BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1156 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 27, 2011 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION Julia Brownley, Chair AB 1156 (Eng) - As Introduced: February 18, 2011 SUBJECT : Pupils: bullying SUMMARY : Makes several proposals related to bullying, including requiring training in the prevention of bullying, authorizing a pupil to transfer to another district and revising the definition of bullying, beginning on July 1, 2012. Specifically, this bill : 1)Makes declarations and findings regarding the impact of bullying, including that bullying causes physical, psychological and emotional harm to pupils; interferes with pupils' ability to learn and participate in school activities; and that bullying has been linked to other forms of antisocial behavior, such as vandalism, shoplifting, truancy and dropping out of school, fighting, using drugs and alcohol, sexual harassment and sexual violence. 2)Specifies that training of schoolsite personnel in the prevention of bullying shall be a component in the development of school safety plans. 3)Specifies that a pupil is in compliance with the residency requirements for school attendance in a school district if a pupil whose residence is located within the boundaries of another school district has been determined by personnel of that other district to have been the victim of an act of bullying committed by a pupil of that district. 4)Specifies that an act of bullying includes, but is not limited to, harassment, threats, intimidation, stalking, physical violence, sexual harassment, sexual violence, theft, public humiliation, destruction of property, or retaliation for asserting or alleging an act of bullying. 5)Specifies that "bullying" means any severe or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct, including communications made in writing or electronically, and including one or more acts committed by a pupil or group of pupils directed toward a pupil or pupils that has or can be reasonably predicted to AB 1156 Page 2 have the effect of one or more of the following: a) Placing the pupil or pupils in reasonable fear of harm to that pupil's or those pupils' person or property. b) Causing a substantially detrimental effect on the pupil's or pupils' physical or mental health. c) Substantially interfering with the pupil's or pupils' ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by a school. EXISTING LAW : 1)Prohibits the suspension, or recommendation for expulsion, of a pupil from school unless the principal determines that the pupil has committed any of various specified acts, including but not limited to bullying by means of an electronic act, as defined. 2)Defines "bullying" as one or more acts by a pupil or group of pupils engaging in sexual harassment, hate violence, harassment, threats, or intimidation, including, but not limited to, bullying committed by means of an electronic act. 3)Defines an "electronic act" as the transmission of a communication, including, but not limited to, a message, text, sound, or image by means of an electronic device, including, but not limited to, a telephone, wireless telephone or other wireless communication device, computer, or pager. 4)Expresses the intent of the Legislature that all California public schools work with local law enforcement agencies, community leaders, parents, pupils, teachers, administrators, and other interested parties in the prevention of campus crime and violence, and develop a comprehensive school safety plan. 5)Specifies that the schoolsite council or a school safety planning committee is responsible for developing the comprehensive school safety plan. 6)Specifies that the comprehensive school safety plan shall include an assessment of the current status of school crime committed on school campuses and at school-related functions AB 1156 Page 3 and identification of appropriate strategies and programs that will provide or maintain a high level of school safety and address the school's procedures for complying with existing laws related to school safety, including child abuse reporting procedures; disaster procedures; an earthquake emergency procedure system; policies regarding pupils who commit specified acts that would lead to suspension or expulsion; procedures to notify teachers of dangerous pupils; a discrimination and harassment policy; the provisions of any schoolwide dress code; procedures for safe ingress and egress of pupils, parents, and school employees to and from school; a safe and orderly environment conducive to learning; rules and procedures on school discipline; and hate crime reporting procedures. 7)Provides that a pupil complies with the residency requirement for school attendance in a school district if he or she meets specified conditions. FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown COMMENTS : School-based harassment, discrimination, intimidation and bullying can create a school climate of fear and disrespect that can result in conditions that negatively affect learning. Bullying is defined as an act by a pupil engaging in sexual harassment, hate violence, harassment, threats or intimidation that may include bullying committed via an electronic act that includes, but is not limited to, a message, text, sound, or image by means of an electronic device (a telephone, wireless telephone or other wireless communication device, computer or pager). The author states, "AB 1156 will address the issue of bullying in a comprehensive and effective manner by requiring the training of school site personnel in the prevention of bullying, providing a mechanism under which the option is available for the student who is the target of an act of bullying to be removed from an unhealthy setting, and expanding the definition of bullying by linking it to such impacts, as academic achievement and participation. The goal is to provide a safe environment designed to support a healthy learning experience for every child." Training in the prevention of bullying/school safety plan : This bill has three components. Section 2 of the bill adds "training AB 1156 Page 4 of schoolsite personnel in the prevention of bullying as a component in the development of school safety plans". This provision is unclear. Staff believes that the author intends to require training of school staff in the prevention of bullying and require school safety plans to include a component on the prevention of bullying. Staff recommends moving the school safety plan requirement to the Education Code (EC) Section 32282. Each schoolsite is required to develop a school safety plan to assess the school climate and develop procedures in the event of disasters or emergencies as well as other incidents that create an unsafe environment, including procedures to report hate crime. Adding procedures on the prevention of bullying is consistent with the goals of the school safety plan. According to the California Department of Education (CDE), training on the prevention of bullying/cyber bullying is already being done. Existing law requires the Department of Justice and the CDE to contract with one or more professional trainers to coordinate statewide workshops for local educational agency staff to assist them in the development of the school safety plan and crisis response plans. This provision is met through funds from the School Safety Consolidated Competitive Grant. The CDE contracts with Kern County Office of Education to provide the trainings. In addition to bullying/cyberbullying, the workshops also provide training on safe school planning and crises response planning. Training on the prevention of bullying, however, is currently permissive. By specifying the training component to include bullying in the law, it will be a required component of the training. Transfer option : Federal law, under the Unsafe School Choice Option established by the federal No Child Left Behind Act, authorizes a student to transfer to a school within the district if the student is a victim of a violent crime. Federal guidance recommends consulting with local law enforcement agencies in determining whether a student is a victim of a violent criminal offense. Section 3 of the bill authorizes a pupil to be deemed to meet residency requirements if the pupil transfers to a school in another district based on a determination by personnel of the district where s/he resides that the s/he had been a victim of an act of bullying committed by a pupil from the home district. The Committee may wish to consider whether the criteria should be more specific. Questions raised by this provision include: Should a district allow a transfer based on AB 1156 Page 5 one incident? Should a transfer be based on severity of the bullying? Will this bill result in numerous requests to transfer to another district? Can this be used by parents as an excuse to transfer their children to more desirable schools? Should a pupil be allowed to transfer even if the bully has been expelled? Should district administrators be given more authority to determine whether a transfer is beneficial for the student or be required to consult with a mental health professional? Should a transfer be within a school district? The language in the bill currently does not allow consideration of these factors. If a pupil is determined to have been a bullied, the pupil may request a transfer to another district. Definition of bullying . The final proposal in this bill changes the definition of bullying. EC Section 48900 specifies that a pupil shall not be suspended or recommended for an expulsion, unless the superintendent or the principal of the school determines that the pupil has committed specified acts, including: "(r) Engaged in an act of bullying, including, but not limited to, bullying committed by means of an electronic act, as defined in subdivisions (f) and (g) of Section 32261, directed specifically toward a pupil or school personnel." Subdivision (r) requires a review of another section (32261(f) and (g)) to determine the actual definition of bullying. That section then references back to the suspension/expulsion section of law, as follows: "bullying" means one or more acts by a pupil or group of pupils as defined in Section 48900.2, 48900.3, or 48900.4. EC sections 48900.2 specifies that a student may be suspended or recommended for expulsion if the pupil has been determined to have committed sexual harassment, 48900.3 refers to incidences of hate violence and 48900.4 relates to engagement in harassment, threats or intimidation, "directed against school district personnel or pupils, that is sufficiently severe or pervasive to have the actual and reasonably expected effect of materially disrupting classwork, creating substantial disorder, and invading the rights of either school personnel or pupils by creating an intimidating or hostile educational environment." As shown above, the definition of bullying is based on AB 1156 Page 6 references to several sections in the EC and could be clearer. This bill redefines the bullying as: 1)including, but not limited to, harassment, threats, intimidation, stalking, physical violence, sexual harassment, sexual violence, theft, public humiliation, destruction of property, or retaliation for asserting or alleging an act of bullying. 2)meaning any severe or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct, including communications made in writing or electronically, and including one or more acts committed by a pupil or group of pupils as defined in Section 48900.2 (sexual harassment), 48900.3 (hate violence) or 48900.4 (harassment, threats, or intimidation), directed toward a pupil or pupils that has or can be reasonably predicted to have the effect of one or more of the following: a) Placing the pupil or pupils in reasonable fear of harm to that pupil's or those pupils' person or property. b) Causing a substantially detrimental effect on the pupil's or pupils' physical or mental health. c) Substantially interfering with the pupil's or pupils' ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by a school. While attempting to clarify the definition of bullying, the two paragraphs proposed by this bill may continue to cause confusion as one paragraph references other sections (similar to existing law) and the other paragraph incorporates the acts referenced by the other sections that are considered bullying, while also including actions that are not included in the existing definition of bullying (e.g., stalking, theft, destruction of property). If the Committee chooses to adopt this definition of bullying, staff recommends striking (r)(1) in the bill and making conforming amendments by deleting the current definition of "bullying" in Section 32261(f) and transferring the definition of "electronic act" to Section 48900. The definition proposed by this bill differs from existing law by specifying that the conduct must be "severe" or "pervasive" and that has or "can be reasonably predicted" to have specified effects, including causing physical or mental harm or AB 1156 Page 7 interfering with a pupil's ability to participate in school activities. This definition creates a higher threshold for suspension/expulsion due to bullying. The Committee may wish to consider whether bullying is only bullying when there is a physical or psychological impact on the victim. For example, if a student harasses another student, should that act of harassment alone be considered an act of bullying, even if there is no physical or psychological effect on the victim? Under current law, that act of harassment can be considered bullying. There are a number of bills dealing with bullying this year, with more than one bill affecting suspension/expulsion due to an act of bullying. In addition to this bill, SB 453 (Correa), which is scheduled for the April 27, 2011 Senate Education Committee hearing, expands authorization to suspend or expel a pupil for acts of bullying to include those acts motivated by any of the following actual or perceived characteristics of the victim: disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics. SB 453 also includes acts of bullying that have persisted and reoccurred despite repeated efforts at remediation and termination of the behavior by the principal or the superintendent of schools on the list of acts for which expulsion may be recommended. The CDE recommends the definition of bullying to parallel definition that is supported by the International Bullying Prevention Association as follows: "An act of bullying" is defined as a type of aggression, either verbal, physical, or psychological. The bullying behavior is intended to harm or disturb the target/victim, and is carried out repeatedly and over time. An act of bullying reflects an imbalance of power, either physical or psychological. Bullying can be direct, in the form of physical acts, threats, intimidation, verbal abuse, or taunting; an act of bullying can also be indirect, in the form of making faces, making obscene gestures, exclusion, or spreading of rumors. The definition in this bill, while not identical, is fairly consistent with this definition. Arguments in Support . According to the author, "the current definitions contained within anti-bullying policies do not reflect the psychological damaging effects and/or academic performance implications recognized by research. The scope of AB 1156 Page 8 most anti-bullying policies, limit the definition of bullying as physical aggression and verbal and/or written aggression. Persistent bullying can severely inhibit a student's ability to learn effectively or a member of the staff's ability to do their job. A recent study by UCLA psychologists finds that "instruction cannot be effective unless the students are ready to learn, and that includes not being fearful of raising your hand in class and speaking up." Hence, it is important that the definition of bullying address the non-physical impacts it has on a student who is the target of bullying, because the negative effects of bullying can have an impact on a person for their entire life." Related legislation . AB 9 (Ammiano), pending in the Assembly Appropriations Committee, requires school districts to have policies prohibiting discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying and a process for submitting and investigating complaints of such acts, encourages school districts to offer professional development to address discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying, and authorizes principals and superintendents to institute alternative discipline strategies for pupils subject to suspension or expulsion, as specified. AB 630 (Hueso) encourages school districts to establish programs to be integrated either into the regular curriculum or through separate instruction during National Bullying Prevention Month for a minimum of one class period each day, or a minimum of five hours, at the discretion of each school district, to reduce bullying through training with appropriate activities and best practices. AB 630 is also scheduled for today's Committee hearing. AB 746 (Campos), pending in the Senate, specifies that bullying by means of an electronic act includes a post on a social network Internet Web site. SB 453 (Correa), pending in the Senate Education Committee, expands authorization of suspension or expulsion for acts of bullying to include those acts motivated by any of the following actual or perceived characteristics of the victim: disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics, and includes acts of bullying that have persisted and reoccurred despite repeated efforts at remediation and termination of the behavior AB 1156 Page 9 by the principal or the superintendent of schools on the list of acts for which expulsion may be recommended. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support California State PTA (sponsor) Asian and Pacific Islanders CA Action Network California Federation of Teachers California School Employees Association California Teachers Association National Association of Social Workers PeaceBuilders An individual Opposition None on file Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087