SB 1178, Vidak. Superintendent of Public Instruction: child abuse and neglect: poster.
Existing law requires the State Department of Education to adopt guidelines to be disseminated to parents or guardians of pupils that describe the procedures that a parent or guardian can follow in filing a complaint of child abuse with the school or a child protective services agency against a school employee or other person that commits an act of child abuse against a pupil at a schoolsite.
This bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to create a poster that notifies children of the appropriate telephone number to call to report child abuse or neglect. The bill would authorize the Superintendent to partner with various entities for purposes of design and content of the poster. The bill would require the poster to incorporate specified elements, including that it be produced in 5 different languages. The bill would require the Superintendent, on or before July 1, 2017, to post the downloadable versions of the poster on the department’s Internet Web site. The bill would state that the Legislature encourages school districts, charter schools, and private schools to post the appropriate version or versions of the poster in an area of the school where pupils frequently congregate.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 33133.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:
(a) The Superintendent shall create a poster that notifies children of the appropriate telephone number to call to report child abuse or neglect.
(b) The Superintendent may partner with other local, state, and federal agencies as well as nonprofit entities for purposes of the design and content of the poster.
(c) The poster shall incorporate the additional following elements:
(1) It shall include a note that directs a child to dial “911” in case of emergency.
(2) It shall be no smaller than 8.5 inches by 11 inches.
(3) It shall be produced in five languages, which shall be English, Spanish, and the top three languages other than English and Spanish that are spoken in the state as determined by the Superintendent.
(d) On or before July 1, 2017, the Superintendent shall post on the department’s Internet Web site all five versions of the poster for public download.
(e) The Legislature encourages school districts, charter schools, and private schools to post the appropriate version or versions of the poster in an area of the school where pupils frequently congregate.
This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order for the Superintendent of Public Instruction to have sufficient time to complete the poster required by Section 33133.5 of the Education Code, it is necessary that this act take immediate effect.
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