BILL ANALYSIS
SB 777
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 777 (Kuehl)
As Amended September 6, 2007
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :23-13
JUDICIARY 7-3 EDUCATION 7-3
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|Ayes:|Jones, Evans, Feuer, |Ayes:|Mullin, Brownley, Coto, |
| |Krekorian, Laird, Levine, | |Eng, Hancock, Karnette, |
| |Lieber | |Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Tran, Adams, Keene |Nays:|Garrick, Huff, Nakanishi |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Creates consistency in educational policy with respect
to non-discrimination on the basis of specified characteristics.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Revises the current list of prohibited bases of discrimination
and the kinds of prohibited instruction, activities, and
instructional materials in the Education Code so as to make
the types of prohibited discrimination explicitly consistent
with the protected characteristics contained in the definition
of hate crimes in the Penal Code.
2)Defines disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity,
religion, and sexual orientation for this purpose,
consistently with the hate crimes statute.
3)Replaces current uses of the term "handicapped" (and
variations on that term) in the Education Code with the
preferred term "disabled" and its variants.
4)Restates the existing obligation regarding non-discrimination
in teacher instruction and district-sponsored activities by
deleting the prohibition against "reflecting adversely upon" a
specified characteristic and replacing it with a more
comprehensible standard "promotes a discriminatory bias" based
on the specified characteristics.
5)Makes technical changes to address chaptering-out conflicts
SB 777
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with AB 14 (Laird) and SB 859 (Scott).
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : In support of this bill the author states,
"Harassment based on discrimination is frequent in schools in
California. ? Discriminatory harassment is a serious problem
because it is linked to higher levels of academic, health and
safety risk. Research has shown that inclusive school policies
and curriculum make a difference: when students report that
their schools have non-discrimination and anti-harassment
policies that include sexual and gender identity, and when they
say that they have learned about LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual
and Transgender) issues at school, they report less harassment
and they feel safer."
Education Code Section 200 broadly sets forth the state's policy
to afford equal rights and opportunities to all persons in
public or private schools and educational institutions of the
state regardless of their sex, ethnic group identification,
race, national origin, religion, or mental or physical
disability. Correspondingly, Education Code Section 220
contains a blanket prohibition of discrimination which provides
that students in all publicly-funded educational institutions
are protected from discrimination based on actual or perceived
sex, ethnic group identification, race, national origin,
religion, color, mental or physical disability or association
with a person who has any of these characteristics. These
sections also prohibit discrimination based on actual or
perceived characteristics contained in the hate crimes statute,
Penal Code Section 422.55, disability, gender, nationality, race
or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or association with
a person or group with one or more of these characteristics.
In addition to these global non-discrimination provisions, other
sections of the Education Code likewise prohibit discrimination
in specific circumstances of educational institutions, but have
not been consistently updated to reflect evolving state equal
opportunity policy. For example, some of these code sections
fail to include sex or disability. Although those specific
directives are subsumed by and subordinate to the general
prohibitions, the exclusion of some protected characteristics
from the specific sections can create confusion and uncertainty
when, as one would expect, members of the education community
consult specific provisions of the Education Code to understand
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their non-discrimination obligations. This bill would provide
better guidance by creating consistency among the statutes
prohibiting various forms of discrimination by revising the list
of prohibited bases of discrimination in Education Code Section
200 and 220 (K-12) and Sections 66251, 66270 (higher education)
so that it corresponds with the list in the hate crimes statute.
This bill would also define the protected characteristics
consistently with the definitions currently codified in the hate
crimes law.
As opponents note, the main effect of this revision is to
expressly add "sexual orientation" to the list of protected
classes. However, the explicit inclusion of sexual orientation
is not truly a substantive change because Education Code
Sections 200 and 220 already cross-reference the list of
prohibited characteristics in the hate crimes statute, which
includes sexual orientation. In other words, this bill simply
adds expressly what is already incorporated by reference. This
bill notably does not in any way eliminate or reduce the
existing exemption from non-discrimination obligations by
religious schools when compliance with the obligation would be
inconsistent with the religious tenets of the school. (See,
e.g., Op. of Attny Gen. 99-1001 (May 1, 2000).)
The Traditional Values Coalition reflects the views of many
opponents, summarizing its arguments as follows: "SB 777 is a
dangerous bill for several reasons: 1) It forces all subjects to
focus on an aspect of sexual life without proper context; 2) It
will indoctrinate young children into an inaccurate perspective
on homosexuality during some of the most formative years of
their lives; 3) It may allow for the banning of Bibles, Torahs,
and other religious texts that speak out against homosexuality;
and 4) It discriminates against religious viewpoints, and
comprises a direct attack upon religious liberty and tolerance,
which are the bedrock of American society."
Analysis Prepared by : Kevin G. Baker / JUD. / (916) 319-2334
FN: 0003153