Pupils: involuntary transfer: county community schools.

(1) Existing law authorizes a county board of education to establish and maintain one or more community schools into which the county board of education may enroll specified pupils, including, but not limited to, pupils who are expelled for specified reasons, referred as the result of the recommendation by a school attendance review board, probation referred, or homeless children. This bill would revise the list of pupils who may be involuntarily enrolled in a county community school to limit the kind of probation referrals and remove homeless children. The bill, with regard to pupils referred as the result of a recommendation by the school attendance review board, would require that the school district and the county office of education determine that the county community school has space available to enroll the pupil, that the pupil's educational needs will be met by the county community school, and that the parent, guardian, or responsible adult of the pupil does not expressly object to the referral based on specified reasons. The bill would authorize the school district to either address the express objections or find an alternative placement in another comprehensive or continuation school within the school district, or, after offering the pupil all other options, refer the pupil to the county community school. The bill would require the school attendance review board to include a school option that is geographically accessible, as defined, to the pupil, if the county community school is not geographically accessible, as specified. The bill would also provide that the pupil has the right to return to his or her previous school, or other appropriate school, at the end of the semester following the semester when the acts leading to referral occurred. The bill would specify the period of time during which the pupil has the right to return. The bill would allow enrollment of certain other pupils in a county community school with the consent of the pupil's parent, guardian, or responsible adult. The bill would authorize, with respect to certain probation referrals to a county community school, certain persons, including the attorney for a pupil who is under the jurisdiction of a delinquency court, to take specified actions related to the enrollment of a pupil in a county community school. (2) Existing law requires a county community school to prescribe an individually planned educational program based on an educational assessment for each pupil. Existing law requires the course of study of a county community school to be adopted by the county board of education to enable each pupil to continue academic work leading to the completion of a regular high school program. This bill would require county boards of education operating county community schools to ensure, among other things, that appropriate services and programs specified in a pupil's individualized education program are provided. (3) This bill would provide a pupil who has been involuntarily enrolled in a county community school the right to reenroll in his or her former school or another comprehensive school immediately after being readmitted from an expulsion order or court-ordered placement. The bill would provide that only the governing board of the school district that issued the initial order or subsequent order to expel may extend the duration of an expelled pupil's placement in a county community school. (4) Existing law requires the governing board of each school district to establish rules and regulations governing procedures for the expulsion of pupils. Existing law requires the adopted rules and regulations to require, if a hearing officer or administrative panel decides not to recommend expulsion, the expulsion proceedings to be terminated and the pupil to be immediately reinstated and permitted to return to a classroom instructional program, any other instructional program, a rehabilitation program, or any combination of these programs. This bill would require the adopted rules and regulations to instead require that the pupil be permitted to return only to the classroom instructional program from which the expulsion referral was made, unless a parent, guardian, or responsible adult of the pupil requests another school placement in writing. The bill would, before the placement decision is made by the parent, guardian, or responsible adult, require the superintendent of schools or the superintendent's designee to consult with school district personnel, including the pupil's teachers, and the parent, guardian, or responsible adult regarding any other school placement options for the pupil in addition to the option to return to his or her classroom instructional program from which the expulsion referral was made. By requiring the governing board of a school district to establish or revise the rules and regulations governing procedures for the expulsion of pupils, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (5) 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.