BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 827
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|Author: |O'Donnell |
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|Version: |June 2, 2015 Hearing |
| |Date: July 8, 2015 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Lynn Lorber |
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Subject: Safe schools: Safe Place to Learn Act: lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, and questioning pupil resources
SUMMARY
This bill requires local educational agencies serving students
in any of grades 7-12 to include in existing information
relative to anti-discrimination policies information on existing
schoolsite and community resources to support students who are
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning.
BACKGROUND
Existing law:
1)Prohibits discrimination in public schools on the basis of
disability, gender, gender expression, nationality, race or
ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other
characteristic that is contained in the definition of hate
crimes.
(Education Code § 200, et seq.)
2)Requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to
monitor, through its Categorical Program Monitoring process,
and assess whether school districts have:
a) Adopted policies prohibiting discrimination, harassment,
intimidation, and bullying based on the actual or perceived
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characteristics including disability, gender, gender
identity, gender expression, nationality, race or
ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or association
with a person or group with one or more of those actual or
perceived characteristics.
b) Adopted a process for receiving and investigating
complaints relating to discrimination, harassment,
intimidation, and bullying, including all of the following:
i) A requirement that school personnel who witness such
acts take immediate steps to intervene when safe to do
so.
ii) A timeline for the investigation and resolution of
complaints, and an appeal process
iii) Publicized to students, parents, employees, the
governing board of the district, and the general public,
anti-discrimination, anti-harassment, anti-intimidation,
and anti-bullying policies, including information about
the manner in which to file a complaint. (EC § 234.1)
ANALYSIS
This bill requires local educational agencies serving students
in any of grades 7-12 to include in existing information
relative to anti-discrimination policies information on existing
schoolsite and community resources to support students who are
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ).
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires each school district, county office of education, and
charter school serving any of grades 7-12, as part of
publicizing anti-discrimination policies, to provide
information to certificated school site staff serving those
grades relative to schoolsite and community resources for the
support of students who are LGBTQ.
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2)Authorizes schoolsite resources to include:
a) Peer support or affinity clubs and organizations.
b) Safe spaces for students who are LGBTQ.
c) Counseling services.
d) School staff who have received anti-bias or other
training aimed at supporting students who are LGBTQ or who
serve as designated support personnel for those students.
e) Health and other curriculum materials that are inclusive
of, and relevant to, students who are LGBTQ.
f) Online anti-bullying curriculum developed by the
California Department of Education.
g) Anti-bullying and harassment policies, and related
complaint procedures.
1)Authorizes community resources to include:
a) Community-based organizations that provide support to
students who are LGBTQ and their families.
b) Physical and mental health providers with experience in
treating and supporting students who are LGBTQ.
1)States legislative findings and declarations relative to
harassment faced by students who are LGBTQ and the benefits of
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creating supportive learning environments.
STAFF COMMENTS
1)Need for the bill. According to the author, "Many teachers are
unsure of how to support their LGBTQ students, and research
has shown the LGBTQ students who are harassed do not report
these incidents to school staff because they believe that the
adults will not address these problems. The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part of its risk
behavior prevention activities, monitors and funds local
efforts to create supportive school environments LGBTQ
students. The CDC reports that 50% of California schools
facilitate access to schoolsite and community health resources
for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning
(LGBTQ) students, and 39% have Gay Straight Alliance clubs."
2)Provides information through an existing process. Current law
requires local educational agencies to publicize to students,
parents, employees, the governing board of the district, and
the general public, anti-discrimination, anti-harassment,
anti-intimidation, and anti-bullying policies, including
information about the manner in which to file a complaint.
This bill expands the information to be publicized to include
information on existing schoolsite and community resources to
support students who are LGBTQ. This bill does not require
schools to provide schoolsite resources, refer students to
resources, or train schoolsite staff about those resources.
3)Fiscal impact. According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill would impose unknown, likely minor, costs
for school districts and county offices of education to
distribute information consistent with existing
anti-discrimination policies.
SUPPORT
American Civil Liberties Union
California Latinas for Reproductive Justice
California Teachers Association
Equality California
Gay-Straight Alliance Network
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Gender Spectrum
LGBTQ Center of Long Beach
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
National Center for Lesbian Rights
Transgender Law Center
OPPOSITION
None received.
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