BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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Date of Hearing: May 8, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
ACR 30 (V.M. Perez) - As Introduced: March 5, 2013
SUBJECT : Pupil rights: Student and Youth Bill of Rights
SUMMARY : Recognizes the importance of engaging with young
people to influence decisions that affect their quality of life
and well-being and identifies the Student and Youth Bill of
Rights as a framework to guide and inform the youth of the state
in organizing and advocating policy issues on their own behalf.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes findings and declarations about the circumstances of
young people and young people of color in California; for
example, the important role that supportive conditions in
which youth can thrive and grow, including safe and secure
housing, safe neighborhoods and communities, basic human
services, healthy and nutritious food, physical activity and
recreation, art and culture, dental and health care, among
others, play in improving these circumstances.
2)Makes findings and declarations about the Student and Youth
Bill of Rights; for example, that all students deserve safe
and secure public school facilities of equal quality,
regardless of whether it is a magnet school, a continuation
school, or a charter school or the public school is in a
rural, urban or suburban location.
3)Resolves that the Legislature recognizes the importance of
engaging with young people to influence decisions that affect
their quality of life and well-being.
4)Resolves that the Student and Youth Bill of Rights serves as a
framework to guide and inform the youth of the state in
organizing and advocating policy issues on their own behalf.
5)Resolves that the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
EXISTING LAW :
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1)Stipulates that public school pupils shall have the right to
exercise freedom of speech and of the press including, but not
limited to, the use of bulletin boards, the distribution of
printed materials or petitions, the wearing of buttons,
badges, and other insignia, and the right of expression in
official publications, whether or not the publications or
other means of expression are supported financially by the
school or by use of school facilities, except that expression
shall be prohibited which is obscene, libelous, or slanderous.
(Education Code (EC) Section 48907)
2)Prohibits discrimination on the basis of, disability, gender,
nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation
or any other characteristic that is contained in the
definition of hate crimes as set forth in the Penal Code, in
any program or activity conducted by an educational
institution that receives, or benefits from, state financial
assistance or enrolls pupils who receive state student
financial aid. (EC Section 220)
3)Establishes the Hate Violence Prevention Act and authorizes
the State Board of Education at the request of the SPI to
adopt policies directed toward creating a school environment
in kindergarten and grades one to twelve that is free from
discriminatory attitudes and practices and acts of hate
violence, and to revise as needed the state curriculum
frameworks and guidelines and the moral and civic education
curricula to include human relations education, with the aim
of fostering an appreciation of the diversity of California's
population and discouraging the development of discriminatory
attitudes and practices. (EC Section 233)
4)Establishes the Safe Place to Learn Act and states that the
policy of the State of California is to ensure that all local
educational agencies (LEAs) continue to work to reduce
discrimination, harassment, violence, intimidation and
bullying and to improve pupil safety at schools and the
connections between pupils and supportive adults, schools and
communities. (EC Section 234)
5)Authorizes any group of students to organize a student body
association within the public schools with the approval and
subject to the control and regulation of the governing board
of the school district. (EC Section 48930)
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6)Prohibits a teacher from giving instruction, and a school
district from sponsoring any activity that promotes a
discriminatory bias because of disability, gender,
nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, or sexual
orientation. (EC Section 51500)
FISCAL EFFECT : None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS : Background: According to the author, this bill
"stems from more than a year's worth of work by community-based
youth advocacy organizations that in 2011 began a process of
needs identification to develop a 'California Student and Youth
Bill of Rights.'" The resulting California Student and Youth
Bill of Rights (CSYBR) "enumerates 19 areas of action to improve
educational outcomes and quality of life." ACR 30 "is the
companion document - it is a summarized declaration of the
concerns and needs identified by youth in the CSYBR."
This bill makes numerous findings and declarations about the
current status of youth and young people of color in California.
It identifies overarching trends for these populations and
highlights the important role that young people play in the
future of California along with the challenging situations that
face many of California's young people. This bill states that a
societal commitment is required to address these realities and
identifies the CSYBR as a framework for youth to be active
participants in surmounting these challenges. It summarizes the
findings of the CSYBR and resolves that the Legislature
recognizes the importance of engaging with young people to
influence decisions that affect their quality of life and
well-being. Further, it resolves that the CSYBR serves as a
framework to guide and inform California's youth in organizing
and advocating policy issues on their own behalf.
National Students Bill of Rights: The CSYBR is modeled after a
National Student Bill of Rights that was drafted by
organizations such as the Institute for Democratic Education in
America. The National Student Bill of Rights incorporates 14
rights that all students must have. Included in these rights is
the right to a free, public, and equal education, the right to
safe and secure public school facilities, the right to free
college education, and the right to safe and secure housing,
among others. The CSYBR shares many common elements with the
national version, but was recently modified and tailored to
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reflect the realities faced by youth in California.
According to the author, student groups from across California
convened in early 2011 to draft and come to a consensus on the
CSYBR. These groups represented youth from the Central Valley,
the Los Angeles area and the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area.
California Student and Youth Bill of Rights: In May of 2012,
the CSYBR was completed with consensus being reached. The CSYBR
begins with the main point that access to quality public
education shall not be denied or abridged on account of race,
gender, disability, ethnicity, religion, poverty, sexual
orientation, or place of residence, place of birth/immigration
status, court involvement or convictions. To ensure such access
to a quality public education, CSYBR specifies the following
rights for students and youth, including the right to:
1)Have safe and secure public school facilities;
2)Have access to a college education;
3)Study curriculum that acknowledges and affirms the on-going
struggle of oppressed people for equality and justice;
4)Be secure from arbitrary police pat downs, frisks, searches
and seizures, from excessive ticketing and fines, from
criminalization of truancy or lateness to school and from
arbitrary arrests and detentions without warrants;
5)Establish systems of restorative and transformative justice
and positive behavior intervention supports in schools and
communities and to not be charged for crimes as adults until
the age of 18;
6)Have safe and secure housing;
7)Have healthy, high quality food regardless of wealth, poverty
or place of residence;
8)Have access to health and dental care, including high quality
public health and preventive care;
9)Have access to public transportation for purposes of
education, employment, family needs, among others;
10)Have intervention workers/peacebuilders in schools and
communities who can address conflicts while preventing
suspension, expulsion and arrests;
11)Obtain employment to support themselves while in school and
college and to access employment, job training, education and
financial aid regardless of past convictions;
12)Have access to daycare for their children;
13)Have parents, including teen parents, who are incarcerated
for non-violent and non-sexual crimes visit, phone and
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maintain contact with their children;
14)Have physical activity and recreation of high quality
regardless of wealth, poverty or place of residence;
15)Be able to participate in arts, music, dance, drama, poetry,
and technology of high quality regardless of wealth, poverty
or place of residence;
16)Develop, make mistakes and change without school, court or
law enforcement labeling and surveillance;
17)Receive their school records without prejudice and in a
timely manner;
18)Have schools and community centers that are humanizing,
encouraging and that celebrate youth identities and
possibilities; and,
19)Have equal education funding and a quality education that
adequately prepares them for college or a career regardless of
the school they attend.
The Youth Justice Coalition states, "California's young people
are tomorrow's workers, entrepreneurs, educators, public
servants, and community leaders. Unfortunately, many California
youth lack the basic opportunities and fair treatment that
promote their development and educational success. Many youth,
particularly young people of color, confront challenges to their
safety and wellbeing and attend schools that lack the
facilities, training and funding that prepare them for higher
education and a career. ACR 30 outlines key concerns and needs
identified by youth to improve their educational outcomes and
quality of life. It sets forth a framework by which to guide
and inform youth organizing and public policy advocacy,
empowering young people to engage and influence decisions that
will affect their future in California."
Previous legislation . ACR 162 (V.M. Perez), is an identical
resolution that held in this Committee by the author in 2012.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
AYPAL
California Correctional Peace Officers Association
Californians for Justice
Center for Young Women's Development
Chinese Progressive Association
Coachella Unincorporated
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Coachella Valley Education Foundation
Community Justice Network for Youth
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
Empowering Young Voices, Inc.
Esperanza Youth & Family Center, Inc.
Fresno Barrios Unidos
Latino Youth Council
Michael Tubbs, Councilman, City of Stockton
Mid-City Community Advocacy Network
Reality Changers
Youth Empowerment Focus
Youth Justice Coalition
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087