BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | ACR 60|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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CONSENT
Bill No: ACR 60
Author: Santiago (D)
Amended: 5/20/15 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 8-0, 6/17/15
AYES: Liu, Runner, Block, Hancock, Leyva, Monning, Pan, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Mendoza
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 74-0, 5/22/15 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Education: students with disabilities
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This resolution resolves that the Legislature affirms
that state policies and procedures should use People First
Language to the greatest extent possible.
ANALYSIS: Existing federal and state law require that every
student with exceptional needs be provided a free appropriate
public education in the least restrictive environment. (United
States Code, Title 20, § 1400 et seq. and Education Code § 56000
et seq.)
This resolution resolves that:
1)The language used to refer to students with disabilities has a
profound impact in shaping beliefs and attitudes about these
students, driving policies and laws, influencing our feelings
and decisions, and affecting students' daily lives.
2)Old, inaccurate, and inappropriate descriptors about students
ACR 60
Page 2
with disabilities perpetuate negative stereotypes and
attitudinal barriers.
3)When we identify or describe students with disabilities
primarily in terms of their disability or medical diagnosis,
we undervalue and stigmatize them.
4)People First Language is an objective form of communication
that eliminates generalizations and stereotypes by focusing on
the person rather than the disability.
5)The Legislature affirms that state policies and procedures
should use People First Language to the greatest extent
possible, especially those used by state and local educational
agencies.
Comments
Existing efforts to use People First Language. The California
Strategic Plan on Reducing Mental Health Stigma and
Discrimination was adopted by the Mental Health Services
Oversight and Accountability Commission on June 25, 2009. This
plan supports the use of non-stigmatizing terms, such as People
First Language.
Members of the Advisory Commission on Special Education received
orientation and information on the use of People First Language
at their August 13, 2014 meeting.
Several areas of state statutes have been amended in recent
years to update terminology, using People First Language,
including:
1)AB 1847 (Chesbro, Chapter 144, Statutes of 2014), among other
things, changed references from "incompetent person" to
"person lacking legal capacity to make decisions," and from
"the mentally ill, mentally defective or epileptic" to
"persons with developmental disabilities or mental health
disorders."
2)SB 364 (Steinberg, Chapter 567, Statutes of 2013), among other
things, changed references from "mentally disordered persons"
ACR 60
Page 3
to "persons with mental health disorders," and from
"developmentally disabled persons" to "persons with
developmental disabilities."
3)SB 1381 (Pavley, Chapter 457, Statutes of 2012), among other
things, changed references from "mentally retarded persons" to
"persons with intellectual disabilities."
4)AB 2662 (Committee on Education, Chapter 589, Statutes of
2012), among other things, changed references from "mentally
retarded pupils" to "pupils with intellectual disabilities."
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified6/18/15)
United Domestic Workers of America, AFSCME Local 3930
OPPOSITION: (Verified6/18/15)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the United Domestic
Workers of America, AFSCME Local 3930, "when writing or speaking
about people with disabilities, it is important to put the
person first because when we identify or describe students with
disabilities in terms of their disability, we devalue and
stigmatize them."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 74-0, 5/22/15
AYES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla,
Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau,
Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly,
Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
ACR 60
Page 4
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low,
Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin,
Nazarian, Obernolte, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark
Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Alejo, Jones, O'Donnell, Olsen, Waldron,
Weber
Prepared by:Lynn Lorber / ED. / (916) 651-4105
6/18/15 14:30:12
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