BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 231
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Date of Hearing: August 14, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
SB 231 (Correa) - As Amended: August 5, 2013
Policy Committee: Education Vote:7-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill establishes the Michael Joseph Berry Peer Abuse
Prevention and Awareness Act of 2013 (the Act), which
establishes the California Bullying Prevention Clearinghouse
(CBPC) to address issues relating to bullying and peer abuse, as
specified. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the CBPC to be administered by the State Department
of Education (SDE) and requires the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (SPI) to establish an advisory council consisting
of experts in the areas of bullying and abuse prevention who
are appointed by the SPI.
2)Requires the advisory council to provide technical assistance
to SDE, school districts, and other appropriate entities on
best practices, strategies, and other interventions that may
assist in reducing the incidence of bullying/peer abuse.
Further requires the advisory council to make recommendations
on how SDE can improve data collection on bullying/peer abuse
and on future legislation/public policy that may be
implemented for this purpose.
3)Requires the CBPC to be maintained under the advisory
council's guidance and have responsibilities relating to: (a)
acting as a repository of information about bullying; (b)
establishing guidelines, best practices, and information
school districts may disseminate to pupils and their families;
and (c) establishing recommendations a district may include on
bullying prevention measures on its Internet website, in any
revision of a school's safety plan, and in any material
developed on issues related to bullying/peer abuse.
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4)Requires SDE to recommend guidelines, best practices, and
information to school districts for dissemination to pupils
and their families regarding the objectives of the CBPC.
Further requires SDE to recommend school districts provide
information on the CBPC to all pupils who are involved in any
complaint relating to peer abuse, bullying, harassment, or
discrimination.
FISCAL EFFECT
GF administrative costs, of approximately $280,000, to SDE to
establish the CBPC and meet the requirements of this measure.
Of these costs, approximately $200,000 GF would be on-going.
This bill prohibits GF from being used to implement it and
further requires the operation of this article to be contingent
upon the SPI's certification that sufficient funding is
available to implement the requirements of this bill.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . A study conducted by the National Center for
Education Statistics entitled: Indicators of School Crime and
Safety: 2011 (Roberts, et. all), reveals the following:
In 2009, about 28% of 12 to 18-year-old students
reported having been bullied at school during the school
year and six percent reported having been cyber-bullied.
In 2009, about 39% of 6th-graders reported being bullied
at school, compared with 33% of 7th graders, 32% of 8th
graders, 28% of 9th graders, 27% of 10th graders, 21% of
11th graders, and 20% of 12th graders.
Six percent of students ages 12-18 reported being
cyber-bullied in 2009. About three percent reported being
subject to harassing text messages. About four percent of
females reported being subject to harassing text messages
compared with two percent of males.
According to the author, "The Clearinghouse would provide
resources and other information to address issues related to
bullying, with particular focus on those issues impacting K-12
students, their families, peers, and communities. Although
many organizations and web sites currently provide copious
information on bullying, experts indicate that these resources
are rarely interactive and seldom utilized by students. This
[bill] will provide referrals to existing bullying prevention
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programs and resources but also establishes an infrastructure
by which the Clearinghouse will potentially have access to
data and information that will offer a unique opportunity for
an ongoing analysis of bullying and peer abuse issues."
1)Existing law encourages schools to include policies and
procedures aimed at the prevention of bullying in their school
safety plans, as resources are available and as their plans
are updated.
AB 9 (Ammiano), Chapter 723, Statutes of 2012, requires the
SPI to post (with annual updates) a list of statewide
resources that provide support to youth who have been
subjected to school-based discrimination, harassment,
intimidation, or bullying, and their families. The SPI has
met this requirement with an Internet webpage entitled
Bullying and Hate-Motivator Prevention. The webpage includes
an SDE developed pamphlet with bullying prevention information
and other information necessary to develop a bullying
prevention program.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081