Amended in Senate August 16, 2016

Amended in Assembly April 26, 2016

Amended in Assembly April 12, 2016

Amended in Assembly March 17, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2845

Introduced by Assembly Member Williams

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(Coauthor: Assembly Member McCarty)

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February 19, 2016

An act to amend Sections 234.1 and 234.5 of the Education Code, relating to school safety.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2845, as amended, Williams. School safety: Safe Place to Learn Act.

Existing law establishes the system of public elementary and secondary schools in this state, and provides for the establishment of local educational agencies to operate these schools and provide instruction to pupils. Existing law states the policy of the State of California to afford all persons in public schools, regardless of their disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other specified characteristic, equal rights and opportunities in the educational institutions of the state. Existing law, the Safe Place to Learn Act, requires the State Department of Education, as part of its regular monitoring and review of a local educational agency, to assess whether the local educational agency has, among other things, adopted a policy that prohibits discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying, as specified, and has publicized that policy to pupils, parents, employees, agents of the governing board, and the general public.

Existing law also requires the department to assess whether the local educational agency has provided to certificated schoolsite employees who serve pupils in any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, information on existing schoolsite and community resources related to the support of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning pupils, as specified.

This bill would express legislative findings and declarations relating to pupils who are subject to verbal, physical, and online harassment. The bill would add the support of pupils who face bias or bullying on the basis of religious affiliation, or perceived religious affiliation.

Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to post, and annually update, on the department’s Internet Web site and provide to each school district a list of statewide resources, including community-based organizations, that provide support to youth who have been subjected to school-based discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying, and their families.

This bill would instead provide that that list include statewide resources, including community-based organizations, that provide support to youth, and their families, who have been subjected to school-based discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying on the basis of religious affiliation, begin insert nationality, race, or ethnicity, end insert or perceived religious begin delete affiliation. end delete begin insert affiliation, nationality, race, or ethnicity. end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(1) All pupils deserve and need safe and supportive school
environments in which to learn.

(2) Pupils who are Muslim, Sikh, or of South Asian descent
often face verbal, physical, or online harassment, all of which have
significant effects on their academic achievement and mental
health.

(3) Recent reports indicate that more than half of Muslim and
Sikh pupils in California report that they have faced verbal threats
or insults, cyberbullying, or physical assaults.

(4) The federal government has recognized the harm that is
caused by such bullying, and has called upon Muslim parents to
contact the United States Department of Justice or the United States
Department of Education if their children are bullied at school.
The White House has initiated the Asian American and Pacific
Islander Bullying Prevention Task Force in response to concerns
about the bullying of Muslim, Sikh, and Asian American pupils.

(5) Multiple studies demonstrate that pupils who face bullying
suffer academically. Bullying is also linked to negative outcomes,
including impacts on mental health, substance use, and suicide.

(6) Research demonstrates that Muslim, Sikh, and other pupils
who face hate-based bias and bullying in school do not report these
incidents to school staff, primarily because they believe that school
staff are not trained to address these issues.

(7) Creating supportive learning environments improves pupil
performance.

(8) The United States Department of Education provides
numerous resources for schools to support pupils who are facing
bullying due to their religion, race, or national origin. These
resources were highlighted in an open letter dated December 31,
2015, and sent by the United States Secretary of Education to
education administrators throughout the nation.

(b) The Legislature therefore encourages school districts, county
offices of education, and charter schools to provide information
on existing schoolsite and community resources to educate
teachers, administrators, and other school staff on the support of
Muslim, Sikh, and other pupils who may face anti-Muslim bias
and bullying, as required by subdivision (d) of Section 234.1 of
the Education Code.

SEC. 2.  

Section 234.1 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

234.1.  

The department, pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section
64001, shall monitor adherence to the requirements of Chapter 5.3
(commencing with Section 4900) of Division 1 of Title 5 of the
California Code of Regulations and this chapter as part of its
regular monitoring and review of local educational agencies,
commonly known as the Categorical Program Monitoring process.
The department shall assess whether local educational agencies
have done all of the following:

(a) Adopted a policy that prohibits discrimination, harassment,
intimidation, and bullying based on the actual or perceived
characteristics set forth in Section 422.55 of the Penal Code and
Section 220 of this code, and 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 these actual or perceived characteristics. The policy shall include
a statement that the policy applies to all acts related to school
activity or school attendance occurring within a school under the
jurisdiction of the superintendent of the school district.

(b) Adopted a process for receiving and investigating complaints
of discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying based
on any of the actual or perceived characteristics set forth in Section
422.55 of the Penal Code and Section 220 of this code, and
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 these actual or perceived
characteristics. The complaint process shall include, but not be
limited to, all of the following:

(1) A requirement that, if school personnel witness an act of
discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying, they shall
take immediate steps to intervene when safe to do so.

(2) A timeline to investigate and resolve complaints of
discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying that shall be
followed by all schools under the jurisdiction of the school district.

(3) An appeal process afforded to the complainant should he or
she disagree with the resolution of a complaint filed pursuant to
this section.

(4) All forms developed pursuant to this process shall be
translated pursuant to Section 48985.

(c) Publicized antidiscrimination, anti-harassment,
anti-intimidation, and antibullying policies adopted pursuant to
subdivision (a), including information about the manner in which
to file a complaint, to pupils, parents, employees, agents of the
governing board, and the general public. The information shall be
translated pursuant to Section 48985.

(d) (1) Provided, incident to the publicizing described in
subdivision (c), to certificated schoolsite employees who serve
pupils in any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, who are employed by
the local educational agency, information on existing schoolsite
and community resources related to the support of lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) pupils, or related
to the support of pupils who may face bias or bullying on the basis
of religious affiliation, or perceived religious affiliation.

(2) As used in this subdivision, both of the following apply:

(A) Schoolsite resources may include, but are not limited to,
peer support or affinity clubs and organizations, safe spaces for
LGBTQ or other at-risk pupils, counseling services, staff who have
received antibias or other training aimed at supporting these pupils
or who serve as designated support to these pupils, health and other
curriculum materials that are inclusive of, and relevant to, these
pupils, online training developed pursuant to Section 32283.5, and
other policies adopted pursuant to this article, including related
complaint procedures.

(B) Community resources may include, but are not limited to,
community-based organizations that provide support to LGBTQ
or other at-risk pupils and their families, and physical and mental
health providers with experience or training in treating or
supporting these pupils.

(e) Posted the policy established pursuant to subdivision (a) in
all schools and offices, including staff lounges and pupil
government meeting rooms.

(f) Maintained documentation of complaints and their resolution
for a minimum of one review cycle.

(g) Ensured that complainants are protected from retaliation
and that the identity of a complainant alleging discrimination,
harassment, intimidation, or bullying remains confidential, as
appropriate.

(h) Identified a responsible local educational agency officer for
ensuring school district or county office of education compliance
with the requirements of Chapter 5.3 (commencing with Section
4900) of Division 1 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations
and this chapter.

(i) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require school
employees to engage with religious institutions in the course of
identifying community support resources pursuant to this section.

SEC. 3.  

Section 234.5 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

234.5.  

(a) The Superintendent shall post, and annually update,
on the department’s Internet Web site and provide to each school
district a list of statewide resources, including community-based
organizations, that provide support to youth, and their families,
who have been subjected to school-based discrimination,
harassment, intimidation, or bullying, including school-based
discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying on the basis
of religious affiliation, begin insert nationality, race, or ethnicity, end insert or perceived
religious begin delete affiliation. end delete begin insert affiliation, nationality, race, or ethnicity. end insert

(b) The department’s Internet Web site shall also include a list
of statewide resources for youth who have been affected by gangs,
gun violence, and psychological trauma caused by violence at
home, at school, and in the community.