BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2845
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
2845 (Williams)
As Amended August 16, 2016
Majority vote
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |67-0 |(May 27, 2016) |SENATE: |34-3 |(August 18, |
| | | | | |2016) |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------
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
AB 2845
Page 2
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."
AB 2845
Page 3
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
AB 2845
Page 4
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