Xavier Becerra: “But the real issue in terms of cost and why this is so antieducation is the following. In California, which by the way…”

“But the real issue in terms of cost and why this is so antieducation is the following. In California, which by the way, unfortunately, our Governor has been unwilling to fund education in our schools the way it should be. We are now ranked one of the last in this country. We used to be one of the first back in the 1950's in terms of education funding. But we provide about $6,000 per pupil in California in money. That is in school. You drive a kid off on the streets, and you are going to have come costs to the local law enforcement to try to make sure that they are making sure these kids that are on the street now are not committing crimes or becoming victims of crime. But should they become involved in criminal activity, this young child who has been kicked out of school will probably be incarcerated, not imprisoned because they do not take them to adult prisons. They take them to the youth offender facilities, which cost about $33,000 per year in the State of California. So if you think $6,000 is expensive in our public schools, then $32,000 is surely much more expensive than that. That is what you are driving towards with this particular piece of legislation. A couple of more points: Why we would want to set as a national policy a principle that says we are going to hit the kid, we are going to punish the kid for the acts of an adult, I am not certain. I know the courts right now are debating whether you can punish a parent for the acts of a child.”