BILL ANALYSIS Ó
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1178|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1178
Author: Vidak (R)
Introduced:2/18/16
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 8-0, 3/30/16
AYES: Liu, Block, Huff, Leyva, Mendoza, Monning, Pan, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hancock
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT: Superintendent of Public Instruction: child abuse
and neglect: poster
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill, an urgency measure, requires the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to develop a poster
that notifies children of the appropriate resources available
for reporting child abuse or neglect.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Establishes the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and
requires all school district teachers and employees are
considered to be "mandated reporters," including instructional
aides, teacher assistants, classified employees, and employees
of a school district police or security department. Mandated
reporters are required to report to any law enforcement
department knowledge or observations they may have of a child
they know or reasonably suspect to have been the subject of
child abuse or neglect. (Penal Code § 11165.7)
SB 1178
Page 2
2)Requires the California Department of Education (CDE), in
consultation with the Office of Child Abuse Prevention, to:
a) Develop and disseminate information to all school
districts, county offices of education, state special
schools and diagnostic centers, charter schools and their
school personnel regarding the detection and reporting of
child abuse.
b) Provide statewide guidance on the responsibilities of
mandated reporters who are school personnel.
c) Develop the appropriate means of instructing school
personnel in the detection of child abuse and neglect, as
specified.
d) Establish best practices for school personnel to prevent
abuse, as specified.
3)Requires CDE 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 student at a schoolsite. (EC §
33308.1)
This bill:
1)Requires the SPI to develop a poster that notifies children of
the appropriate resources available for reporting child abuse
or neglect. Specifically this bill:
a) Requires the SPI to:
i) Include the appropriate telephone number
to report child abuse or neglect.
ii) Post on the department's Internet Web
site specified versions of the poster for public
download.
SB 1178
Page 3
b) Authorizes the SPI to partner with government
agencies and nonprofit entities for purpose of design and
content.
c) Requires that the poster:
i) Be no smaller than 8.5 inches by 11 inches.
ii) Be produced in Spanish, English and
three other languages to be determined by the SPI.
iii) Direct children to call "911" in case of an
emergency.
2)Encourages school districts, charter schools and private schools
to post the appropriate version or versions in an area of the
school where students frequent.
3)Makes the bill an urgency measure in order to meet the deadline
requirement established by the bill.
Comments
1)Need for the bill. According to the author, while mandated
reporting laws train school staff to identify the signs of
suspected child abuse, children who do not exhibit these signs
may not receive the help they need. The author asserts that
after posters were placed in Texas schools, the number of
calls reporting suspected cases of abuse significantly
increased than in prior years. This bill seeks to provide
children with greater access to child abuse reporting
information by encouraging schools to display a poster,
developed by the SPI, in areas where children congregate.
2)Information directed to students. It appears that very little
information related to child abuse awareness is directed to
children in schools. Health education content standards,
developed by CDE, include strategies to promote child abuse
awareness directly to students. However, information included
in the standard does not ensure actual instruction. Other
tools and resources related to identifying the signs of child
SB 1178
Page 4
abuse or reporting cases of suspected child abuse are geared
toward adults who are mandated reporters such as teachers and
other school employees.
3)Is this the appropriate remedy? Notwithstanding the seriousness
of this issue, is legislation necessary for the development of
a poster? Could the author simply request that the
Superintendent of Public Instruction undertake the activities
outlined in the bill?
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified 4/12/16)
Children's Advocacy Centers of California
OPPOSITION: (Verified 4/12/16)
None received
Prepared by: Olgalilia Ramirez / ED. / (916) 651-4105
4/13/16 15:37:01
**** END ****