BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 819|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 819
Author: Jackson (D), et al
Amended: 4/30/01 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 11-2, 7/11/01
AYES: Vasconcellos, McPherson, Alarcon, Alpert, Chesbro,
Karnette, O'Connell, Ortiz, Scott, Sher, Vincent
NOES: Knight, Monteith
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/10/01 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : School safety
SOURCE : California Alliance Against Domestic Violence
DIGEST : This bill amends the Carl Washington School
Safety and Violence Prevention Act to add that school sites
receiving funds pursuant to the act provide age-appropriate
instruction in domestic violence prevention, dating
violence prevention, and interpersonal violence prevention.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires the State Department of
Education (SDE), through its Healthy Kids Resources Center,
to identify and distribute information to public schools
about programs or curricula on self-reliance and safety
that are designed to teach students the skills and help
them develop the self-esteem necessary to recognize and
prevent child endangerment, such as abduction, abuse, and
neglect.
CONTINUED
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Existing law requires all California public schools, in
kindergarten and grades one to 12, inclusive, develop a
comprehensive school safety plan that includes, but is not
limited to:
1.Assessing the current status of school crime committed on
school campuses and at school-related functions.
2.Identifying appropriate strategies and programs that will
provide or maintain a high level of school safety and
address the school's
procedures for complying with existing laws related to
school safety, which will include the development of all
of the following:
3.Child abuse reporting procedures.
4.Disaster procedures, routing and emergency.
5.Policies for pupils who committed an act leading to
suspension, expulsion, or mandatory expulsion
recommendations,
6.A sexual harassment policy.
7.The provisions of any school-wide dress code that
prohibits pupils from wearing "gang-related apparel," if
the school has adopted such a dress code. For those
purposes, the comprehensive school safety plan shall
define "gang-related apparel" and enforce the dress code
on the school campus and at any school-sponsored
activity.
7.Procedures for safe ingress and egress of pupils, parent
and school employees to and from school,
8.A safe and orderly environment on school discipline.
9.Rules and procedures on school discipline.
Existing law also provides for the Carl Washington School
Safety and Violence Prevention Act, which provides for a
funding scheme with certain objectives, and an allocation
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formula for eligible schools.
Funded with over $70 million in the current year and in the
proposed 2001 Budget Act, funds under the Carl Washington
Act are allocated to schools on the basis of enrollment in
grades 8 to 12, although they may be distributed amongst
any grade within the school district. However, because of
the enrollment allocation, elementary school districts that
serve grades K-7 do not receive any of these funds. For
two straight years, the Legislature has attempted to remedy
this deficiency, but the extended allocation for grades
below grade eight has been vetoed by the Governor.
This bill amends the Carl Washington School Safety and
Violence Prevention Act to add that schoolsites receiving
funds pursuant to the Act provide age-appropriate
instruction in domestic violence prevention, dating
violence prevention, and interpersonal violence prevention.
Prior Legislation
AB 558 (Jackson), which contained similar language to this
bill, was vetoed by the Governor in 1999. In his veto
message, the Governor stated:
"While I am supportive of efforts to reduce
domestic violence, I cannot support this bill for
the following reasons. Existing law already
requires instruction in the principles and
practices of individual, family, and community
health. In addition, if districts chose to
provide such instruction this bill could result
in redirections of up to $7 million away from
core academic programs. Any such issues should
be addressed through the annual Budget Act.
Finally, this bill contains no provision for
parents to exempt their children from this
instruction if they so choose.
"I would support a requirement that the state's
health curriculum framework, as adopted by the
State Board of Education, include sections on
domestic violence. This revision would be
included as part of the regular curriculum
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framework adoption process. Any such legislation
should also include a provision allowing for
parents to exempt their children from instruction
in this area."
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/16/01)
California Alliance Against Domestic Violence (source)
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
National Organization for Women
California Commission on the Status of Women
California School Employees Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author contends, "Over the
past few years we have started to recognize and address the
problem of domestic violence as a public health crisis.
While we have begun to recognize the need to more severely
punish those who commit violence against women, we must
also try to effect societal change to reduce the incidence
of domestic violence. If we can reach children at an early
age with the message that domestic violence is never
acceptable, we will be able to break the cycle and greatly
decrease the number of families affected."
"Domestic violence is a crime that endangers individuals
and families, causes injury or sometimes death and has a
devastating emotional, economic and societal cost. As many
as six million women are victims of domestic violence in
this country each year. Millions of children grow up in
homes where they witness domestic violence. Many of these
children believe that domestic violence is the norm and
either grow up to become perpetrators or new victims
themselves. AB 819 will bring domestic violence prevention
education into our school classrooms so that children learn
from an early age that domestic violence is a crime and
that there is no place for it in our society for such
unacceptable behavior. This is particularly important
given the prevalence of teen dating violence. Studies show
that one in four high school and college students surveyed
said that they had experienced violence in a dating
relationship."
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The author notes there is an ever-increasing need to break
the cycle of violence at an early age, and that addressing
the various aspects of domestic violence is an important
strategy in this regard. Adding these elements to the
goals that must be met by schools receiving school safety
funds will help meet this objective.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR
AYES: Aanestad, Alquist, Ashburn, Bates, Bogh, Briggs,
Calderon, Bill Campbell, John Campbell, Canciamilla,
Cardenas, Cardoza, Cedillo, Chan, Chavez, Cogdill, Cohn,
Corbett, Correa, Cox, Daucher, Diaz, Dickerson, Dutra,
Firebaugh, Florez, Frommer, Goldberg, Harman, Havice,
Hollingsworth, Jackson, Keeley, Kehoe, Kelley, Koretz, La
Suer, Leach, Leonard, Leslie, Longville, Lowenthal,
Maddox, Maldonado, Matthews, Migden, Mountjoy, Nakano,
Nation, Negrete McLeod, Oropeza, Robert Pacheco, Rod
Pacheco, Papan, Pavley, Pescetti, Reyes, Richman, Runner,
Salinas, Shelley, Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland,
Strom-Martin, Thomson, Vargas, Washington, Wayne, Wesson,
Wiggins, Wright, Wyland, Wyman, Zettel, Hertzberg
NC:kb 7/16/01 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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