BILL NUMBER: AB 302 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Cristina Garcia
FEBRUARY 12, 2015
An act to add Section 222 to the Education Code,
relating to pupil services.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 302, as amended, Cristina Garcia. Pupil services: lactation
accommodations.
Existing law requires every an
employer to provide a reasonable amount of break time to accommodate
an employee desiring to express breast milk for the employee's infant
child. Existing law requires the employer to make reasonable efforts
to provide the employee with the use of a room or other location,
other than a toilet stall, in close proximity to the employee's work
area, for the employee to express milk in private. Existing law
establishes the California School Age Families Education Program,
which is a comprehensive, continuous, and community linked
school-based program that focuses on youth development and dropout
prevention for pregnant and parenting pupils and on child care and
development services for their children.
This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would respect and uphold the rights and education
opportunities of pregnant and parenting pupils, including providing
lactation accommodations.
Existing federal law requires an educational institution to treat
pregnancy, childbirth, recovery from childbirth, and other specified
conditions in the same manner and under the same policies as any
other temporary disability. Existing law also prohibits
discrimination on the basis of disability, gender, or other specified
characteristics in any program or activity conducted by an
educational institution that receives, or benefits from, state
financial assistance or enrolls pupils who receive state financial
aid.
This bill would require a school district to provide reasonable
accommodations to a lactating pupil on a high school campus to
express breast milk, breastfeed an infant child, or address other
needs related to breastfeeding. The bill would require that these
reasonable accommodations include, but are not limited to, access to
a private and secure room, other than a restroom, to express breast
milk or breastfeed an infant child, permission to bring onto a school
campus any equipment used to express breast milk, access to a power
source for that equipment, and access to a place to safely store
expressed breast milk. The bill would also require that a lactating
pupil on a high school campus be given a reasonable amount of time to
accommodate the need to express breast milk or breastfeed an infant
child. The bill would require a school district to provide reasonable
accommodations, as specified, only if there is at least one
lactating pupil on a high school campus in that district. The bill
would also include a statement of legislative findings and
declarations. By imposing additional duties on school districts, this
bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no
yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:
(a) Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. Sec.
1681 et seq.) prohibits sex discrimination in educational
institutions, which includes discrimination against pregnant and
parenting pupils.
(b) The federal regulations implementing Title IX of the Education
Amendments of 1972 specify that sex discrimination includes
discrimination against a pupil based on pregnancy, childbirth, false
pregnancy, termination of pregnancy, or recovery from
childbirth-related conditions.
(c) The federal regulations implementing Title IX of the Education
Amendments of 1972 require a pupil with temporary medical conditions
occasioned by pregnancy or related to recovery from childbirth to be
treated the same as any other pupil with a temporary disability.
(d) The Sex Equity in Education Act (Article 4 (commencing with
Section 221.5) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the
Education Code) prohibits sex discrimination in educational
institutions, which includes discrimination against pregnant and
parenting pupils.
(e) The regulations implementing the Sex Equity in Education Act
prohibit educational institutions from applying any rule concerning a
pupil's actual or potential parental, family, or marital status that
treats a pupil differently on the basis of sex.
(f) The Unruh Civil Rights Act (Section 51 of the Civil Code)
prohibits businesses, including public schools, from discriminating
based on sex, which includes discrimination on the basis of
pregnancy, childbirth, or medical conditions related to pregnancy or
childbirth.
(g) Denial of accommodations to a pupil who chooses to breastfeed
or express breast milk while at school is prohibited sex
discrimination.
(h) Despite these laws, California schools are failing to
accommodate the needs of lactating pupil parents on their campuses by
providing them with reasonable time and private space to express
breast milk, breastfeed infant children, or address other needs
related to breastfeeding.
SEC. 2. Section 222 is added to the
Education Code , to read:
222. (a) A school district shall provide reasonable
accommodations to a lactating pupil on a high school campus to
express breast milk, breastfeed an infant child, or address other
needs related to breastfeeding. Reasonable accommodations under this
section include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Access to a private and secure room, other than a restroom, to
express breast milk or breastfeed an infant child.
(2) Permission to bring onto a school campus a breast pump and any
other equipment used to express breast milk.
(3) Access to a power source for a breast pump or any other
equipment used to express breast milk.
(4) Access to a place to store expressed breast milk safely.
(b) A lactating pupil on a high school campus shall be provided a
reasonable amount of time to accommodate her need to express breast
milk or breastfeed an infant child.
(c) A school district shall provide the reasonable accommodations
specified in subdivisions (a) and (b) only if there is at least one
lactating pupil on a high school campus in that district.
SEC. 3. If the Commission on State Mandates
determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs
shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of
Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature
to enact legislation that would respect and uphold the rights and
education opportunities of pregnant and parenting pupils, including
providing lactation accommodations.