Los Angeles Unified School District - Governing Boards - CA Education

Section § 35400

The Los Angeles Unified School District's Inspector General can conduct audits and investigations, including issuing subpoenas to gather necessary information when there's a reasonable suspicion of rule or law violations. 'Reasonable suspicion' means having clear facts that suggest a law might have been broken. Subpoenas follow the same process as legal summonses and can be challenged in court. People who lie under oath in these investigations face criminal charges, fines, and possible jail time. The Inspector General must report annually to the Legislature about how subpoena power was used, including any case where a subpoena was dismissed or not further prosecuted by authorities.

(a) The Los Angeles Unified School District’s Inspector General of the Office of the Inspector General may conduct audits and investigations. The inspector general may subpoena witnesses, administer oaths or affirmations, take testimony, and compel the production of all information, documents, reports, answers, records, accounts, papers, and other data and documentary evidence deemed material and relevant and that reasonably relate to the inquiry or investigation undertaken by the inspector general when the inspector general has a reasonable suspicion that a law, regulation, rule, or school district policy has been violated or is being violated. For purposes of this section, “reasonable suspicion” means that the circumstances known or apparent to the inspector general include specific and articulable facts causing the inspector general to suspect that a material violation of law, regulation, rule, or school district policy has occurred or is occurring, and that the facts would cause a reasonable officer in a like position to suspect that a material violation of a law, regulation, rule, or school district policy has occurred or is occurring.

(b) Subpoenas shall be served in the manner provided by law for service of summons. A subpoena issued pursuant to this section may be subject to challenge pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 1985) of Title 3 of Part 4 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

(c) For purposes of this section, Sections 11184, 11185, 11186, 11187, 11188, 11189, 11190, and 11191 of the Government Code shall apply to the subpoenaing of witnesses and documents, reports, answers, records, accounts, papers, and other data and documentary evidence as if the investigation was being conducted by a state department head, except that the applicable court for resolving motions to compel or motions to quash shall be the Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles.

(d) Notwithstanding any other law, a person who, after the administration of an oath or affirmation pursuant to this section, states or affirms as true any material matter that the person knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed six months or by a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment for the first offense. Any subsequent violation shall be punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year or by a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.

(e)

(1) The inspector general shall submit to the Legislature, on or before July 1 of each year, an annual report on all of the following:

(A) The use and effectiveness of the subpoena power authorized by this section in the successful completion of the inspector general’s duties.

(B) Any use of the subpoena power in which the issued subpoena was quashed, including the basis for the court’s order.

(C) Any referral to the local district attorney or the Attorney General where the district attorney or Attorney General declined to investigate the matter further or declined to prosecute.

(2) A report to be submitted to the Legislature pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

Inspector General audits investigations subpoena power reasonable suspicion Los Angeles Unified School District testimony document production court challenge misdemeanor penalty annual report perjury Superior Court of Los Angeles referral to district attorney code compliance reporting

(Amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 871, Sec. 1. (SB 991) Effective January 1, 2025.)

Section § 35400.5

The Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education appoints an inspector general for a three-year term, based on their employment contract. This inspector general must follow established principles and standards specific to inspectors, and when conducting audits, they need to adhere to recognized auditing standards set either by U.S. government standards or international auditing guidelines.

(a) The inspector general shall be appointed by the Board of Education of the Los Angeles Unified School District for a term of three years, subject to the terms of the inspector general’s employment contract.

(b)

(1) The inspector general shall conform to the Principles and Standards for Offices of Inspector General, published by the Association of Inspectors General.

(2) Audits performed by the inspector general shall be conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards, including either the Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States, or the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing issued by The Institute of Internal Auditors.

Los Angeles Unified School District inspector general appointment employment contract Principles and Standards Association of Inspectors General auditing standards government auditing standards Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards Comptroller General International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing Institute of Internal Auditors audit procedures audit conformance

(Added by Stats. 2024, Ch. 871, Sec. 2. (SB 991) Effective January 1, 2025.)

Section § 35401

This law explains what happens if the inspector general finds potential illegal activity. They must report it to the district attorney or Attorney General, but they don't have power to enforce laws themselves. Investigations are confidential, but reports can be shared if needed while keeping identities private. This law also doesn’t stop other agencies from investigating, and sharing confidential information without permission, unless in court, is a misdemeanor.

(a) If the inspector general determines that there is reasonable cause to believe that an employee or outside agency has engaged in any illegal activity, he or she shall report the nature and details of the activity on a timely basis to the local district attorney or the Attorney General.

(b) The inspector general does not have any enforcement power.

(c) Every investigation, including, but not limited to, all investigative files and work-product, shall be kept confidential, except that the inspector general may issue any report of an investigation that has been substantiated, keeping confidential the identity of the individual or individuals involved, or release any findings resulting from an investigation conducted pursuant to this article that is deemed necessary to serve the interests of the district.

(d) This section does not limit any authority conferred upon the Attorney General or any other department or agency of government to investigate any matter.

(e) Except as authorized in this section, or if called upon to testify in any court or proceeding at law, any disclosure of information by the inspector general or that office that was acquired pursuant to a subpoena of the private books, documents, or papers of the person subpoenaed, is punishable as a misdemeanor.

inspector general reasonable cause illegal activity local district attorney Attorney General no enforcement power confidential investigations substantiated reports identity protection release of findings authority of Attorney General disclosure punishment subpoena information misdemeanor disclosure investigative files confidentiality

(Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 62, Sec. 39. Effective January 1, 2004.)