626.8. (a) Any person who comes into any school building or upon any school ground, or street, sidewalk, or public way adjacent thereto, without lawful business thereon, and whose presence or acts interfere with the peaceful conduct of the activities of the school or disrupt the school or its pupils or school activities, is guilty of a misdemeanor if he or she does any of the following:
(1) Remains there after being asked to leave by the chief administrative official of that school or his or her designated representative, or by a person employed as a member of a security or police department of a school district pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 38000) of Part 23 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Education Code, or a city police officer, or sheriff or deputy sheriff, or a Department of the California Highway Patrol peace officer.
(2) Reenters or comes upon that place within seven days of being asked to leave by a person specified in paragraph (1).
(3) Has otherwise established a continued pattern of unauthorized entry.
(4) Willfully or knowingly creates a disruption with the intent to threaten the immediate physical safety of any pupil in preschool, kindergarten, or any of grades 1 to 8, inclusive, arriving at, attending, or leaving from school.
(b) Punishment for violation of this section shall be as follows:
(1) Upon a first conviction by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500), by imprisonment in a county jail for a period of not more than six months, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(2) If the defendant has been previously convicted once of a violation of any offense defined in this chapter or Section 415.5, by imprisonment in a county jail for a period of not less than 10 days or more than six months, or by both imprisonment and a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500), and shall not be released on probation, parole, or any other basis until he or she has served not less than 10 days.
(3) If the defendant has been previously convicted two or more times of a violation of any offense defined in this chapter or Section 415.5, by imprisonment in a county jail for a period of not less than 90 days or more than six months, or by both imprisonment and a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500), and shall not be released on probation, parole, or any other basis until he or she has served not less than 90 days.
(c) As used in this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Lawful business” means a reason for being present upon school property which is not otherwise prohibited by statute, by ordinance, or by any regulation adopted pursuant to statute or ordinance.
(2) “Continued pattern of unauthorized entry” means that on at least two prior occasions in the same school year the defendant came into any school building or upon any school ground, or street, sidewalk, or public way adjacent thereto, without lawful business thereon, and his or her presence or acts interfered with the peaceful conduct of the activities of the school or disrupted the school or its pupils or school activities, and the defendant was asked to leave by a person specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).
(3) “School” means any preschool or public or private school having kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
(d) When a person is directed to leave pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), the person directing him or her to leave shall inform the person that if he or she reenters the place within seven days he or she will be guilty of a crime.
(e) This section shall not be utilized to impinge upon the lawful exercise of constitutionally protected rights of speech or assembly.
(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 161, Sec. 1. (AB 123) Effective January 1, 2012.)
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