BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2845|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2845
Author: Williams (D), et al.
Amended: 8/16/16 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 9-0, 6/15/16
AYES: Liu, Block, Hancock, Huff, Leyva, Mendoza, Monning, Pan,
Vidak
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 6-1, 8/11/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza
NOES: Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 67-0, 5/27/16 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: School safety: Safe Place to Learn Act
SOURCE: Asian Americans Advancing Justice California
Council on American-Islamic Relations, California
Chapter
DIGEST: This bill requires the California Department of
Education (CDE), as part of its existing compliance monitoring
activities, to assess whether local educational agencies (LEAs)
have provided information to certificated staff serving students
in any of grades 7-12 and community resources for students who
may face bias or bullying on the basis of religious affiliation
or perceived religious affiliation. This bill also requires the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to post anti-bullying
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resources related to religious affiliation, nationality, race,
or perceived religious affiliation, nationality, race, or
ethnicity.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/16/16 add nationality, race, or
ethnicity to the basis for which the SPI is required to post
anti-bullying resources for on its Web site.
ANALYSIS:
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 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
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.
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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.
c) Provided information to certificated staff serving
grades 7-12 on schoolsite and community resources for
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning
(LGBTQ) students. (Education Code § 234.1)
This bill:
1)Requires the CDE, as part of its existing compliance
monitoring activities, assess whether LEAs have provided
information to certificated staff serving grades 7-12 on
school site and community resources to students subject to
bullying on the basis of religious affiliation or perceived
religious affiliation.
2)Requires that the SPI to post on its Web site, annually
update, 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 based on religious affiliation, nationality, race, or
ethnicity or perceived religious affiliation, nationality,
race, or ethnicity.
Comments
Need for the bill. According to the author, "the negative tone
in our national politics has enflamed a disturbing trend of
scapegoating and fear mongering of American Muslims. Recently,
a rash of hate crimes aimed at Muslims and Sikhs have occurred
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across the nation, including physical assaults and the
defacement of religious sites in California. AB 2845 aims to
address potential spikes in bullying and discrimination in our
public education system as a result of increased Islamophobia.
According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations,
California Chapter (CAIR-CA), 55% of American Muslim students
attending California public schools surveyed experience some
form of bullying based on their religious identity. This is
twice as high as the national statistic for students who report
being bullied at school. CAIR-CA also finds that American Muslim
youth continue to identify student-teacher relations as needing
improvement in addressing such bullying. Similarly, the Sikh
Coalition has reported that 50% of Sikh students have
encountered school bullying. This number increases
significantly for turbaned Sikh students, of which 67% have
encountered bullying. In Fresno, 51% of the students surveyed
reported that they felt school officials did not respond
adequately to bullying incidents. AB 2845 will ensure that
school employees will be provided schoolsite and community
resources so that our students are provided the assistance and
support they need when faced with school bullying and
discrimination.
Utilizes existing processes. Existing law requires the CDE to
monitor LEAs for adoption of processes for receiving and
investigating complaints of discrimination, harassment,
intimidation, and bullying, and also requires the CDE to
annually post on its Web site and provide to each school
district, a list of statewide resources that provide support to
youth who have been subjected to these acts. Further, existing
law requires LEAs to publicize anti-discrimination,
anti-harassment, anti-intimidation, and anti-bullying policies.
This bill requires the CDE, as part of its compliance monitoring
activities, to assess whether LEAs have provided information to
teachers serving grades 7-12 on schoolsite resources for
students who have been subject to these acts.
CDE bullying resource Web site. This bill also requires CDE to
include information on bullying and discrimination based on
religious affiliation on its Web site. Pursuant to existing
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law, the CDE already maintains a page of resources on bullying
on its Web site, which provides links to numerous resources for
program, policy, and curriculum on this topic. There are
resources listed that are specific to bullying of students with
disabilities, and bullying of LGBTQ students. While some
resources mention religious discrimination, there do not appear
to be any resources listed which specifically address
school-based bullying based on actual or perceived religious
affiliation.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Costs to the CDE of approximately $20,000 General Fund in the
first year to add additional resources to the department Web
site on school-based discrimination, harassment, intimidation,
or bullying on the basis of religious affiliation, or
perceived religious affiliation.
Ongoing costs of approximately $10,000 General Fund to
incorporate LEA compliance review into the existing compliance
monitoring process.
Potential state costs for LEAs to provide required information
to certificated staff. The CDE is required to monitor
compliance of this activity which may be perceived to impose a
reimbursable state mandate. If an LEA is required to comply,
statewide costs could be in the low tens of thousands.
(Proposition 98)
SUPPORT: (Verified8/12/16)
Asian Americans Advancing Justice - California (co-source)
Council on American-Islamic Relations, California Chapter
(co-source)
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Afghan Coalition
Arc and United Cerebral Palsy California Collaboration
Asian Law Alliance
American Civil Liberties Union of California
California Immigrant Policy Center
Islamic Center of San Diego
Islamic Networks Group
Islamic Society of North (San Diego) County
Muslim American Society Public Affairs and Civic Engagement
Muslim Community Center of Greater San Diego
National Association of Social Workers - California Chapter
San Jose Japanese American Citizens League
Santa Barbara Women's Political Committee
South Bay Islamic Association
Services, Immigrant Rights, and Education Network
Somali Family Service of San Diego, Inc.
South Asian Bar Association of Northern California
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/12/16)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 67-0, 5/27/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bonilla, Bonta, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau,
Chávez, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Eggman,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Gatto,
Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Harper, Roger
Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,
Lopez, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Mullin,
Nazarian, Obernolte, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas,
Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond,
Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bloom, Brough, Brown, Chiu, Dodd, Eduardo
Garcia, Grove, Hadley, Jones-Sawyer, Low, Melendez, O'Donnell,
Ting
Prepared by:Lenin DelCastillo / ED. / (916) 651-4105
8/17/16 15:49:18
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