cause, or threatened to cause
physical injury to another person.
   (2) Willfully used force or violence upon the person of another,
except in self-defense.
   (b) Possessed, sold, or otherwise furnished a firearm, knife,
explosive, or other dangerous object, unless, in the case of
possession of an object of this type, the pupil had obtained written
permission to possess the item from a certificated school employee,
which is concurred in by the principal or the designee of the
principal.
   (c) Unlawfully possessed, used, sold, or otherwise furnished, or
been under the influence of, a controlled substance listed in Chapter
2 (commencing with Section 11053) of Division 10 of the Health and
Safety Code, an alcoholic beverage, or an intoxicant of any kind.
   (d) Unlawfully offered, arranged, or negotiated to sell a
controlled substance listed in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section
11053) of Division 10 of the Health and Safety Code, an alcoholic
beverage, or an intoxicant of any kind, and either sold, delivered,
or otherwise furnished to a person another liquid, substance, or
material and represented the liquid, substance, or material as a
controlled substance, alcoholic beverage, or intoxicant.
   (e) Committed or attempted to commit robbery or extortion.
   (f) Caused or attempted to cause damage to school property or
private property.
   (g) Stole or attempted to steal school property or private
property.
   (h) Possessed or used tobacco, or products containing tobacco or
nicotine products, including, but not limited to, cigarettes, cigars,
miniature cigars, clove cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, snuff, chew
packets, and betel. However, this section does not prohibit use or
possession by a pupil of his or her own prescription products.
   (i) Committed an obscene act or engaged in habitual profanity or
vulgarity.
   (j) Unlawfully possessed or unlawfully offered, arranged, or
negotiated to sell drug paraphernalia, as defined in Section 11014.5
of the Health and Safety Code.
   (k)  (1)    Disrupted school activities or
otherwise willfully defied the valid authority of supervisors,
teachers, administrators, school officials, or other school personnel
engaged in the performance of their duties. 
   (2) Notwithstanding any other law, a pupil enrolled in
kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 3, inclusive, shall not be
suspended for any of the acts enumerated in this subdivision, and
this subdivision shall not constitute grounds for a pupil enrolled in
kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to be recommended
for expulsion. This paragraph shall become inoperative on July 1,
2018, unless a later enacted statute that becomes operative before
July 1, 2018, deletes or extends that date. 
   (  l  ) Knowingly received stolen school property or
private property.
   (m) Possessed an imitation firearm. As used in this section,
"imitation firearm" means a replica of a firearm that is so
substantially similar in physical properties to an existing firearm
as to lead a reasonable person to conclude that the replica is a
firearm.
   (n) Committed or attempted to commit a sexual assault as defined
in Section 261, 266c, 286, 288, 288a, or 289 of the Penal Code or
committed a sexual battery as defined in Section 243.4 of the Penal
Code.
   (o) Harassed, threatened, or intimidated a pupil who is a
complaining witness or a witness in a school disciplinary proceeding
for purposes of either preventing that pupil from being a witness or
retaliating against that pupil for being a witness, or both.
   (p) Unlawfully offered, arranged to sell, negotiated to sell, or
sold the prescription drug Soma.
   (q) Engaged in, or attempted to engage in, hazing. For purposes of
this subdivision, "hazing" means a method of initiation or
preinitiation into a pupil organization or body, whether or not the
organization or body is officially recognized by an educational
institution, which is likely to cause serious bodily injury or
personal degradation or disgrace resulting in physical or mental harm
to a former, current, or prospective pupil. For purposes of this
subdivision, "hazing" does not include athletic events or
school-sanctioned events.
   (r) Engaged in an act of bullying. For purposes of this
subdivision, the following terms have the following meanings:
   (1)  "Bullying" means any severe or pervasive physical or verbal
act or conduct, including communications made in writing or by means
of an electronic act, and including one or more acts committed by a
pupil or group of pupils as defined in Section 48900.2, 48900.3, or
48900.4, directed toward one or more pupils that has or can be
reasonably predicted to have the effect of one or more of the
following:
   (A) Placing a reasonable pupil or pupils in fear of harm to that
pupil's or those pupils' person or property.
   (B) Causing a reasonable pupil to experience a substantially
detrimental effect on his or her physical or mental health.
   (C) Causing a reasonable pupil to experience substantial
interference with his or her academic performance.
   (D) Causing a reasonable pupil to experience substantial
interference with his or her ability to participate in or benefit
from the services, activities, or privileges provided by a school.
   (2) (A) "Electronic act" means the creation and 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:
   (i) A message, text, sound, or image.
   (ii) A post on a social network Internet Web site, including, but
not limited to:
   (I) Posting to or creating a burn page. "Burn page" means an
Internet Web site created for the purpose of having one or more of
the effects listed in paragraph (1).
   (II) Creating a credible impersonation of another actual pupil for
the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in paragraph
(1). "Credible impersonation" means to knowingly and without consent
impersonate a pupil for the purpose of bullying the pupil and such
that another pupil would reasonably believe, or has reasonably
believed, that the pupil was or is the pupil who was impersonated.
   (III) Creating a false profile for the purpose of having one or
more of the effects listed in paragraph (1). "False profile" means a
profile of a fictitious pupil or a profile using the likeness or
attributes of an actual pupil other than the pupil who created the
false profile.
   (B) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) and subparagraph (A), an
electronic act shall not constitute pervasive conduct solely on the
basis that it has been transmitted on the Internet or is currently
posted on the Internet.
   (3) "Reasonable pupil" means a pupil, including, but not limited
to, an exceptional needs pupil, who exercises average care, skill,
and judgment in conduct for a person of his or her age, or for a
person of his or her age with his or her exceptional needs.
   (s) A pupil shall not be suspended or expelled for any of the acts
enumerated in this section unless the act is related to a school
activity or school attendance occurring within a school under the
jurisdiction of the superintendent of the school district or
principal or occurring within any other school district. A pupil may
be suspended or expelled for acts that are enumerated in this section
and related to a school activity or school attendance that occur at
any time, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
   (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.
   (t) A pupil who aids or abets, as defined in Section 31 of the
Penal Code, the infliction or attempted infliction of physical injury
to another person may be subject to suspension, but not expulsion,
pursuant to this section, except that a pupil who has been adjudged
by a juvenile court to have committed, as an aider and abettor, a
crime of physical violence in which the victim suffered great bodily
injury or serious bodily injury shall be subject to discipline
pursuant to subdivision (a).
   (u) As used in this section, "school property" includes, but is
not limited to, electronic files and databases.
   (v) For a pupil subject to discipline under this section, a
superintendent of the school district or principal may use his or her
discretion to provide alternatives to suspension or expulsion that
are age appropriate and designed to address and correct the pupil's
specific misbehavior as specified in Section 48900.5.
   (w) It is the intent of the Legislature that alternatives to
suspension or expulsion be imposed against a pupil who is truant,
tardy, or otherwise absent from school activities. 
  SECTION 1.    Section 48900 of the Education Code
is amended to read:
   48900.  A pupil shall not be suspended from school or recommended
for expulsion, unless the superintendent of the school district or
the principal of the school in which the pupil is enrolled determines
that the pupil has committed an act as defined pursuant to any of
subdivisions (a) to (r), inclusive:
   (a) (1) Caused, attempted to cause, or threatened to cause
physical injury to another person.
   (2) Willfully used force or violence upon the person of another,
except in self-defense.
   (b) Possessed, sold, or otherwise furnished a firearm, knife,
explosive, or other dangerous object, unless, in the case of
possession of an object of this type, the pupil had obtained written
permission to possess the item from a certificated school employee,
which is concurred in by the principal or the designee of the
principal.
   (c) Unlawfully possessed, used, sold, or otherwise furnished, or
been under the influence of, a controlled substance listed in Chapter
2 (commencing with Section 11053) of Division 10 of the Health and
Safety Code, an alcoholic beverage, or an intoxicant of any kind.
   (d) Unlawfully offered, arranged, or negotiated to sell a
controlled substance listed in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section
11053) of Division 10 of the Health and Safety Code, an alcoholic
beverage, or an intoxicant of any kind, and either sold, delivered,
or otherwise furnished to a person another liquid, substance, or
material and represented the liquid, substance, or material as a
controlled substance, alcoholic beverage, or intoxicant.
   (e) Committed or attempted to commit robbery or extortion.
   (f) Caused or attempted to cause damage to school property or
private property.
   (g) Stole or attempted to steal school property or private
property.
   (h) Possessed or used tobacco, or products containing tobacco or
nicotine products, including, but not limited to, cigarettes, cigars,
miniature cigars, clove cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, snuff, chew
packets, and betel. However, this section does not prohibit use or
possession by a pupil of his or her own prescription products.
   (i) Committed an obscene act or engaged in habitual profanity or
vulgarity.
   (j) Unlawfully possessed or unlawfully offered, arranged, or
negotiated to sell drug paraphernalia, as defined in Section 11014.5
of the Health and Safety Code.
   (k) (1) A pupil enrolled in any of grades 6 to 12, inclusive, who
has substantially disrupted school activities or substantially
prevented instruction from occurring.
   (2) A pupil may only be suspended from school pursuant to this
subdivision on or after the third offense in a school year, and only
if the pupil's parent, guardian, or education rights holder has been
informed that other means of correction, pursuant to Section 48900.5,
were attempted before the recommendation to suspend. Pursuant to
Section 48900.5, a school district may document other means of
correction but is not required to do so.
   (3) Notwithstanding any other law, this subdivision shall not
constitute grounds for a pupil to be recommended for expulsion.
   (4) It is the intent of the Legislature to address the
disproportionate suspension of particular subgroups of pupils, to
minimize the excessive use of this subdivision as a reason to impose
in-school and off-campus removals that often lead to poor educational
outcomes, and to encourage schools to instead prioritize and use
alternative means of correction such as participation in a
restorative justice program, a positive behavior support system with
tiered interventions, or other forms of correction as specified in
Section 48900.5, in order to improve educational outcomes for
children.
   (  l  ) Knowingly received stolen school
property or private property.
   (m) Possessed an imitation firearm. As used in this section,
"imitation firearm" means a replica of a firearm that is so
substantially similar in physical properties to an existing firearm
as to lead a reasonable person to conclude that the replica is a
firearm.
   (n) Committed or attempted to commit a sexual assault as defined
in Section 261, 266c, 286, 288, 288a, or 289 of the Penal Code or
committed a sexual battery as defined in Section 243.4 of the Penal
Code.
   (o) Harassed, threatened, or intimidated a pupil who is a
complaining witness or a witness in a school disciplinary proceeding
for purposes of either preventing that pupil from being a witness or
retaliating against that pupil for being a witness, or both.
   (p) Unlawfully offered, arranged to sell, negotiated to sell, or
sold the prescription drug Soma.
   (q) Engaged in, or attempted to engage in, hazing. For purposes of
this subdivision, "hazing" means a method of initiation or
preinitiation into a pupil organization or body, whether or not the
organization or body is officially recognized by an educational
institution, which is likely to cause serious bodily injury or
personal degradation or disgrace resulting in physical or mental harm
to a former, current, or prospective pupil. For purposes of this
subdivision, "hazing" does not include athletic events or
school-sanctioned events.
   (r) Engaged in an act of bullying. For purposes of this
subdivision, the following terms have the following meanings:
   (1) "Bullying" means any severe or pervasive physical or verbal
act or conduct, including communications made in writing or by means
of an electronic act, and including one or more acts committed by a
pupil or group of pupils as defined in Section 48900.2, 48900.3, or
48900.4, directed toward one or more pupils that has or can be
reasonably predicted to have the effect of one or more of the
following:
   (A) Placing a reasonable pupil or pupils in fear of harm to that
pupil's or those pupils' person or property.
   (B) Causing a reasonable pupil to experience a substantially
detrimental effect on his or her physical or mental health.
   (C) Causing a reasonable pupil to experience substantial
interference with his or her academic performance.
   (D) Causing a reasonable pupil to experience substantial
interference with his or her ability to participate in or benefit
from the services, activities, or privileges provided by a school.
   (2) (A) "Electronic act" means the transmission, 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:
   (i) A message, text, sound, or image.
   (ii) A post on a social network Internet Web site including, but
not limited to:
   (I) Posting to or creating a burn page. "Burn page" means an
Internet Web site created for the purpose of having one or more of
the effects listed in paragraph (1).
   (II) Creating a credible impersonation of another actual pupil for
the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in paragraph
(1). "Credible impersonation" means to knowingly and without consent
impersonate a pupil for the purpose of bullying the pupil and such
that another pupil would reasonably believe, or has reasonably
believed, that the pupil was or is the pupil who was impersonated.
   (III) Creating a false profile for the purpose of having one or
more of the effects listed in paragraph (1). "False profile" means a
profile of a fictitious pupil or a profile using the likeness or
attributes of an actual pupil other than the pupil who created the
false profile.
   (B) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) and subparagraph (A), an
electronic act shall not constitute pervasive conduct solely on the
basis that it has been transmitted on the Internet or is currently
posted on the Internet.
   (3) "Reasonable pupil" means a pupil, including, but not limited
to, an exceptional needs pupil, who exercises average care, skill,
and judgment in conduct for a person of his or her age, or for a
person of his or her age with his or her exceptional needs.
   (s) A pupil shall not be suspended or expelled for any of the acts
enumerated in this section unless the act is related to a school
activity or school attendance occurring within a school under the
jurisdiction of the superintendent of the school district or
principal or occurring within any other school district. A pupil may
be suspended or expelled for acts that are enumerated in this section
and related to a school activity or school attendance that occur at
any time, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
   (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.
   (t) A pupil who aids or abets, as defined in Section 31 of the
Penal Code, the infliction or attempted infliction of physical injury
to another person may be subject to suspension, but not expulsion,
pursuant to this section, except that a pupil who has been adjudged
by a juvenile court to have committed, as an aider and abettor, a
crime of physical violence in which the victim suffered great bodily
injury or serious bodily injury shall be subject to discipline
pursuant to subdivision (a).
   (u) As used in this section, "school property" includes, but is
not limited to, electronic files and databases.
   (v) For a pupil subject to discipline under this section, a
superintendent of the school district or principal may use his or her
discretion to provide alternatives to suspension or expulsion that
are age appropriate and designed to address and correct the pupil's
specific misbehavior as specified in Section 48900.5.
   (w) It is the intent of the Legislature that alternatives to
suspension or expulsion be imposed against a pupil who is truant,
tardy, or otherwise absent from school activities. 
  SEC. 2.   Section 48910 of the Education Code is
amended to read:
   48910.  (a) A teacher may suspend any pupil from class, for any of
the acts enumerated in Section 48900, for the day of the suspension
and the day following. The teacher shall immediately report the
suspension to the principal of the school and send the pupil to the
principal or the designee of the principal for appropriate action. If
that action requires the continued presence of the pupil at the
schoolsite, the pupil shall be under appropriate supervision, as
defined in policies and related regulations adopted by the governing
board of the school district. As soon as possible, the teacher shall
ask the parent or guardian of the pupil to attend a parent-teacher
conference regarding the suspension. If practicable, a school
counselor or a school psychologist may attend the conference. A
school administrator shall attend the conference if the teacher or
the parent or guardian so requests. The pupil shall not be returned
to the class from which he or she was suspended, during the period of
the suspension, without the concurrence of the teacher of the class
and the principal.
   (b) A pupil suspended from a class shall not be placed in another
regular class during the period of suspension. However, if the pupil
is assigned to more than one class per day this subdivision shall
apply only to other regular classes scheduled at the same time as the
class from which the pupil was suspended.
   (c) A teacher may also refer a pupil, for any of the acts
enumerated in Section 48900, to the principal or the designee of the
principal for consideration of a suspension from the school.
   (d) Notwithstanding subdivision (k) of Section 48900, a teacher
may suspend a pupil in any grade level from class, including for a
first offense and from a one-room schoolhouse, for disrupting school
activities or otherwise willfully defying the valid authority of
supervisors, teachers, administrators, school officials, or other
school personnel engaged in the performance of their duties.