BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1165 (Mitchell and Block)
As Amended July 2, 2014
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :37-0
EDUCATION 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 16-0
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|Ayes:|Buchanan, Olsen, Chávez, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, |
| |Gonzalez, Nazarian, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Weber, Williams | |Calderon, Campos, Eggman, |
| | | |Gomez, Holden, Jones, |
| | | |Linder, Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Wagner, |
| | | |Weber |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) to
consider including sexual abuse and sex trafficking prevention
education in the Health Framework for California Public Schools
(health framework) and permits a school district to provide
sexual abuse and sex trafficking prevention education, as
specified. Specifically, this bill :
1)Defines "sexual abuse and sex trafficking prevention
education" to mean instruction on the prevalence and nature of
sexual abuse and sex trafficking, strategies to reduce their
risk, techniques to set healthy boundaries, and how to safely
report an incident.
2)Requires the IQC, when the health framework is next revised
after January 1, 2015, to consider including a distinct
category on sexual abuse and sex trafficking prevention
education that includes, but is not limited to, all of the
following:
a) Information on different forms of sexual abuse and
assault; discussion of prevention strategies; how to report
sexual abuse or suspected sexual abuse; and local resources
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for victims.
b) Discussion of healthy boundaries for relationships; how
to recognize potentially harmful and abusive relationships;
and refusal skills to overcome peer pressure and to avoid
high-risk activities.
c) Information on sex trafficking and risk factors; the
recruiting tactics of sex traffickers and peer recruiters,
including recruitment through the Internet; how to report
sex trafficking or suspected sex trafficking; and local
resources for victims.
d) Discussion of legal aspects of sexual abuse and sex
trafficking under state and federal laws.
e) Discussion of how culture and mass media influence and
desensitize our perceptions of sexual abuse and sex
trafficking, including, but not limited to, stereotypes and
myths about the victims and abusers, victim blaming, and
the role of language and emphasizing compassion for people
who have suffered from sexual abuse or sex trafficking, and
support positive reentry experiences for survivors
returning to school.
3)Encourages school districts to collaborate with outside
consultants, including law enforcement, with expertise in
sexual abuse and sex trafficking prevention education in order
to create a school safety plan to address the threat of sexual
abuse and sex trafficking, develop a referral protocol for
high-risk pupils and minors, and create an intervention
programs for high-risk pupils and minors.
4)Permits school districts to periodically conduct in-service
training to enable personnel to learn about new developments
in the understanding of sexual abuse and sex trafficking, and
to receive instruction on current prevention efforts and
methods.
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5)Permits a school district to provide sexual abuse and sex
trafficking prevention education but specifies that a parent
or guardian of a pupil has the right to excuse his or her
child from all or part of sexual abuse and sex trafficking
prevention education, and related assessments.
6)Specifies that the California Department of Education (CDE)
may post on its Internet Web site resources on sexual abuse
and sex trafficking prevention for professional learning
purposes, and relevant materials for parents and guardians of
pupils.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the California Comprehensive Sexual Health and
HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Act, and articulates the two
primary purposes of this act:
a) To provide a pupil with the knowledge and skills
necessary to protect his or her sexual and reproductive
health from unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted
diseases; and
b) To encourage a pupil to develop healthy attitudes
concerning adolescent growth and development, body image,
gender roles, sexual orientation, dating, marriage, and
family.
1)Requires, pursuant to the California Comprehensive Sexual
Health and HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Act, HIV/AIDS
prevention education be taught once in middle school and once
in high school,
2)Requires, pursuant to the California Comprehensive Sexual
Health and HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Act, that if
comprehensive sexual health education is taught, the local
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educational agency must satisfy specified criteria, including
the topics to be covered and the manner in which such
instruction must be provided.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1) Ongoing General Fund/Proposition 98 (1988) cost
pressures, in the millions of dollars, for school districts
that choose to provide sexual abuse and sex trafficking
prevention education and associated in-service training.
CDE notes the lack of existing programs or strategies on
this topic.
2) General Fund cost pressure, in the range of $135,000,
for the CDE to hire a researcher if the IQC decides to
include a distinct category on sexual abuse and sex
trafficking in the state's next health curriculum framework
revision. CDE notes the lack of existing programs or
strategies on this topic. The framework revision could
take several years since there is little research on sex
trafficking as an educational topic.
3) Likely minor costs to the CDE to provide resources on
sexual abuse and sex trafficking prevention for
professional learning purposes and relevant material for
parents on the CDE Web site, to the extent existing
resources are available.
COMMENTS : According to the California Attorney General, sex
trafficking is "the act of forcing, coercing, or transporting a
person for the purpose of a commercial sex act. These crimes
are primarily committed against women and children."<1> Because
trafficking can involve school-age youth, preventive education
is critical. The children at risk are not just high school
students - pimps or traffickers are known to prey on victims as
young as nine. Traffickers may target minor victims through
social media websites, telephone chat-lines, after-school
programs, at shopping malls and bus depots, in clubs, or through
friends or acquaintances who recruit students on school
campuses. Those youth who are involved in challenging family
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<1> http://oag.ca.gov/human-trafficking/what-is .
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situations are extraordinarily vulnerable.<2>
The magnitude of sexual abuse and sex trafficking is staggering.
According to the United States Department of State, about
40,000 of the estimated 27 million trafficking victims worldwide
have been identified. This includes the up to 17,500 people
that are trafficked to the United States every year. In the
United States alone there are an estimated more than 100,000
children currently being exploited in the sex trade, and the
overwhelming majority of these victims, more than 80%, are
United States citizens.<3> While Congress and California's
legislature are taking steps to protect youth from sex
trafficking,<4> unless we work to educate our children so that
they can also protect themselves, those national and state
efforts may be in vain. Sexual abuse, including the subset of
sex trafficking, is similarly shocking. In 2012, an estimated
686,000 children were victims of abuse and neglect nationwide,
with approximately 10% of these victims suffering sexual
abuse.<5> and <6> These numbers do not include those instances
of abuse that go unreported. The National Center for Victims of
Crime estimates that one in five girls and one in 20 boys is a
victim of child sexual abuse.<7> Prevention education is an
important piece of stopping this epidemic.
Analysis Prepared by : Jill Rice / ED. / (916) 319-2087
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<2>
http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oese/oshs/factsheet.html
<3>
http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/2014/01/12/bay-area-leads-campaign-
against-human-trafficking .
<4>
http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/20/politics/sex-trafficking-bills/ .
<5> https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/canstats.pdf .
<6>
http://www.victimsofcrime.org/media/reporting-on-child-sexual-abu
se/child-sexual-abuse-statistics .
<7>
http://www.victimsofcrime.org/media/reporting-on-child-sexual-abu
se/child-sexual-abuse-statistics .
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