{"id":463207,"date":"2025-04-23T05:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T12:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/?p=463207"},"modified":"2025-04-23T07:34:03","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T14:34:03","slug":"threats-against-california-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/_ko\/justice\/2025\/04\/threats-against-california-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawmaker seeks new way to outlaw threats against California schools and places of worship"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

\uc694\uc57d\ud574\uc11c<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

Existing law makes it illegal to threaten people in many cases, but what happens when the threat is against a building, such as a school or a place of worship?<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n

An Inland Empire legislator wants to make it easier to penalize people who make threats affecting schools or places of worship<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proposal by state Sen. Susan Rubio<\/u><\/a>, a Democrat from West Covina, has stirred up broad opposition as well as support from dozens of organizations. It pits police, prosecutors and school employee groups against youth and disability advocates and the ACLU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Existing law already says it is a crime to make a threat about something that could result in death or great bodily injury to someone. If the threat is \u201cunequivocal, unconditional, immediate, and specific\u201d and causes \u201csustained fear\u201d in a person, the crime is a misdemeanor or a felony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rubio, a former public school teacher at Baldwin Park and Monrovia school districts, said she championed this bill to highlight the location of the threat, rather than the victim of the threat. She said that phoned-in or texted threats often waste time and money for schools and first responders and traumatize people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen the toll these threats take on students and communities,\u201d she said in a statement. \u201cEven when the danger isn\u2019t real, the fear is, and the trauma stays with kids long after the lockdown ends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there\u2019s disagreement about whether a new law is needed. Opponents point out that this bill is similar to existing law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rubio said existing law has too many loopholes, but this bill would give authorities more options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCalifornia law shouldn\u2019t allow someone to threaten a mass shooting at a school and walk away without consequences, simply because no individual person was named in the threat,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Groups representing children pointed out that young people often make threats<\/u><\/a> they don\u2019t mean and don\u2019t consider the legal consequences. A new law, they fear, will make schools even more of a conduit to incarceration for some students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt allows police intervention for what’s perceived as a threat, even if it’s just a joke, a mental breakdown, or expressing yourself through art,\u201d said Kevin Maturano, a policy fellow with Fresh Lines for Youth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd like every punitive policy, it will target Black and Brown students the most. But beyond the harm for youth, this bill will also waste millions of taxpayer dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\ub2e4\uc74c\uc744 \uc77d\uc5b4\ubcf4\uc138\uc694<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"California\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

California must provide resources, support for youth in crisis<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tby<\/span> Guest Commentary<\/a><\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/article>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\n

Rubio said her proposed bill specifies that perpetrators who are under 18 would be charged with misdemeanors, not felonies, \u201cto strike a balance between accountability and keeping young people on a path toward growth, not incarceration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bill passed the Public Safety Committee 6-0 in March. On April 7 it was placed on the Appropriations Committee\u2019s suspense file, where most bills that cost extra money go. Legislators are expected to consider it next month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is at least the eighth time such a measure has come before the Assembly since 2015. Two similar bills passed in 2015 but were vetoed, and others failed in committee, including during last year\u2019s legislative session. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This time 32 entities registered support for it, including associations representing police officers, sheriff\u2019s deputies, school resource officers and prosecutors, as well as the League of California Cities, the Hindu America Foundation, Rio Hindo College and San Diegans for Gun Violence Prevention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Against it were 16 organizations, including ACLU California Action, the Alliance for Boys and Men of Color, the California Public Defenders Association, the Children\u2019s Defense Fund California, and Disability Rights California.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\ub354 \ubcf4\uae30<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"A\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

A loophole in California law makes it hard to prosecute threats against schools. Will lawmakers close it?<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"To\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

To prevent mass school shootings, California should rely on facts and science, not for-profit fear-mongers<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t