SECTIONS 32280-32289 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 32280-32289

32280. It is the intent of the Legislature that all California
public schools, in kindergarten, and grades 1 to 12, inclusive,
operated by school districts, in cooperation with local law
enforcement agencies, community leaders, parents, pupils, teachers,
administrators, and other persons who may be interested in the
prevention of campus crime and violence, develop a comprehensive
school safety plan that addresses the safety concerns identified
through a systematic planning process. For the purposes of this
section, law enforcement agencies include local police departments,
county sheriffs' offices, school district police or security
departments, probation departments, and district attorneys' offices.
For purposes of this section, a "safety plan" means a plan to develop
strategies aimed at the prevention of, and education about,
potential incidents involving crime and violence on the school
campus.

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) with regard to a
small school district, the schoolsite council established pursuant to
Section 52012 or 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).

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 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
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 California Emergency Management Agency 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 which would lead to
suspension, expulsion, or mandatory expulsion recommendations
pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 48900) of Chapter 6 of
Part 27.
(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 the 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) Hate crime reporting procedures pursuant to Chapter 1.2
(commencing with Section 628) of Title 15 of Part 1 of the Penal
Code.
(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 plan 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) 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.

32282.5. (a) The department shall electronically distribute
disaster preparedness educational materials and lesson plans that are
currently available to school districts and county offices of
education.
(b) The department shall ensure that the disaster preparedness
materials are available in at least the three most dominant primary
languages spoken by English learners in California, according to the
language census.
(c) The department shall coordinate with the California Emergency
Management Agency to make sure that all materials are reviewed and
updated annually.

32283. The Department of Justice and the State Department of
Education, in accordance with Section 32262, shall contract with one
or more professional trainers to coordinate statewide workshops for
school districts, county offices of education, and schoolsite
personnel, and in particular school principals, to assist them in the
development of their respective school safety and crisis response
plans. The Department of Justice and the State Department of
Education shall work in cooperation with regard to the workshops
coordinated and presented pursuant to the contracts. Implementation
of this section shall be contingent upon the availability of funds in
the annual Budget Act.

32284. The comprehensive school safety plan may also include, at
local discretion of the governing board of the school district and
using local funds, procedures for responding to the release of a
pesticide or other toxic substance from properties located within
one-quarter mile of a school. No funds received from the state may be
used for this purpose.

32285. (a) The governing board of a school district, on behalf of
one or more schools within the district that have developed a school
safety plan, may apply to the Superintendent of Public Instruction
for a grant to implement school safety plans. The partnership shall
award grants for school safety plans that include, but are not
limited to, the following criteria:
(1) Assessment of the recent incidence of crime committed on the
school campus.
(2) Identification of appropriate strategies and programs that
will provide or maintain a high level of school safety.
(3) Development of an action plan, in conjunction with local law
enforcement agencies, for implementing appropriate safety strategies
and programs, and determining the fiscal impact of executing the
strategies and programs. The action plan shall identify available
resources which will provide for implementation of the plan.
(b) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall award grants
pursuant to this section to school districts for the implementation
of individual school safety plans in an amount not to exceed five
thousand dollars ($5,000) for each school. No grant shall be made
unless the school district makes available, for purposes of
implementing the school safety plans, an amount of funds equal to the
amount of the grant. Grants should be awarded through a competitive
process, based upon criteria including, but not limited to, the merit
of the proposal and the need for imposing school safety, based on
school crime rates.
(c) Any school receiving a grant under this section shall submit
to the Superintendent of Public Instruction verified copies of its
schoolsite crime report annually for three consecutive years
following the receipt of the grant to study the impact of the
implementation of the school safety plan on the incidence of crime on
the campus of the school.

32286. (a) Each school shall adopt its comprehensive school safety
plan by March 1, 2000, and shall review and update its plan by March
1, every year thereafter. A new school campus that begins offering
classes to pupils after March 1, 2001, shall adopt a comprehensive
school safety plan within one year of initiating operation, and shall
review and update its plan by March 1, every year thereafter.
(b) Commencing in July 2000, and every July thereafter, each
school shall report on the status of its school safety plan,
including a description of its key elements in the annual school
accountability report card prepared pursuant to Sections 33126 and
35256.

32287. If the Superintendent of Public Instruction determines that
there has been a willful failure to make any report required by this
article, the superintendent shall do both of the following:
(a) Notify the school district or the county office of education
in which the willful failure has occurred.
(b) Make an assessment of not more than two thousand dollars
($2,000) against that school district or county office of education.
This may be accomplished by deducting an amount equal to the amount
of the assessment from the school district's or county office of
education's future apportionment.

32288. (a) In order to ensure compliance with this article, each
school shall forward its comprehensive school safety plan to the
school district or county office of education for approval.
(b) (1) Before adopting its comprehensive school safety plan, the
schoolsite council or school safety planning committee shall hold a
public meeting at the schoolsite in order to allow members of the
public the opportunity to express an opinion about the school safety
plan.
(2) The schoolsite council or school safety planning committee
shall notify, in writing, the following persons and entities, if
available, of the public meeting:
(A) The local mayor.
(B) A representative of the local school employee organization.
(C) A representative of each parent organization at the
schoolsite, including the parent teacher association and parent
teacher clubs.
(D) A representative of each teacher organization at the
schoolsite.
(E) A representative of the student body government.
(F) All persons who have indicated they want to be notified.
(3) The schoolsite council or school safety planning committee is
encouraged to notify, in writing, the following persons and entities,
if available, of the public meeting:
(A) A representative of the local churches.
(B) Local civic leaders.
(C) Local business organizations.
(c) In order to ensure compliance with this article, each school
district or county office of education shall annually notify the
State Department of Education by October 15 of any schools that have
not complied with Section 32281.

32289. A complaint of noncompliance with the school safety planning
requirements of Title IV of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of
2001, 20 U.S.C. Sec. 7114(d)(7), may be filed with the department
under the Uniform Complaint Procedures as set forth in Chapter 5.1
(commencing with Section 4600) of Title 5 of the California Code of
Regulations.

32289. A complaint of noncompliance with the school safety planning
requirements of Title IV of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of
2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 7114 (d)(7)) may be filed with the department
under the Uniform Complaint Procedures as set forth in Chapter 5.1
(commencing with Sections 4600) of Title 5 of the California Code of
Regulations.