June 27th, 2025
The Honorable Sasha Renée Pérez
Senate Education Committee
1021 O Street, Room 6740
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: CAYEN Support for AB 1230 (Bonta)
Dear Chair Pérez,
The California Youth Empowerment Network (CAYEN) is pleased to support AB 1230 (Bonta), legislation that would strengthen the statutes governing rehabilitation plans for expelled students, help facilitate these students successful return to school, and support school district planning regarding expulsion programs.
CAYEN is a youth-led statewide network comprised of TAY Action Teams and CAYEN Board members which engages, empowers and represents Transitional Age Youth (TAY), ages 15-26, in mental health and substance use advocacy on issues that directly affect TAY. Since CAYEN’s inception in 2006, CAYEN has taken many forms of action to empower TAY in their personal lives and spark progressive change in public policy. Harm reduction policies have shown to support youth significantly in addressing their behavioral health challenges and reducing criminalization.
In the 2023-24 school year, more than 4,000 California students were expelled from school, many of them among our most vulnerable student populations, with significant over-representations of Black and Latinx students. Substance abuse is known to be a significant contributor to disciplinary action and expulsion.
Current law offers only limited guidance to school districts regarding the development of rehabilitation plans to support the successful return of expelled students to their home district school or appropriate alternative. At present, plans may fail to address specific behaviors that led to expulsion or may not be tailored to the specific needs of the expelled students. Currently, plans may require services the student must complete at the expense of the family or include community service requirements without access to transportation.
To hold students accountable for expulsion-related behavior, while also strengthening pathways for their return to their home district school or appropriate alternative, it is crucial to develop meaningful expulsion rehabilitation plans. AB 1230 will support improved outcomes for expelled students by requiring that rehabilitation plans address the behavior leading to the expulsion, include services responsive to the student’s needs, and provide information regarding program enrollment and readmission.
For these reasons, CAYEN supports AB 1230 (Bonta) and asks for your “Aye” vote. If you have any questions, or if CAYEN can provide assistance on this bill or any other behavioral health legislation, please do not hesitate to contact me at dthirakul@mhac.org or our Director of Public Policy, Karen Vicari, at kvicari@mhaofca.org.
Sincerely,
Danny Thirakul
California Youth Empowerment Network
Public Policy Coordinator
