BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 302
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 29, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
302 (Cristina Garcia) - As Amended April 20, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
Yes
SUMMARY:
This bill requires schools operated by school districts, County
Offices of Education (COEs), California School for the Blind and
School for the Deaf, and charter schools to provide reasonable
AB 302
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accommodations to breastfeeding students to express breast milk,
breastfeed, or other address other needs related to
breastfeeding. These requirements apply where at least one
lactating student is attending. Specifically, this bill:
1)Defines reasonable accommodations as access to a private and
secure room (other than a restroom) to express milk or
breastfeed a child. Further requires access to a power source
and a place to store breast milk safely.
2)Requires that a lactating student be provided a reasonable
amount of time to express milk or breastfeed. Specifies a
student shall not incur an academic penalty as a result of her
use of the accommodations, as specified, and shall be provided
the opportunity to make up work missed.
3)Applies the requirements of the bill to an expedited Uniform
Complaint Procedures (UCP) process. Specifically, requires
the local education agency (LEA), within five days of receipt
of a complaint, to conduct a complete investigation and issue
a written decision. Further authorizes a complaint to be
appealed to the California Department of Education (CDE), who
shall issue a written decision within 30 days of receipt of
the appeal.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Unknown Proposition 98/GF state mandated costs for schools to
provide specific accommodations, such as access to a place to
safely store breast-milk. There are approximately 4,100
schools serving grades 7 through 12. Statewide costs could
range from $200,000 to $400,000 to provide a place to store
milk, such as a small refrigerator. Actual costs will depend
on the size and types of claims districts submit to the
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Commission on State Mandates (CSM).
2)Unknown Proposition 98/GF state mandated costs to expand the
existing UCP mandate to require LEAs to investigate and
respond to complaints of non-compliance within five days. In
2012, there were approximately 35,000 teen births to women
ages 15-19 and teens under 15 combined. There are 1,044 school
districts in California. For illustration, if 5% of districts
filed cost claims similar to those filed under the existing
mandate, costs could range from $70,000 to $100,000. The
existing UCP mandate is currently included in the K-12 Mandate
Block Grant. If the CSM determines the requirements of this
bill impose a higher level of service, this could place
pressure on the Legislature to increase funding under the K-12
Mandate Block Grant.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. The author's office states, "Under federal Title IX
and the California Sex Equity in Education Act, pregnant
students and those recovering from childbirth-related
conditions must be provided with the same accommodations and
support services available to other students with temporary
medical conditions." The author states that pregnant and
parenting students should not be forced to make decisions
about where to attend school, or whether to breastfeed their
child solely based on whether they can access appropriate
lactation accommodations at school. California law should be
clear that accommodations for lactating students include
access to a private, secure room to breastfeed or express
milk.
2)Background. Existing state labor code requires every
employer, including the state and any political subdivision,
to provide a reasonable amount of break time to accommodate an
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employee desiring to express breast milk for the employee's
infant child. Labor code further requires an 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. The room or location may include the
place where the employee normally works if it otherwise meets
the requirements of this section. Current law does not
require access to a place to store milk.
3)Opposition. The Association of California School
Administrators (ACSA) is opposed to the bill unless amended to
remove the provisions which specify the kind of space provided
to students for expressing milk. ACSA notes that while there
is a need to provide accommodations for lactating students,
the approach in this bill is too restrictive, and that
decisions on how best to implement "reasonable accommodations"
should be left to local discretion.
Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916)
319-2081