BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 827
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Date of Hearing: May 13, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
827 (O'Donnell) - As Amended May 4, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
Yes
SUMMARY:
This bill requires each school operated by a school district or
county office of education (COE) or charter school, within the
first six weeks of every school year, as part of a regularly
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scheduled staff meeting, to provide in-service training to
teachers of pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, and to all
other certificated employees at that school, on schoolsite and
community resources for the support of lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) pupils. Specifically, this
bill:
1)Specifies schoolsite resources for the support of LGBTQ pupils
may include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
peer support or affinity clubs and organizations; safe spaces
for LGBTQ pupils; antibullying and harassment policies and
related complaint procedures; counseling services; school
staff who have received antibias or other training aimed at
supporting LGBTQ youth; and health and other curriculum
materials that are inclusive of, and relevant to, LGBTQ youth.
2)Specifies community resources for the support of LGBTQ pupils
include, but are not limited to community-based organizations
that provide support to LGBTQ youth and physical and mental
health providers with experience in treating and supporting
LGBTQ youth.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Proposition 98/GF reimbursable state mandated costs to school
districts and COEs, potentially in excess of $2.5 million.
Charter schools would also incur costs, however they are not
eligible for mandate reimbursement. There are an estimated
600,000 classified and certificated staff that would be required
to be trained pursuant to this bill. Costs will depend on the
approach to training. If in-person training were provided by an
outside consultant in approximately 1,000 school districts,
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costs could exceed $2.5 million annually. If training were
provided through an online training module, costs could be
significantly less.
COMMENTS:
Purpose. According to the author, all students need and deserve
safe and supportive schools in which to learn. AB 827 will make
California's schools more effective learning environments for
LGBTQ students by providing teachers with the information they
need to support their students. Young people are coming out
earlier and in greater numbers than ever before. Yet despite
much progress, California LGBTQ students continue to face
verbal, physical, and online harassment. This harassment has
direct effects on their academic achievement - increasing
truancy, lowering grade point averages, and resulting in poor
attitudes toward school. Research has shown that when LGBTQ
students have access to supports in school, they perform better
academically, skip school less, and have more positive attitudes
toward school. This bill will make teachers aware of resources
for the support of these students by requiring schools to
provide annual training to teachers on resources available to
support LGBTQ students, both at school and in the local
community.
Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
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