The California Education Code is a complex legal document that covers laws governing the state’s education system. It consists of 69 parts, each with one to twelve chapters and numerous articles. Some sections are commonly referred to by dial-in numbers, while others have specific names. The Code includes important articles, such as California Education Code 48907, which guarantees free speech for student newspapers. It also governs private schools and covers topics such as enrollment and testing standards.
The California Education Code is a large legal body that covers the various laws governing the California education system. There are 69 parts of the California Education Code, each having one to twelve chapters, with each chapter having a number of successive articles. Different sections may be referred to by where they are located in the code, such as California Education Code Part 51, Chapter 3, Article 6.5. They may also be referred to by their name, such as California Education Code, Employment, Reduction in Services. More commonly, however, they are referred to by a dial-in number, such as California Education Code 87743-87746.
The Code itself is quite dense and would generally not be fully understood by someone without a basic understanding of legal jargon. It’s also quite convoluted, often referencing other articles. For example, the first article of the aforementioned employment section reads: “No permanent employee shall be deprived of his position for reasons other than those specified in articles 87453, 87467 and 87484, and articles 87732 to 87739, inclusive, and no probationary employee shall be deprived of his position for any cause other than that specified in Section 87740, except in accordance with the provisions of Section 87463 and Sections 87743 through 87762, inclusive.
There are a number of very important articles in the California Education Code that many people may be familiar with, especially those who work in California school districts. For example, California Education Code 48907 is of particular interest, as it addresses free speech issues within schools. As a result, this section of the Code is brought up quite often in discussions of school policy.
In 1974, a study was commissioned that found that high school newspapers were subject to a great deal of censorship and curtailment of the right to free expression. To counter this, the state adopted California Education Code 48907 in 1977, which stated that newspapers could publish whatever content they wanted, except in cases where the material was obscene, libelous, defamatory, or incited students to set up a school. Although the Supreme Court ruled in 1988 that students do not have the right to unrestricted freedom of speech except where previously established as a “forum for student expression,” the California Code guarantees a higher level of freedom, making some of the most protected student newspapers in the country.
Not only is the public school system governed by the California Education Code. Some Codes are also relevant to the operation of private schools, and a handful of articles are devoted exclusively to private schools. For example, California Education Code 33190 establishes instructions for all private instructors to file with the Superintendent of Education between October 1 and 15.
Mandatory enrollment and standards testing are also set forth in the California Education Code, with exemptions granted for private schools in California Education Code 48222. These sections, 48200 through 48341, set out everything from what tests are permitted to determine readiness, to how the frequency should be controlled, how to improve the frequency. Every detail is spelled out in the body of the Code, with sections on average daily attendance, blind readers, maths teacher training, supplementary school income, transport arrangements, cafeterias, uniform fire signals and teacher pension packages, to name just a few of the thousands of chapters of this monumental body of law.
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