Quentin |
03-30-2012 09:45 AM |
For those interested, here's the actual text of the bill (AB 1861):
Quote:
SECTION 1.
Section 1243.5 is added to the Government Code, to read:
1243.5.
(a) If a teacher or school employee is convicted of a violation of Section 288.6 of the Penal Code, he or she shall forfeit all accrued rights and benefits in any public retirement system in which he or she is a member, effective on the date of the conviction.
(b) Any contributions to the public retirement system made by the teacher or school employee described in subdivision (a) shall be returned, without interest, to the teacher or school employee, in a manner conforming with the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code.
(c) The school district that employs a teacher or school employee described in subdivision (a) shall notify the public retirement system in which the person is a member of the person?s conviction.
SEC. 2.
Section 288.6 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
288.6.
(a) Any teacher or employee at a public elementary or secondary school who engages in a sexual relationship or in excess and inappropriate communication with a pupil of any age who is enrolled in the school is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county jail pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170.
(b) For purposes of this section, ?excess and inappropriate communication? means any communication by a school employee to a pupil, regardless of who initiated the communication, that may be viewed as derogatory, sexual, lewd, threatening, harassing, discriminatory, or suggestive in nature.
(c) In addition to the penalties provided by this section, a person who is convicted of a violation of this section shall, pursuant to Section 1243.5 of the Government Code, forfeit his or her rights and benefits in any public retirement system in which he or she is a member.
SEC. 3.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
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I can see a couple places where the bill could be treading into some questionable territory from a First Amendment perspective (mostly within the statutory definition of "excess and inappropriate communication" it provides) but I have no idea how a court would interpret that language, or whether a successful First Amendment based challenge could be mounted against the bill on that basis, should it ever become law.
There are already laws regulating the relationships between teachers/students on the books of some other states, btw, along with similar laws that make it a crime for people like psychiatrists/psychologists to have sex with their patients (or even ex-patients), including some that even cover professions like dental hygienists.
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