Bill Text: CA AB1264 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Comprehensive school safety plans: tactical response plans.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 8-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2014-05-06 - In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. [AB1264 Detail]
Download: California-2013-AB1264-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1264 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 16, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 6, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 21, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Conway
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Achadjian, Beth Gaines, Gorell,
Hagman, Harkey, Morrell, and Nestande)
FEBRUARY 22, 2013
An act to amend Sections 32281 , and
32282 , and 41020 of the Education Code, relating
to school safety.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1264, as amended, Conway. Comprehensive school safety plans:
tactical response plans.
(1) Existing law provides that school districts and county offices
of education are responsible for the overall development of
comprehensive school safety plans for its schools operating
kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive. Existing law
requires the schoolsite council of a school to write and develop a
school safety plan relevant to the needs and resources of the
particular school, except as specified with regard to a small school
district. Existing law requires the school safety plan to include
specified strategies and programs that will provide or maintain a
high level of school safety. Existing law authorizes a school
district or county office of education to elect to not have its
schoolsite council develop and write portions of its school safety
plan that include tactical responses to criminal incidents, as
defined, and instead develop those portions of the school safety plan
with law enforcement officials and other specified persons.
Existing law requires any vote to approve the tactical response plan
to be announced in open session following a closed session.
Existing law provides certain protections from disclosure for this
tactical response plan.
This bill would require a comprehensive school safety plan to
include a tactical response plan, and would revise the definition of
"tactical responses to criminal incidents" to include a plan to
safeguard against incidents that include a firearm, explosive, or
other deadly weapon. The bill would require a school
district or county office of education to publicly announce its
adoption or update of a tactical response plan, but would not require
the school to disclose those portions of the plan that may be kept
private pursuant to existing law require any vote to
approve or update the tactical response plan to be announced in open
session following a closed session. The bill would prohibit the
governing board of a school district or a county office of education
from being required to disclose those portions of the tactical
response plan that may be kept private .
(2) Existing law requires a county superintendent of schools to
provide for an audit of all funds under his or her jurisdiction, and
requires the governing board of a local educational agency to either
provide for an audit of the books and accounts of the local
educational agency or make arrangements with the county
superintendent of schools having jurisdiction over the local
educational agency to provide for that auditing. Existing law
requires a county superintendent of schools to be responsible for
reviewing the audit exceptions contained in an audit of a local
educational agency under his or her jurisdiction related to specified
topics, and determining whether the exceptions were either corrected
or an acceptable plan of correction was developed. Existing law
requires the county office of education to review certain audit
exceptions upon submission and receipt of a final audit report.
Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to be
responsible for ensuring that local educational agencies have either
corrected or developed plans of correction for specified audit
exceptions.
This bill, commencing with the 2015-16 fiscal year, would require
the auditor to include in the audit report a summary of the extent to
which a local educational agency has complied with the requirement
that each of its schools develop a comprehensive school safety plan.
(3)
(2) By requiring school districts and county offices of
education to perform additional duties in regards to their
comprehensive school safety plans, the bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 32281 of the Education Code is amended to read:
32281. (a) Each school district and county office of education is
responsible for the overall development of all comprehensive school
safety plans for its schools operating kindergarten or any of grades
1 to 12, inclusive.
(b) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (d), the schoolsite
council established pursuant to former Section 52012, as it existed
before July 1, 2005, or Section 52852 shall write and develop a
comprehensive school safety plan relevant to the needs and resources
of that particular school.
(2) The schoolsite council may delegate this responsibility to a
school safety planning committee made up of the following members:
(A) The principal or the principal's designee.
(B) One teacher who is a representative of the recognized
certificated employee organization.
(C) One parent whose child attends the school.
(D) One classified employee who is a representative of the
recognized classified employee organization.
(E) Other members, if desired.
(3) The schoolsite council shall consult with a representative
from a law enforcement agency in the writing and development of the
comprehensive school safety plan.
(4) In the absence of a schoolsite council, the members specified
in paragraph (2) shall serve as the school safety planning committee.
(c) Nothing in this article shall limit or take away the authority
of school boards as guaranteed under this code.
(d) (1) Subdivision (b) shall not apply to a small school
district, as defined in paragraph (2), if the small school district
develops a districtwide comprehensive school safety plan that is
applicable to each schoolsite.
(2) As used in this article, "small school district" means a
school district that has fewer than 2,501 units of average daily
attendance at the beginning of each fiscal year.
(e) (1) When a principal or his or her designee verifies through
local law enforcement officials that a report has been filed of the
occurrence of a violent crime on the schoolsite of an elementary or
secondary school at which he or she is the principal, the principal
or the principal's designee may send to each pupil's parent or legal
guardian and each school employee a written notice of the occurrence
and general nature of the crime. If the principal or his or her
designee chooses to send the written notice, the Legislature
encourages the notice be sent no later than the end of business on
the second regular work day after the verification. If, at the time
of verification, local law enforcement officials determine that
notification of the violent crime would hinder an ongoing
investigation, the notification authorized by this subdivision shall
be made within a reasonable period of time, to be determined by the
local law enforcement agency and the school district. For purposes of
this section, an act that is considered a "violent crime" shall meet
the definition of Section 67381 and be an act for which a pupil
could or would be expelled pursuant to Section 48915.
(2) Nothing in this subdivision shall create any liability in a
school district or its employees for complying with paragraph (1).
(f) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), a school district or
county office of education may, in consultation with law enforcement
officials, elect to not have its schoolsite council develop and write
those portions of its comprehensive school safety plan that include
tactical responses to criminal incidents that may result in death or
serious bodily injury at the schoolsite. The portions of a school
safety plan that include tactical responses to criminal incidents may
be developed by administrators of the school district or county
office of education in consultation with law enforcement officials
and with a representative of an exclusive bargaining unit of
employees of that school district or county office of education, if
he or she chooses to participate. The school district or county
office of education may elect not to disclose those portions of the
comprehensive school safety plan that include tactical responses to
criminal incidents.
(2) As used in this article, "tactical responses to criminal
incidents" means steps taken to safeguard pupils and staff, to secure
the affected school premises, and to apprehend the criminal
perpetrator or perpetrators, including, but not limited to, a plan to
safeguard against incidents that include a firearm, explosive, or
other deadly weapon.
(3) Nothing in this subdivision precludes the governing board of a
school district or county office of education from conferring in a
closed session with law enforcement officials pursuant to Section
54957 of the Government Code to approve or update a
tactical response plan developed in consultation with those officials
pursuant to this subdivision. Any vote to approve or update
the tactical response plan shall be announced in open session
following the closed session. The governing board of a school
district or county office of education shall not be required to
disclose those portions of the tactical response plan that
may be kept private pursuant to this subdivision.
(4) A school district or county office of education shall publicly
announce its adoption or update of a tactical response plan, but
shall not be required to disclose those portions of the plan that may
be kept private pursuant to this subdivision.
(5)
(4) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to
reduce or eliminate the requirements of Section 32282.
SEC. 2. Section 32282 of the Education Code is amended to read:
32282. (a) The comprehensive school safety plan shall include,
but not be limited to, both of the following:
(1) Assessing the current status of school crime committed on
school campuses and at school-related functions.
(2) Identifying appropriate strategies and programs that will
provide or maintain a high level of school safety and address the
school's procedures for complying with existing laws related to
school safety, which shall include the development of all of the
following:
(A) Child abuse reporting procedures consistent with Article 2.5
(commencing with Section 11164) of Chapter 2 of Title 1 of Part 4 of
the Penal Code.
(B) Disaster procedures, routine and emergency, including
adaptations for pupils with disabilities in accordance with the
federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101
et seq.). The disaster procedures shall also include, but not be
limited to, both of the following:
(i) Establishing an earthquake emergency procedure system in every
public school building having an occupant capacity of 50 or more
pupils or more than one classroom. A district or county office may
work with the Office of Emergency Services and the Seismic Safety
Commission to develop and establish the earthquake emergency
procedure system. The system shall include, but not be limited to,
all of the following:
(I) A school building disaster plan, ready for implementation at
any time, for maintaining the safety and care of pupils and staff.
(II) A drop procedure whereby each pupil and staff member takes
cover under a table or desk, dropping to his or her knees, with the
head protected by the arms, and the back to the windows. A drop
procedure practice shall be held at least once each school quarter in
elementary schools and at least once a semester in secondary
schools.
(III) Protective measures to be taken before, during, and
following an earthquake.
(IV) A program to ensure that pupils and both the certificated and
classified staff are aware of, and properly trained in, the
earthquake emergency procedure system.
(ii) Establishing a procedure to allow a public agency, including
the American Red Cross, to use school buildings, grounds, and
equipment for mass care and welfare shelters during disasters or
other emergencies affecting the public health and welfare. The
district or county office shall cooperate with the public agency in
furnishing and maintaining the services as the district or county
office may deem necessary to meet the needs of the community.
(C) Policies pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 48915 for
pupils who committed an act listed in subdivision (c) of Section
48915 and other school-designated serious acts that would lead to
suspension, expulsion, or mandatory expulsion recommendations
pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 48900) of Chapter 6 of
Part 27 of Division 4 of Title 2.
(D) Procedures to notify teachers of dangerous pupils pursuant to
Section 49079.
(E) A discrimination and harassment policy consistent with the
prohibition against discrimination contained in Chapter 2 (commencing
with Section 200) of Part 1.
(F) The provisions of any schoolwide dress code, pursuant to
Section 35183, that prohibits pupils from wearing "gang-related
apparel," if the school has adopted that type of a dress code. For
those purposes, the comprehensive school safety plan shall define
"gang-related apparel." The definition shall be limited to apparel
that, if worn or displayed on a school campus, reasonably could be
determined to threaten the health and safety of the school
environment. Any schoolwide dress code established pursuant to this
section and Section 35183 shall be enforced on the school campus and
at any school-sponsored activity by the principal of the school or
the person designated by the principal. For purposes of this
paragraph, "gang-related apparel" shall not be considered a protected
form of speech pursuant to Section 48950.
(G) Procedures for safe ingress and egress of pupils, parents, and
school employees to and from school.
(H) A safe and orderly environment conducive to learning at the
school.
(I) The rules and procedures on school discipline adopted pursuant
to Sections 35291 and 35291.5.
(J) A tactical response plan as provided for in subdivision (f) of
Section 32281.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that schools develop
comprehensive school safety plans using existing resources, including
the materials and services of the partnership, pursuant to this
chapter. It is also the intent of the Legislature that schools use
the handbook developed and distributed by the School/Law Enforcement
Partnership Program entitled "Safe Schools: A Planning Guide for
Action" in conjunction with developing their plan for school safety.
(c) Grants to assist schools in implementing their comprehensive
school safety plans shall be made available through the partnership
as authorized by Section 32285.
(d) Each schoolsite council or school safety planning committee in
developing and updating a comprehensive school safety plan shall,
where practical, consult, cooperate, and coordinate with other
schoolsite councils or school safety planning committees.
(e) The comprehensive school safety plan may be evaluated and
amended, as needed, by the school safety planning committee, but
shall be evaluated at least once a year, to ensure that the
comprehensive school safety plan is properly implemented. An updated
file of all safety-related plans and materials shall be readily
available for inspection by the public.
(f) As comprehensive school safety plans are reviewed and updated,
the Legislature encourages all plans, to the extent that resources
are available, to include policies and procedures aimed at the
prevention of bullying.
(g) The comprehensive school safety plan, as written and updated
by the schoolsite council or school safety planning committee, shall
be submitted for approval under subdivision (a) of Section 32288.
SEC. 3. Section 41020 of the Education Code is
amended to read:
41020. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to encourage sound
fiscal management practices among local educational agencies for the
most efficient and effective use of public funds for the education
of children in California by strengthening fiscal accountability at
the school district, county, and state levels.
(b) (1) Not later than May 1 of each fiscal year, each county
superintendent of schools shall provide for an audit of all funds
under his or her jurisdiction and control, and the governing board of
each local educational agency shall either provide for an audit of
the books and accounts of the local educational agency, including an
audit of income and expenditures by source of funds, or make
arrangements with the county superintendent of schools having
jurisdiction over the local educational agency to provide for that
auditing.
(2) A contract to perform the audit of a local educational agency
that has a disapproved budget or has received a negative
certification on any budget or interim financial report during the
current fiscal year or either of the two preceding fiscal years, or
for which the county superintendent of schools has otherwise
determined that a lack of going concern exists, is not valid unless
approved by the responsible county superintendent of schools and the
governing board of the local educational agency.
(3) If the governing board of a local educational agency has not
provided for an audit of the books and accounts of the local
educational agency by April 1, the county superintendent of schools
having jurisdiction over the local educational agency shall provide
for the audit of each local educational agency.
(4) An audit conducted pursuant to this section shall comply fully
with the Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller
General of the United States.
(5) For purposes of this section, "local educational agency" does
not include community colleges.
(c) Each audit conducted in accordance with this section shall
include all funds of the local educational agency, including the
student body and cafeteria funds and accounts and any other funds
under the control or jurisdiction of the local educational agency.
Each audit shall also include an audit of pupil attendance
procedures. Each audit shall include a determination of whether funds
were expended pursuant to a local control and accountability plan or
an approved annual update to a local control and accountability plan
pursuant to Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 52060) of Chapter
6.1 of Part 28 of Division 4.
(d) All audit reports for each fiscal year shall be developed and
reported using a format established by the Controller after
consultation with the Superintendent and the Director of Finance.
(e) (1) The cost of the audits provided for by the county
superintendent of schools shall be paid from the county school
service fund, and the county superintendent of schools shall transfer
the pro rata share of the cost chargeable to each school district
from school district funds.
(2) The cost of the audit provided for by a governing board of a
local educational agency shall be paid from local educational agency
funds. The audit of the funds under the jurisdiction and control of
the county superintendent of schools shall be paid from the county
school service fund.
(f) (1) The audits shall be made by a certified public accountant
or a public accountant, licensed by the California Board of
Accountancy, and selected by the local educational agency, as
applicable, from a directory of certified public accountants and
public accountants deemed by the Controller as qualified to conduct
audits of local educational agencies, which shall be published by the
Controller not later than December 31 of each year.
(2) Commencing with the 2003-04 fiscal year and except as provided
in subdivision (d) of Section 41320.1, it is unlawful for a public
accounting firm to provide audit services to a local educational
agency if the lead audit partner, or coordinating audit partner,
having primary responsibility for the audit, or the audit partner
responsible for reviewing the audit, has performed audit services for
that local educational agency in each of the six previous fiscal
years. The Education Audit Appeals Panel may waive this requirement
if the panel finds that no otherwise eligible auditor is available to
perform the audit.
(3) It is the intent of the Legislature that, notwithstanding
paragraph (2), the rotation within public accounting firms conform to
provisions of the federal Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Public Law
107-204; 15 U.S.C. Sec. 7201 et seq.), and upon release of the report
required by the act of the Comptroller General of the United States
addressing the mandatory rotation of registered public accounting
firms, the Legislature intends to reconsider the provisions of
paragraph (2). In determining which certified public accountants and
public accountants shall be included in the directory, the Controller
shall use the following criteria:
(A) The certified public accountants or public accountants shall
be in good standing as certified by the Board of Accountancy.
(B) The certified public accountants or public accountants, as a
result of a quality control review conducted by the Controller
pursuant to Section 14504.2, shall not have been found to have
conducted an audit in a manner constituting noncompliance with
subdivision (a) of Section 14503.
(g) (1) The auditor's report shall include each of the following:
(A) A statement that the audit was conducted pursuant to standards
and procedures developed in accordance with Chapter 3 (commencing
with Section 14500) of Part 9 of Division 1 of Title 1.
(B) A summary of audit exceptions and management improvement
recommendations.
(C) An evaluation by the auditor on whether there is substantial
doubt about the ability of the local educational agency to continue
as a going concern for a reasonable period of time. This evaluation
shall be based on the Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 59,
as issued by the AICPA regarding disclosure requirements relating to
the ability of the entity to continue as a going concern.
(D) Commencing with the 2015-16 fiscal year, a summary of the
extent to which the local educational agency has complied with the
requirement that each of its schools develop a comprehensive school
safety plan pursuant to Section 32281.
(2) To the extent possible, a description of correction or plan of
correction shall be incorporated in the audit report, describing the
specific actions that are planned to be taken, or that have been
taken, to correct the problem identified by the auditor. The
descriptions of specific actions to be taken or that have been taken
shall not solely consist of general comments such as "will implement,"
"accepted the recommendation," or "will discuss at a later date."
(h) Not later than December 15, a report of each local educational
agency audit for the preceding fiscal year shall be filed with the
county superintendent of schools of the county in which the local
educational agency is located, the department, and the Controller.
The Superintendent shall make any adjustments necessary in future
apportionments of all state funds, to correct any audit exceptions
revealed by those audit reports.
(i) (1) Commencing with the 2002-03 audit of local educational
agencies pursuant to this section and subdivision (d) of Section
41320.1, each county superintendent of schools shall be responsible
for reviewing the audit exceptions contained in an audit of a local
educational agency under his or her jurisdiction related to
attendance, inventory of equipment, internal control, and any
miscellaneous items, and determining whether the exceptions have been
either corrected or an acceptable plan of correction has been
developed.
(2) Commencing with the 2004-05 audit of local educational
agencies pursuant to this section and subdivision (d) of Section
41320.1, each county superintendent of schools shall include in the
review of audit exceptions performed pursuant to this subdivision
those audit exceptions related to use of instructional materials
program funds, teacher misassignments pursuant to Section 44258.9,
and information reported on the school accountability report card
required pursuant to Section 33126, and shall determine whether the
exceptions are either corrected or an acceptable plan of correction
has been developed.
(j) Upon submission of the final audit report to the governing
board of each local educational agency and subsequent receipt of the
audit by the county superintendent of schools having jurisdiction
over the local educational agency, the county office of education
shall do all of the following:
(1) Review audit exceptions related to attendance, inventory of
equipment, internal control, and other miscellaneous exceptions.
Attendance exceptions or issues shall include, but not be limited to,
those related to local control funding formula allocations pursuant
to Section 42238.02, as implemented by Section 42238.03, and
independent study.
(2) If a description of the correction or plan of correction has
not been provided as part of the audit required by this section, the
county superintendent of schools shall notify the local educational
agency and request the governing board of the local educational
agency to provide to the county superintendent of schools a
description of the corrections or plan of correction by March 15.
(3) Review the description of correction or plan of correction and
determine its adequacy. If the description of the correction or plan
of correction is not adequate, the county superintendent of schools
shall require the local educational agency to resubmit that portion
of its response that is inadequate.
(k) Each county superintendent of schools shall certify to the
Superintendent and the Controller, not later than May 15, that his or
her staff has reviewed all audits of local educational agencies
under his or her jurisdiction for the prior fiscal year, that all
exceptions that the county superintendent was required to review were
reviewed, and that all of those exceptions, except as otherwise
noted in the certification, have been corrected by the local
educational agency or that an acceptable plan of correction has been
submitted to the county superintendent of schools. In addition, the
county superintendent shall identify, by local educational agency,
any attendance-related audit exception or exceptions involving state
funds, and require the local educational agency to which the audit
exceptions were directed to submit appropriate reporting forms for
processing by the Superintendent.
( l ) In the audit of a local educational
agency for a subsequent year, the auditor shall review the correction
or plan or plans of correction submitted by the local educational
agency to determine if the exceptions have been resolved. If not, the
auditor shall immediately notify the appropriate county office of
education and the department and restate the exception in the audit
report. After receiving that notification, the department shall
either consult with the local educational agency to resolve the
exception or require the county superintendent of schools to follow
up with the local educational agency.
(m) (1) The Superintendent shall be responsible for ensuring that
local educational agencies have either corrected or developed plans
of correction for any one or more of the following:
(A) All federal and state compliance audit exceptions identified
in the audit.
(B) Any exceptions that the county superintendent of schools
certifies as of May 15 have not been corrected.
(C) Any repeat audit exceptions that are not assigned to a county
superintendent of schools to correct.
(2) In addition, the Superintendent shall be responsible for
ensuring that county superintendents of schools and each county board
of education that serves as the governing board of a local
educational agency either correct all audit exceptions identified in
the audits of county superintendents of schools and of the local
educational agencies for which the county boards of education serve
as the governing boards or develop acceptable plans of correction for
those exceptions.
(3) The Superintendent shall report annually to the Controller on
his or her actions to ensure that school districts, county
superintendents of schools, and each county board of education that
serves as the governing board of a school district have either
corrected or developed plans of correction for any of the exceptions
noted pursuant to paragraph (1).
(n) To facilitate correction of the exceptions identified by the
audits issued pursuant to this section, commencing with 2002-03
audits pursuant to this section, the Controller shall require
auditors to categorize audit exceptions in each audit report in a
manner that will make it clear to both the county superintendent of
schools and the Superintendent which exceptions they are responsible
for ensuring the correction of by a local educational agency. In
addition, the Controller annually shall select a sampling of county
superintendents of schools, perform a followup of the audit
resolution process of those county superintendents of schools,
and report the results of that
followup to the Superintendent and the county superintendents of
schools that were reviewed.
(o) County superintendents of schools shall adjust subsequent
local property tax requirements to correct audit exceptions relating
to local educational agency tax rates and tax revenues.
(p) If a governing board of a local educational agency or county
superintendent of schools fails or is unable to make satisfactory
arrangements for the audit pursuant to this section, the Controller
shall make arrangements for the audit, and the cost of the audit
shall be paid from local educational agency funds or the county
school service fund, as the case may be.
(q) Audits of regional occupational centers and programs are
subject to the provisions of this section.
(r) This section does not authorize examination of, or reports on,
the curriculum used or provided for in any local educational agency.
(s) Notwithstanding any other law, a nonauditing, management, or
other consulting service to be provided to a local educational agency
by a certified public accounting firm while the certified public
accounting firm is performing an audit of the agency pursuant to this
section shall be in accord with Government Accounting Standards,
Amendment No. 3, as published by the United States General Accounting
Office.
SEC. 4. SEC. 3. If the Commission on
State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by
the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for
those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section
17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
