CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 906

Introduced by Senator Portantino

February 02, 2022

An act to add Article 8 (commencing with Section 49390) to Chapter 8 of Part 27 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, relating to school safety.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 906, as introduced, Portantino. School safety: mass casualty threats: firearm disclosure.
Existing law requires school districts and county offices of education to be responsible for the overall development of a comprehensive school safety plan for each of their schools operating a kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive. Existing law requires a comprehensive school safety plan to include, among other things, the development of procedures for conducting tactical responses to criminal incidents, including procedures related to individuals with guns on school campuses.
This bill would require, on or before January 1, 2023, the State Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Justice, to develop model content for use by local educational agencies related to a threat or perceived threat of an incident of mass casualties at a school. Using the model content, the bill would require local educational agencies to require the parents or guardians of a pupil to disclose whether any firearms are located at the home of the pupil and to answer questions about the ownership, storage, and accessibility by the pupil of the firearms. The bill would require local educational agencies to include information related to the safe storage of firearms in the annual notification provided to the parents or guardians of a pupil. If a school official is alerted to or observes any threat or perceived threat of an incident of mass casualties at a school, the bill would require a report of the threat or perceived threat to be immediately made to law enforcement and the Department of Justice. The bill would require a school or local educational agency, in consultation with law enforcement, to conduct immediately an investigation and threat assessment, as specified. The bill would require the investigation and threat assessment to include a review of the parent or guardian’s firearm disclosure information and a search of the pupil and pupil’s property located at the schoolsite if there is reasonable suspicion that a search will result in discovery of a firearm or other evidence that the pupil has or is violating the law or the school’s safety rules or policies. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, 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 the statutory provisions noted above.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Article 8 (commencing with Section 49390) is added to Chapter 8 of Part 27 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, to read:
Article  8. Threats of Mass Casualties at School Incident

49390.
 For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:
(a) “Law enforcement” means any of the following:
(1) A peace officer employed or contracted by a school, school district, or local educational agency for school safety purposes.
(2) A police or security department of a school, school district, or local educational agency.
(3) A local law enforcement agency with geographic jurisdiction over a school.
(b) “Local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school.
(c) “Reasonable suspicion” means articulable facts, together with rational inferences from those facts, warranting an objective suspicion.
(d) “School” means a school of a school district or county office of education or a charter school maintaining kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
(e) “School official” means any individual who has any oversight responsibility of a local educational agency or a school, or whose official duties bring the individual in contact with pupils on a regular basis. “School official” includes, but is not limited to, any of the following:
(1) An administrator, principal, superintendent, corporate officer, or board member.
(2) A teacher.
(3) An instructional aide.
(4) A teacher’s aide or teacher’s assistant employed by a school.
(5) A classified employee of a school.
(6) A certificated pupil personnel employee of a school.
(7) An employee of a local educational agency whose duties bring the employee into contact with pupils on a regular basis.
(8) An employee of a school district police or security department.
(9) A school resource officer.
(10) An athletic coach, athletic administrator, or athletic director employed or contracted by a school.
(11) A school counselor that provides education counseling pursuant to Section 49600.
(f) “Threat or perceived threat” means any of the following:
(1) Any writing or other content of a pupil that, based on a reasonable suspicion, is homicidal in nature. The content may include depictions of firearms, ammunition, shootings, or targets in association with infliction of physical harm, destruction, or death. The content may be from a social media post, journal, class note, or other media associated with the pupil.
(2) Any pupil behavior that leads to a reasonable suspicion that the pupil has homicidal thoughts or urges, including disobedience of school rules or policies related to school safety or firearms, such as a ban on backpacks in classrooms, unlawful possession or use of a firearm enumerated in Section 48900 or 48915, or in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 626) of Title 15 of Part 1 of the Penal Code, or acts related to the content described in paragraph (1).
(3) Any warning by a parent, pupil, or other individual that leads to a reasonable suspicion that the pupil is preparing to commit a homicidal act.

49391.
 (a) On or before June 1, 2023, the department, in consultation with the Department of Justice, shall develop model content for use by local educational agencies related to a threat or perceived threat of an incident of mass casualties at a school. The department shall ensure the model content includes appropriate language for the firearm disclosure form and firearm storage safety notice described in Section 49392 and is consistent with this article and other state or federal laws related to school safety, searches of pupils, and firearms at schools.
(b) The model content shall include, at minimum, all of the following:
(1) A check box on a form used to enroll or register a pupil that indicates whether any firearms are located at the home of the pupil.
(2) Questions about the ownership, storage, and accessibility by the pupil of any firearms located at the home of the pupil.
(3) Content that informs parents or guardians of California’s child access prevention laws and laws relating to the safe storage of firearms, including, but not limited to, Division 4 (commencing with Section 25000) of Title 4 of Part 6 of the Penal Code.
(c) The department shall update the model content on a yearly basis as necessary to reflect any changes in law.

49392.
 (a) Commencing with the 2023–24 school year, and each school year thereafter, a local educational agency shall do both of the following using the model content developed by the department pursuant to Section 49391:
(1) Require the parents or guardians of a pupil to disclose, on a form used to enroll or register a pupil for the school year, whether any firearms are located at the home of the pupil and, if so, to answer questions about the ownership, storage, and accessibility by the pupil of the firearms.
(2) Include in the annual notification required pursuant to Section 48980, information relating to the safe storage of firearms.
(b) In addition to the annual notification, the local educational agency may include information relating to the safe storage of firearms on the disclosure form described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).

49393.
 (a) If a school official is alerted to or observes any threat or perceived threat of an incident of mass casualties at a school, a report of the threat or perceived threat shall be made immediately to law enforcement and to the Department of Justice. The report shall include copies of any documentary or other evidence associated with the threat or perceived threat, including any of the items described in subdivision (f) of Section 49390.
(b) When two or more school officials jointly have an obligation to report pursuant to subdivision (a), and when there is agreement among them, the report required by this section may be made by any of them in a single report. A school official who has knowledge that the designated reporting school official has failed to make the single report shall thereafter make the report.
(c) Law enforcement and the Department of Justice shall each keep a record of any report received pursuant to this section.

49394.
 A local educational agency or school, in consultation with law enforcement, shall immediately conduct an investigation and assessment of any threat or perceived threat described in subdivision (f) of Section 49390 to prevent an incident of mass casualties at a school. The investigation and threat assessment shall include, but not be limited to, both of the following:
(a) A review of the firearm disclosure form made pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 49392 to determine if any firearms are located at the home of the pupil and the ownership, storage, and accessibility by the pupil of the firearms.
(b) Appropriate searches conducted by an administrator or personnel who has completed the training required pursuant to Section 7583.45 of the Business and Professions Code, or law enforcement, which may include either or both of the following:
(1) A search of the schoolsite, including bathrooms and other locations where a firearm, other weapons, or explosives may be hidden.
(2) A search of the pupil and the pupil’s property located at the schoolsite, including the pupil’s clothing, desk, backpack, locker, and electronic devices, and any vehicle driven by the pupil to the schoolsite. A search conducted pursuant to this paragraph shall be limited to those circumstances where there is a reasonable suspicion that a search will result in discovery of a firearm or other evidence that the pupil has or is violating the law or the school’s safety rules or policies.

49395.
 A local educational agency and school is immune from civil liability for any damages allegedly caused by, arising out of, or relating to the requirements of this article.

SEC. 2.

 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.