BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 949 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 949 (Gonzalez) As Amended May 6, 2015 Majority vote ------------------------------------------------------------------- |Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes | | | | | | | | | | | |----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------| |Arts |6-0 |Calderon, | | | | |Obernolte, Chu, | | | | |Levine, Medina, | | | | |Nazarian | | | | | | | |----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------| |Education |7-0 |O'Donnell, Chávez, | | | | |Kim, McCarty, | | | | |Santiago, Thurmond, | | | | |Weber | | | | | | | |----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------| |Appropriations |17-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, | | | | |Bonta, Calderon, | | | | |Chang, Daly, | | | | |Eggman, Gallagher, | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Eduardo Garcia, | | | | |Gordon, Holden, | | | | |Jones, Quirk, | | AB 949 Page 2 | | |Rendon, Wagner, | | | | |Weber, Wood | | | | | | | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: Would require the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), in consultation with the State Department of Education, to develop guidelines, procedures, and safety standards for the purpose of classifying competition cheer as an interscholastic sport, as specified, no later than July 1, 2017. This bill would also require the CIF to seek a United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Title IX compliance designation for competition cheer, and would specify that competition cheer shall not be counted toward a school's Title IX compliance unless the United States Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights deems competition cheer compliant with its definition of a sport. FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, there are no additional costs for the California Department of Education for consultation with the CIF, which is not a state-funded entity. COMMENTS: This bill creates competition cheer as a new interscholastic sport governed by the CIF. With the creation of competition cheer as a new interscholastic sport, participants in the sport will be governed by rules adopted by CIF, competition cheer coaches will be required to complete the same training as all other interscholastic coaches, and participants will be eligible for an exemption from physical education courses, like all other interscholastic sport participants. It should be noted that competition cheer is different than sideline cheer. Competition cheer will be regulated like all other interscholastic sports, meaning that they will compete in regular direct competitions with other teams, and only compete during one season. Sideline cheer that you might see at football and basketball games is not competition cheer and will not be considered an AB 949 Page 3 interscholastic sport. According to the author, this bill would create new safety guidelines for training and potentially spark changes in athletic department funding for cheer at California high schools. The recognition of cheer as an official sport will provide resources to cheer coaches and cheerleaders consistent with other CIF-sanctioned sports. The benefits of having the same CIF standards will ensure a certain level of coaching competency and skill once safety guidelines are developed by the California Department of Education and CIF. Incidents of cheer injuries - including fractures, spinal damage, head injuries, concussions and paralysis - have increased (as cheer has become more popular). According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, in 2011, there were almost 37,000 emergency room visits for cheer injuries. Cheer injuries account for approximately 65% of all catastrophic injuries in girls' high school athletics, according to a recent report by the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research at the University of North Carolina. The medical field has recognized the dramatically increase popularity of cheer and injuries. The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a policy statement and The American Medical Association adopted the policy to consider cheer a sport because of its rigors and risks. Please see Assembly Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism, and Internet Media analysis for full discussion of the measure. Analysis Prepared by: Dana Mitchell / A.,E.,S.,T., & I.M. / (916) 319-3450 FN: 0000528 AB 949 Page 4