(a) As used in this chapter, the following definitions apply:

(1) “University” means the University of California, and includes any affiliated institution thereof and any campus or facility owned, operated, or controlled by the Regents of the University of California.

Ask a criminal law question, get an answer ASAP!
Click here to chat with a criminal defense lawyer and protect your rights.

(2) “State university” means any California state university, and includes any campus or facility owned, operated, or controlled by the Trustees of the California State University.

(3) “Community college” means any public community college established pursuant to the Education Code.

(4) “Independent institutions of higher education” means nonpublic higher education institutions that grant undergraduate degrees, graduate degrees, or both, and that are formed as nonprofit corporations in this state and are accredited by an agency recognized by the United States Department of Education.

(5) “School” means any public or private elementary school, junior high school, four-year high school, senior high school, adult school or any branch thereof, opportunity school, continuation high school, regional occupational center, evening high school, or technical school or any public right-of-way situated immediately adjacent to school property or any other place if a teacher and one or more pupils are required to be at that place in connection with assigned school activities.

(6) “Chief administrative officer” means either of the following:

(A) The president of the university, a state university, or an independent institution of higher education, or an officer designated by the president, the Chancellor of the California State University, or the officer designated by the Regents of the University of California or pursuant to authority granted by the Regents of the University of California to administer and be the officer in charge of a campus or other facility owned, operated, or controlled by the Regents of the University of California, or the superintendent of a community college district.

(B) For a school, the principal of the school, a person who possesses a standard supervision credential or a standard administrative credential and who is designated by the principal, or a person who carries out the same functions as a person who possesses a credential and who is designated by the principal.

(b) For the purpose of determining the penalty to be imposed pursuant to this chapter, the court may consider a written report from the Department of Justice containing information from its records showing prior convictions; and that communication is prima facie evidence of the convictions, if the defendant admits them, regardless of whether or not the complaint commencing the proceedings has alleged prior convictions.

(c) As used in this code, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Pupil currently attending school” means a pupil enrolled in a public or private school who has been in attendance or has had an excused absence, for purposes of attendance accounting, for a majority of the days for which the pupil has been enrolled in that school during the school year.

(2) “Safe school zone” means an area that encompasses any of the following places during regular school hours or within 60 minutes before or after the schoolday or 60 minutes before or after a school-sponsored activity at the schoolsite:

(A) Within 100 feet of a bus stop, whether or not a public transit bus stop, that has been publicly designated by the school district as a schoolbus stop. This definition applies only if the school district has chosen to mark the bus stop as a schoolbus stop.

(B) Within 1,500 feet of a school, as designated by the school district.

(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 134, Sec. 1. (SB 748) Effective July 19, 2022.)