BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 2845


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          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS


          AB  
          2845 (Williams)


          As Amended  August 16, 2016


          Majority vote


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          Original Committee Reference:  ED.


          SUMMARY:  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 staff serving students in grades 7 through 12 on  
          resources related to bullying due to religious affiliation, and  
          requires the CDE to post on its Web site a list of resources  
          that support students who have been subject to school-based  
          discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived religious  
          affiliation, nationality, race, or ethnicity.


          The Senate amendments require that Superintendent post on its  
          Web site, and annually update, 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 nationality, race, or  








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          ethnicity, or perceived nationality, race, or ethnicity.


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Senate Appropriations  
          Committee, based on the August 1 2016, amended version:


          1)Costs to the CDE of approximately $20,000 General Fund in the  
            first year to add additional resources to the department  
            website on school-based discrimination, harassment,  
            intimidation, or bullying on the basis of religious  
            affiliation, or perceived religious affiliation.
          2)Ongoing costs of approximately $10,000 General Fund to  
            incorporate LEA compliance review into the existing compliance  
            monitoring process.


          3)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.  See  
            staff comments.  (Proposition 98)


          COMMENTS:  


          Need for the bill.  The author states, "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  
          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?and 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."










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          Surveys of California Muslim and Sikh students find high rates  
          of bullying.  A 2015 report published by the California chapter  
          of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, titled Mislabeled:  
           The Impact of School Bullying and Discrimination on California  
          Muslim Students, reported data from surveys of 500 Muslim  
          students in California.  It found:


          1)55% of students surveyed reported being subjected to some form  
            of bullying based on their religious identity.  According to  
            the report, this is twice as high as the national percentage  
            of students who report being bullied at school.
          2)29% of the female students who wear a hijab, the Islamic  
            headscarf, reported being offensively touched by another  
            student, and 27% reported being discriminated against by their  
            teacher.


          3)19% of students reported cyberbullying based on religion.


          4)20% of students reported that school staff either made  
            offensive comments about the students' religion or allowed  
            other students to make such remarks, and 20% of students who  
            reported bullying were unhappy with the response from school  
            administrators.


          A 2014 publication by the Sikh Coalition, titled "Go Home  
          Terrorist:"  A Report on Bullying Against Sikh American School  
          Children reported data from a survey and focus groups with  
          several hundred Sikh students in Fresno.  It also found high  
          rates of bullying:


          1)54% of Sikh youth have experienced bullying or harassment, 21%  
            report being bullied or harassed at least once a week, and 13%  
            report bullying almost daily.


          2)67% of Sikh youth who wear turbans and maintain uncut hair in  
            accordance with religious beliefs have experienced bullying  








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            and harassment.


          3)63% of those bullied believed they were bullied on the basis  
            of religion or ethnicity, and almost 27% believed it was  
            because other students thought they looked like terrorists.


          4)51% of Sikh youth believe school officials do not respond  
            adequately to bullying incidents.


          CDE bullying resource website.  This bill requires the CDE to  
          include information on bullying and discrimination based on  
          religious affiliation on its website.  Pursuant to current law,  
          the CDE 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 (lesbian, gay, bisexual,  
          transgender, queer) 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.


          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Tanya Lieberman / ED. / (916) 319-2087  FN:   
          0004518