BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION Alan Lowenthal, Chair 2011-12 Regular Session BILL NO: AB 1967 AUTHOR: John A. Pérez AMENDED: June 21, 2012 FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: June 27, 2012 URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Beth Graybill SUBJECT : Pupil instruction: organ and tissue donation. SUMMARY This bill requires the Instructional Quality Commission and the State Board of Education (SBE) to ensure that the health and science frameworks adopted in the course of the next submission cycle, include the subject of organ procurement and tissue donation, as appropriate. BACKGROUND Academic content standards define the knowledge, concepts, and skills that pupils should acquire at each grade level. Curricular frameworks are the blueprint for implementing the standards, and include criteria by which instructional materials are evaluated. Existing law requires the State Board of Education to adopt content standards in the curriculum area of health education, based on the recommendations of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The SBE adopted the current Health Education Content Standards in March 2008. (EC § 51210.8) The processes for reviewing frameworks and adopting instructional materials have been suspended since July 28, 2009. The State Board of Education (SBE) is specifically prohibited from reviewing frameworks and adopting instructional materials until the 2015-16 school year. (Education Code § 60200.7) California does not require the completion of a health course as a condition for graduation from high school. (EC § 51225.3) ANALYSIS AB 1967 Page 2 This bill : 1) Requires the Instructional Quality Commission and the State Board of Education (SBE) to ensure that the health frameworks and the science frameworks adopted in the course of the next submission cycle include the subject of organ procurement and tissue donation, as appropriate. 2) Makes findings and declarations about the number of people on the national organ transplant list and the percentage of California drivers designated as organ or tissue donors. STAFF COMMENTS 1) Need for the bill : According to information provided by Donate Life California, sponsor of this bill, there are more than 113,000 people on the national organ transplant waiting list, of which nearly 21% are Californians. The author's office reports that one organ donor can save up to 8 lives and one tissue donor can improve the lives of 50 others. Although California makes it easy for individuals to register as an organ donor, the California Department of Motor Vehicles indicates only 25% of individuals applying for or renewing a driver's license check "yes" to donation. Information provided by the author's office indicates that approximately 18 people die each day awaiting life-saving organ transplants. By making organ donation education more widespread and educating high school students about organ donation, the author hopes this bill will result in more people registering as an organ donor. 2) Curriculum Frameworks . Neither the health education standards nor the frameworks require students to learn about organ procurement or tissue donation. Similarly, the current science standards and frameworks do not include information about the subject of organ and tissue donation. This bill requires both the health frameworks and the science frameworks to include the subject of organ procurement and tissue donation when those framework documents are next updated and adopted by the SBE. Although organ donation is not currently included in the state's academic content standards, AB 1967 Page 3 nothing in current law precludes school districts or teachers from educating students about organ donation. As part of the effort to develop standards common across states, California is one of 26 lead states in the effort to develop the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The development process for NGSS is following a different developmental pathway than did the Common Core State Standards in English language arts and mathematics. The process for the science standards development was informed by the contributions of the scientific and research community. The first draft of these standards was released nationally for public comment on May 11, 2012. A second opportunity for public feedback will occur in Fall 2012. Conceivably, the topic of organ procurement and tissue donation could be incorporated into these standards during the SBE's adoption process, which would precede the adoption of new frameworks. Opponents argue that the subject of organ/tissue donation is not appropriate for high school students who may be impacted by an emotionally presented curriculum and should not be included in the health and science frameworks. 3) Organ donation . There are currently two ways to register as an organ donor: a) Each application for a new or renewal driver's license or identification card provides a place for the applicant to indicate if he or she wants to be an organ donor. If the person affirms this desire, the pink donor dot symbol is pre-printed on the driver's license or identification card. b) Since 2006, the Donate Life California website provides a way to register online as an organ donor. 4) Related and prior legislation . The Legislature has considered a number of measures concerning curriculum instruction, including the following bills concerning subject of organ/tissue donation: AB 1118 (J. Perez, 2011) would have required high schools AB 1967 Page 4 that offer health classes in 9th and 10th grade to offer instruction on organ donation in California. This bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. SB 552 (Padilla, 2010) would have required a school district, beginning with the 2010-11 school year, to offer health classes to ninth and tenth graders and provide at least 15 minutes of instruction on organ procurement and tissue donation. This bill was held under submission by the Assembly Appropriations Committee. SUPPORT Association of California School Administrators California Transplant Donor Network Donate Life California Donate Life Florida Head-Royce School, Oakland, CA Lifeline of Ohio Los Angeles County Office of Education National Organization for Renal Disease New York Alliance for Donation OneLegacy Santa Clara County Deputy Superintendent of Schools, Cary Dritz Sierra Donor Services State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson University of Wisconsin Organ Procurement Organization Individual letters OPPOSITION California Right to Life Committee