Trevin E. Sims
Partner | Los Angeles, San Diego
tsims@lozanosmith.com
Tel: 213.929.1066
Fax: 213.929.1077
Vcard
Bio
Overview
Trevin E. Sims serves clients throughout Southern California from both our Los Angeles and San Diego offices. In addition to managing the San Diego office, he co-chairs the Investigations Practice Group.
He serves as general and special counsel to public education agencies in a wide variety of areas including:
- School and Public Safety
- Governance and Inter-governmental Relations
- Brown Act, Public Records Act and Conflict of Interest Law
- Executive Contracts
- Real Property Sale, Lease and Exchange
- Surplus Property Disposition
- Municipal Finance
- Construction
- Charter Schools
Mr. Sims has particular experience and expertise in school safety-related issues, including safety planning, violence prevention, threat assessment, and crises management. Over his career, his practice has also touched on virtually every other area of public education law, including special education, student discipline, classified and certificated employee discipline, and school district reorganization. Mr. Sims is a frequent author of Lozano Smith Client News Briefs, and his articles are frequently published by state-wide organizations. His article Concealed Weapons on Campus Requires Careful Consideration was published by ACSA.
Presenter Experience
Mr. Sims has been a speaker for the California School Boards Association, the Coalition for Adequate School Housing, the California Latino School Boards Association, and the Association of California School Administrators Superintendent's Academy, and the Association of California Construction Managers.
He is a regular speaker at the firm's annual Facilities and Business Workshops. He also conducts governance training sessions for school boards throughout the state.
Professional Affiliations
Mr. Sims is a member of the National School Boards Association Council of School Attorneys and the California Council of School Attorneys.
He was admitted to the California Bar in 1993 and is also admitted to practice before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and United States District Court for the Southern, Central, Eastern, and Northern Districts of California.
Education
Mr. Sims earned his law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. In addition, he holds an MBA from Duke University, with international study at the Rotterdam School of Management, and a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Oral Roberts University. Mr. Sims has received certification through ATIXA as a participant in Level 1 and Level 3 ATIXA Civil Rights Investigator Trainings.
District Court Rules College Policy Prohibiting "Inappropriate or Offensive" Student Postings May Violate Students' Free Speech Rights
March 2023Number 12The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California issued a preliminary injunction preventing a community college from enforcing a policy that prohibited student posted material that was “inappropriate” or “offensive.” (Flores v. Bennett (E.D. Cal., October 14, 2022, No. 1:22-cv-01003) __ F.3d __.)BackgroundIn November 2021, Alejandro Flores, a student at Clovis Community College (College) and founder of the local chapter of the ...
New Amendments to Title 5 Regulations Impact How Community Colleges Must Process Unlawful Discrimination Complaints, Including Student Complaints of Sexual Misconduct
November 4, 2020Number 80On September 18, 2020, amendments to title 5 of the California Code of Regulations (Title 5), which were previously adopted by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, took effect. The changes impact the procedures community colleges must follow when addressing employee and student complaints of unlawful discrimination, including complaints under Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act of 1972 (Title IX). The stated purpose for the changes is to...
California Adopts Extensive New Requirements on Postsecondary Institutions to Address Sexual Harassment of Students
November 4, 2020Number 81On September 29, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 493, requiring postsecondary institutions to take certain actions and implement certain procedures related to sexual harassment prevention and handling complaints of sexual harassment. The new law requires compliance no later than January 1, 2022.Key Elements of SB 493Definitions. SB 493 modifies or adds definitions for important terms. Most notably, the bill (1) expands the definition of “sexual har...
Governor Signs A Suite Of Bills Aimed At Supporting Students In Higher Education
December 2019Number 87Governor Newsom signed a host of Assembly Bills (AB) and Senate Bills (SB) in support of higher education, which expand existing student aid programs and eligibility criteria, among other things.California College PromiseThe existing California College Promise program waives enrollment fees for eligible students. The program generally targets students from low-income families or who are receiving government assistance, such as Supplemental Security Income or Temporary As...
Governor Approves New Public Safety Laws Affecting Cities, Schools and Other Public Agencies
November 2018 Number 81 In September 2018, Governor Jerry Brown signed three new bills addressing public agency response to disasters and emergencies including school violence. Senate Bill (SB) 833: Emergency Alerts In response to the unprecedented 2017 wildland fire disasters, SB 833 aims to improve California's emergency alert system by requiring the Office of Emergency Services (OES) to develop guidelines for alerting and warning the public of an emergency. At a minimum, the Guid...
The FBI and Secret Service Issue New Guidance on Addressing School Violence and Active Shooters
August 2018Number 38The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the United States Secret Service's National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) have released two important documents that offer insight into the pre-attack behavior of shooters and advice to help prevent targeted school violence through the use of threat assessments.The FBI reportThe FBI report, which was issued in June, is part of an FBI initiative to understand why shootings in confined and populated areas, like schools, occur ...
Legislature Stops Local Agencies from Limiting the Presentation of Childhood Sexual Abuse Claims
July 2018Number 33In response to a recent state court case, the California Legislature passed Senate Bill (SB) 1053 to explicitly prohibit local agencies from adopting local claim procedures that limit the presentation of childhood sexual abuse claims. The law, which was signed by Governor Jerry Brown on July 23, goes into effect January 1, 2019.BackgroundCode of Civil Procedure section 340.1 allows a lawsuit for childhood sexual abuse to be filed within the later of eight years of the date t...
Significant New Title IX Guidance on Handling Sexual Misconduct: What Schools Need to Know
October 2017 Number 56 New guidance on schools' responsibilities for addressing claims of sexual misconduct under Title IX places greater emphasis on the rights of those accused of sexual misconduct. The new guidance marks a significant departure from prior guidance but lacks details, creating the potential for many issues requiring legal consultation. On September 22, the United States Department of Education issued interim guidance on schools' responsibilities in addressing sexual mi...
Federal Appeals Court Affirms Constitutionality of Student Conduct Code, but Allows Free Speech Retaliation Claim against University to Proceed
October 2016 Number 81 The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied a university's request to dismiss a student's lawsuit alleging retaliation for protected speech under the First Amendment. In O'Brien v. Welty (9th Cir. 2016) 818 F.3d 920, a student intruded into the university offices of two faculty members, questioned the faculty members about a poem published in the student newspaper and proceeded to video record the interactions. The university disciplined the student under its stude...
Identifying, Investigating and Responding to School Bullying in Modern Times
While school bullying is not a new phenomenon, the media attention upon school shootings and suicides alleged to involve bullying victims is greater than ever. According to the experts, school bullying has widespread and harmful impacts on victims and other students, and it can push a student down the path toward self-harm or causing harm to others. School districts now see bullying as a major concern that must be confronted, rather than avoided, and they have increased efforts to discourage,...
Tactical Response Plans and SB 707: Are Your Schools Prepared to Evaluate and Respond to Threats?
February 2016 Number 8 Recently, various school district officials nationwide received anonymous communications threatening violent attacks. These events, and the school districts' responses, highlight the importance of having appropriate plans in place to evaluate and respond to threats. The California Education Code establishes the basic framework for school districts to take steps to make schools safe. Each school in a district is required to develop a comprehensive school safety plan "t...
County Committees May Now Decrease the Governing Board of Small School Districts from Five to Three Members
December 2015 Number 77 Small school districts sometimes have difficulty finding people to fill all seats on a five member board. To address this issue, the California legislature recently passed Assembly Bill (AB) 331, providing county committees on school district organization (County Committees) the authority to decrease school district governing boards from five members to three members in districts with an average daily attendance (ADA) of less than 300 during the preceding year. Spe...
New Law Increases Paid Parental Bonding Leave for Community College Employees
July 2014 Number 39 Beginning January 1, 2015, Assembly Bill (AB) 1606 will allow academic and classified community college employees to use up to 30 days of paid sick leave to bond with a newborn or newly adopted child. Under prior law, academic employees at community colleges could use up to 6 days of earned sick leave for personal reasons or personal necessity. Similarly, contract and permanent classified employees could use up to 7 days of earned sick leave for personal necessity...
U.S. Supreme Court Reiterates the High Standard Universities Must Satisfy to Consider Race in Admissions Decisions
July 2013 Number 37 In Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (June 24, 2013) __ U.S. __ 2013 WL 3155220, the United States Supreme Court reaffirmed that public higher education institutions may only consider race in admissions if the means of doing so is narrowly tailored to further a compelling state interest. The Court also clarified that a reviewing court may defer to a higher education institution's good faith determination that a diverse student body is essential to its educational...
Reminder: New Deadline For Giving Classified Employee Layoff Notices
April 2013 Number 18 Traditionally, school districts and community college districts have turned their attention to classified layoffs in late April or early May, after the rush of the certificated/academic layoff process is over. However, due to a change in Education Code sections 45117 and 88017, school and community college districts must now give notices no later than May 2nd in order for classified layoffs due to lack of work or lack of funds to be effective July 1, at the start of t...
Violence Against Women Act Calls for New Policies on Campus
March 2013 Number 12 On March 7, 2013, President Obama signed into law the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013, which provides sweeping changes to key aspects of college and university disclosure and reporting mandates. Section 304 of the law, titled "Campus Sexual Violence, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking Education and Prevention," made significant revisions to the Clery Act provisions of the Higher Education Act of 1965, requiring, among other things: ...
School Districts Will Be Required To Prequalify Bidders For Some State Funded Construction Projects Beginning In 2014
October 2012 Number 55On September 30, the Governor signed Assembly Bill (AB) 1565, adding Section 20111.6 to the Public Contract Code. The bill requires a school district with ADA over 2,500 to prequalify bidders for construction contracts awarded on or after January 1, 2014 if (1) the contract value is $1,000,000 or more, and (2) the project is funded, in whole or in part, with State bond funds. In addition, the prequalification forms used by the district must cover, at a minimum, the issu...
A Local Funding Source In Troubled Fiscal Times: The Potential Of Parcel Taxes
May 2012 Number 25 With the ongoing uncertainty of state funding, school districts are forced to continue exploring local funding options to address funding shortfalls. A parcel tax is an attractive option because a school district can use parcel taxes for any purpose identified in the ballot measure, including operating expenses. As a result, a parcel tax can be a significant source of unrestricted general fund dollars to support any district programs and needs. In 2011, 18 of 27 (67%...
U.S. Supreme Court Will Consider Greene V. Camreta Case Regarding Interviews Of Students At School By Law Enforcement With Regard To Suspected Child Abuse
U.S. Supreme Court Will Consider Greene V. Camreta Case Regarding Interviews Of Students At School By Law Enforcement With Regard To Suspected Child Abuse...
State Allocation Board Leaves Level 1 Developer Fees Unchanged And Decreases School Facility Program Grant For 2010
February 2010 Number 4 CLIENT NEWS BRIEF STATE ALLOCATION BOARD LEAVES LEVEL 1 DEVELOPER FEES UNCHANGED AND DECREASES SCHOOL FACILITY PROGRAM GRANT FOR 2010 Every other year at its January meeting, the State Allocation Board ("SAB") adopts an inflationary adjustment to the statutory school impact fee, commonly referred to as the "Level 1" developer fee. On January 27, 2010, the SAB elected to leave the current Level 1 fee unchanged. Accordingly, the residential Level 1 fee remains at...