AB 1299

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to establish a school police department under the supervision of a school chief of police and employ peace officers to ensure the safety of school district personnel and pupils, as provided. This bill would require a police officer who is not employed or contracted as a school resource officer to notify the principal of a school, or the principal's designee, before accessing school grounds or engaging with pupils, except as provided. The bill would require the governing board of a school district, if it provides training to a police officer employed by the school district, to provide that same training to a police officer with whom the governing board of the school district has contracted to perform law enforcement activities, as provided. (2) Under existing law, each school district and county office of education is responsible for the overall development of a comprehensive school safety plan for each of its schools operating kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, in cooperation with certain local entities. Existing law requires that the plan include identification of 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. This bill would additionally require, as part of the comprehensive school safety plan, the development of procedures and policies relating to use of police officers, including school resource officers, or any other law enforcement official acting as a school resource officer, on school campus, to include prohibitions on the use of handcuffs and pepper spray on a school campus, except as provided. Existing law prohibits a chartering authority from denying a petition for the establishment of a charter school unless it makes written factual findings supporting at least one of specified bases for denial. One of those bases for denying a petition is if the petition does not contain a reasonably comprehensive description of the development of a school safety plan that includes the same safety topics required in the comprehensive school safety plan of a school district or county office of education. This bill would authorize a chartering authority to deny a charter school petition that does not include in its proposed development of a school safety plan the same provisions on procedures and policies relating to use of police officers, including school resource officers, or any other law enforcement official acting as a school resource officer, as are required by the bill in a school district or county office of education comprehensive school safety plan. By creating new duties for local educational agencies, including charter schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) 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 the statutory provisions noted above.