School Discipline & Notice 

AB 1909 & AB 740

AB 1909 (2012) amends EC § 48853.5, 48911, and 48915.5,adds EC § 48918.1 and amends WIC § 317. It requires educational liaisons of school districts to notify the foster child's attorney and the social worker of any pending disciplinary proceedings involving the child, including those for expulsion, to extend a suspension, or to render a manifestation determination for children with exceptional needs. Notice is to be provided 10 days prior to any hearing to determine whether the child should be expelled.

AB 740 (2022) amends EC § 47605, 47605.6, 48432.5, 48853.5, 48911, 48911.1, 48915.5, and 48918.1. It requires that a foster child’s educational rights holder, attorney, and county social worker and an Indian child’s, as defined in Section 224.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, tribal social worker and, if applicable, county social worker shall have the same rights a parent or guardian of a child has to receive a suspension notice, expulsion notice, manifestation determination notice, involuntary transfer notice, and other documents and related information.

Resources

School Discipline Notice FAQ (January 2023)

TAP and CDE answers to frequently asked questions from FYSCPs

All County Letters


ACL 23-15 (February 2, 2023)

Disciplinary Action Notifications For Students In Foster Care 

Notice of School Discipline Contacts by County

SUBMIT INFORMATION FOR MY COUNTY

Notice of School Discipline by County

What can stop an expulsion at a Manifestation Determination hearing?

If the student’s actions are found to be a manifestation of their disability (or suspected disability that the LEA has failed to assess and reasonably should have), the expulsion cannot move forward.


Approved November 2022

If a student commits a violent crime, do they have to be expelled?

Effective January 1, 2023, LEAs are required (under EC 48853.5 (d)) to provide notice of all disciplinary actions that require parental notice to the student in foster care’s social worker and assigned attorney. In addition, this notice must take place prior to moving forward with a manifestation or expulsion proceeding. If the required notice is not provided, the expulsion can be overturned. Beyond that, the following Ed Code sections should be taken into consideration.

EDUCATION CODE 48900.5: REQUIRED OTHER MEANS OF CORRECTION/EXCEPTIONS: “At the very minimum...students who are threatened with removal from school, depriving them of the fundamental right to a publicly financed education, are entitled to notice of the grounds for the removal and an opportunity to be heard.” (Goss v. Lopez) Suspension shall be imposed only when other means of correction fail to bring about proper conduct. However, a pupil, including an individual with exceptional needs as defined in Section 56026, may be suspended for any of the reasons enumerated in Section 48900 upon a first offense, if the principal or superintendent of schools determines that the pupil violated subdivision (a), (b), (c), (d), or (e) of Section 48900 or that the pupil's presence causes a danger to persons or property or threatens to disrupt the instructional process.

EDUCATION CODE SECTION 48915 states : (a) Mandatory Recommendations, Permissive Expulsions: Except as provided in subdivisions (c) and (e) the principal or the superintendent of schools shall recommend the expulsion of a pupil for any of the following acts committed at school or at a school activity off school grounds, unless the principal or superintendent finds that expulsion is inappropriate, due to the particular circumstance: (1) Causing serious physical injury to another person, except in self-defense. (2) Possession of any knife, explosive, or other dangerous object of no reasonable use to the pupil. (3) Unlawful possession of any controlled substance listed in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 1053) of Division 10 of the Health and Safety Code, except for the first offense for the possession of not more than one avoirdupois ounce of marijuana, other than concentrated cannabis. (For second offense, any amount, expulsion recommendation is mandatory.)(AR 5131.6) (4) Robbery or extortion. (5) Assault or battery, as defined in Sections 240 and 242 of the Penal Code, upon any school employee.


Approved November 2022

How are we able to notify the child's attorney (AB 740)?

This will need to be determined at the local level.


Approved January 2023

Is there any clarification on what outlines a "disciplinary action" (AB 740)?

There is no clarification in the law, therefore any disciplinary action where the LEA would notice the parent, education rights holder (ERH), social worker, and attorney must be noticed.


Approved January 2023

When would one need to notify (AB 740)?

LEAs must follow the same timelines for notifying ERH, social worker, and attorney as they do for notifying a parent.


Approved January 2023

Are there confidentiality issues regarding different levels of staff having information relating to a child’s status (specifically, when teachers give referrals or in-school suspension)?

All LEAs must develop a process where all discipline information is shared with the ERH, attorney, and social worker (and tribal social worker, if applicable). That process may include the teacher being required to provide the notice if that is the local process. All confidentiality requirements must be followed and should be shared with staff and teachers.


Approved January 2023

Was the probation officer notice requirement removed and should notice still be provided to them (AB 740)? 

The law does not include the assigned probation officer in the stakeholders that receive required notice. This would be a local practice decision. County Counsel may advise if there are concerns.


Approved January 2023

Will the CALPADS 5.7 report eventually pull the attorney information like it does social worker?

As written, AB 740 does not mandate data collection or create new reporting requirements for the CDE. The CDE is exploring how best to provide guidance for COEs and LEAs with regard to attorney information. However, this information is not currently available in the CALPADS 5.7 report.


Approved January 2023

Does the (AB 740) notice requirement apply to private/parochial schools?

California Education Code does not affect private schools.


Approved January 2023

Are these (AB 740) notice requirements subject to the Uniform Complaint Procedure (UCP) process?

Compliance with the notice requirements falls under the UCP process. The California Department of Education will review and determine the outcome of any UCP appeal that it receives.


Approved January 2023

Does AERIES have a template for LEAs to use that would prompt them to send out notification for foster youth?

We are unable to answer questions regarding private Student Information System (SIS) providers. LEAs may work with their SIS providers on this issue if they choose to.


Approved January 2023