Why Parents Need to Be There When Their Children Are Questioned by the Police At School -- Support AB 2501

Education Code Section 48906 requires school officials to take immediate steps to notify a parent or guardian whenever the school releases a minor pupil to the custody of a peace officer. Officials must inform parents or guardians not only that the child has been removed, but tell them where the child has been taken. The only exception is when the child is removed as a suspected victim of child abuse.

No similar statute, however, gives direction to school authorities as to what they should do to protect a minor child or what obligation they have to notify a child's parents or guardians when minors are interrogated by law enforcement officers on school premises. Most school districts interpret the absence of such a directive as imposing no obligations whatsoever. Few take any steps to notify a parent or guardian that their child is about to be interrogated or to give the child the opportunity to have a parent or guardian, or some other trusted adult, present during the interrogation. As illustrated by the attached examples, this creates a situation that is ripe for abuse.

The refusal to allow parents to be present when their children are being questioned by the police is indeed ironic. At the very time that both educators and legislators are urging parents to become more involved with their children's education, parents are being kept in the dark about the fact that their children are in trouble that is serious enough to warrant calling in the police.

Under AB 2501, if an elementary school student is accused of misconduct serious enough that he or she is to be questioned by a law enforcement officer, the school is required to inform a parent, obtain consent for the interrogation, and permit the parent to be present. In the case of secondary school students, the bill only requires the school to inform the student that he or she may have a parent or guardian or other trusted adult present during the interrogation. These requirements do not apply, however, where making a law enforcement officer wait would materially interfere with the officer's ability to conduct his or her investigation, or where the student's interrogation concerns suspected criminal activity of the student's parent or sibling. Nor does it apply in cases where the police suspect the student is the victim of child abuse. In short, AB 2501 strikes a thoughtful balance between the legitimate needs of law enforcement and the legitimate interests of parents.

Both the California Teachers' Association and the PTA have endorsed AB 2501. It is our hope that you will do so editorially.