BILL NUMBER: AB 606 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 31, 2006
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 30, 2006
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 28, 2006
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 23, 2006
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 28, 2006
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 23, 2006
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 4, 2006
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Levine
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Hancock, Jones, Klehs, Koretz, Laird,
Lieber, Pavley, Saldana, and Vargas)
(Coauthors: Senators Kuehl, Migden, Ortiz, and Romero)
FEBRUARY 17, 2005
An act to amend Section 241 of, and to add Article 5.5 (commencing
with Section 234) to Chapter 2 of Part 1 of, the Education Code,
relating to discrimination.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 606, Levine Safe schools: discrimination and harassment.
Existing law prohibits discrimination on the basis of specified
protected characteristics, including, but not limited to, actual and
perceived gender identification and sexual orientation, in any
program or activity conducted by an educational institution, as
specified.
This bill would require the State Department of Education to
develop a model antidiscrimination and antiharassment policy, by
January 1, 2008, that prohibits discrimination and harassment based
on specified characteristics, including, but not limited to, actual
or perceived gender identity and sexual orientation, for school
districts to adopt, as specified. The bill would require the
department to post the model policy on its Internet Web site for
school districts to download. The bill would require a school
district to adopt the model policy developed by the department and
publicize, as defined, the policy. The bill would require a school
district to take specified actions related to increasing awareness
of, preventing, and ensuring appropriate responses to, incidences of
discrimination and harassment based on those protected
characteristics. By requiring school districts to perform additional
duties, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
This bill would provide that a complaint of noncompliance with its
provisions may be filed with the department under the existing
Uniform Complaint Procedures, as specified. The bill would allow the
Superintendent of Public Instruction, if he or she determines that a
school district is not in compliance, to use any means authorized by
law to effect compliance, including, but not limited to, the
withholding of all or part of the relevant state fiscal support of
the school district.
The bill would require the State Department of Education to
display information on trainings, curricula, and other resources that
specifically address bias-related discrimination and harassment
based on any of the specified protected characteristics, as
specified.
Existing law, the California Student Safety and Violence
Prevention Act of 2000, declares that its provisions do not require
the inclusion of specified instructional materials in any program or
activity conducted by an educational institution or postsecondary
educational institution. Existing law declares that its provisions
are not violated by the omission of any specified instructional
material in any program or activity conducted by an educational
institution or postsecondary educational institution.
This bill would, in addition, declare that the existing act does
not preclude the inclusion of specified instructional materials in
any program or activity conducted by an educational institution or
postsecondary educational institution that furthers or supports the
obligation of schools to combat bias-related discrimination and
harassment, provide equal educational opportunities to all pupils,
and to protect the inalienable right of each pupil to attend a campus
that is safe, secure, and peaceful.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) All pupils in public primary, elementary, junior high, and
senior high schools have the inalienable right to attend campuses
that are safe, secure, and peaceful.
(b) Pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 201 of the Education
Code, public schools in California have an affirmative obligation to
combat racism, sexism, and other forms of bias, and a responsibility
to provide equal educational opportunity.
(c) The California Student Safety and Violence Prevention Act of
2000 reaffirmed the right of all pupils to a safe school environment
by prohibiting a person from being subjected to discrimination on the
basis of actual and perceived gender identity and sexual orientation
in any program or activity conducted by an educational institution
that receives, or benefits from, state financial assistance or
enrolls pupils who receive state student financial aid.
(d) (1) Studies show that pupils in California continue to
experience discrimination and harassment, and that discrimination and
harassment based on actual and perceived gender identity and sexual
orientation is particularly pervasive.
(2) Many teachers, school staff members, and pupils are unaware of
the rights and obligations regarding discrimination and harassment
set forth in Sections 200, 201, and 220 of the Education Code.
(3) Many teachers and school staff members have not received
effective and comprehensive training to prevent or respond to illegal
discrimination and harassment. This training is particularly lacking
with respect to discrimination and harassment on the basis of actual
and perceived gender identity and sexual orientation.
(4) Many school districts are not effectively addressing
discrimination and harassment on campus, particularly with respect to
discrimination and harassment based on actual and perceived gender
identity and sexual orientation.
(5) Many pupils do not know the manner in which to file a
discrimination or harassment complaint.
(6) Many school districts are responding to complaints about
discrimination and harassment in an inconsistent manner.
(e) In a public hearing conducted on October 3, 2002, by the
California Senate Select Committee on School Safety, pupils,
teachers, parents, researchers, and advocates from all over the state
testified about incidents of ongoing discrimination and harassment
and an inadequate response from school authorities.
(f) Numerous studies point to an ongoing problem of
discrimination, harassment, and violence that has severe consequences
for pupils and schools. For example, the 2001-02 California Healthy
Kids Survey found that 37.4 percent of California pupils reported
experiencing bias-related harassment at school, and that 7.5 percent
of California pupils reported being harassed on the basis of actual
and perceived gender identity and sexual orientation.
(g) Bias-related discrimination and harassment has negative
consequences for pupil health, well-being, and academic success. For
example, the Safe Place to Learn report issued by the California Safe
Schools Coalition and the 4-H Center for Youth Development at the
Davis campus of the University of California found that pupils who
are harassed based on actual or perceived sexual orientation are at
least three times more likely to carry a weapon to school, to
seriously consider suicide, to make a plan for attempting suicide, or
to miss at least one day of school per 30 schooldays because they do
not feel safe.
(h) The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held
in High Tech Gays v. Defense Indus. Sec. Clearance Office, 895 F.2d
563, 570-571 (9th Cir. 1990), that actual or perceived sexual
orientation can be the basis for membership in an identifiable class
for purposes of protection under the equal protection clause of the
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
(i) A number of school districts have paid hundreds of thousands
of dollars in damages to settle lawsuits by pupils claiming their
schools failed to protect them from harassment, intimidation, and
violence, including a June 2005 jury award of $300,000 in San Diego
to two former high school pupils for the harassment they received at
school based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation.
SEC. 2. Article 5.5 (commencing with Section 234) is added to
Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the Education Code, to read:
Article 5.5. Safe Place To Learn Act
234. (a) This article shall be known and may be cited as the Safe
Place to Learn Act.
(b) It is the policy of the State of California to ensure that all
school districts and schools continue to work to reduce
discrimination, harassment, and violence. It is further the policy of
the state to improve pupil safety at schools and the connections
between pupils and supportive adults, schools, and communities.
234.1. The department shall develop a model antidiscrimination
and antiharassment policy by January 1, 2008, that prohibits
discrimination and harassment based on the characteristics set forth
in Section 422.55 of the Penal Code and Section 220, including, but
not limited to, actual or perceived gender identity and sexual
orientation, that school districts shall adopt pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 234.2. The department shall post the model
policy on its Internet Web site for school districts to download.
This section does not prohibit a school district from voluntarily
adopting antidiscrimination and antiharassment policies that provide
additional protections for pupils beyond those protections included
in the model policy.
234.2. (a) A school district shall do all of the following:
(1) Adopt and publicize the model antidiscrimination and
antiharassment policy, developed by the department pursuant to
Section 234.1, that prohibits discrimination and harassment based on
the characteristics set forth in Section 422.55 of the Penal Code and
Section 220, including, but not limited to, actual or perceived
gender identity and sexual orientation. For purposes of this
paragraph, "publicize" means to post the policy on the Internet Web
site of the school district or to make a written copy of the policy
available, upon request, in the administrative office of the
district. This subdivision does not prohibit a school district from
voluntarily engaging in any other means of publication or
distribution, including, but not limited to, the inclusion of
antidiscrimination and antiharassment policies in pupil handbooks.
(2) During the normal course of reprinting, update all applicable
publications on school safety, bullying, tolerance, bias-motivated
behavior, and hate-related violence to include information on
bias-related discrimination and harassment based on the
characteristics set forth in Section 422.55 of the Penal Code and
Section 220, including, but not limited to, actual or perceived
gender identity and sexual orientation. For purposes of this
paragraph, "all applicable publications" does not include
instructional materials as defined in subdivision (h) of Section
60010.
(3) During the normal course of offering trainings or
disseminating information related to discrimination and harassment,
include information on methods of identifying and responding to
bias-related discrimination and harassment based on the
characteristics set forth in Section 422.55 of the Penal Code and
Section 220, including, but not limited to, actual or perceived
gender identity and sexual orientation. A school district may use
trainings that include the information described in this paragraph
for purposes of the professional development of teachers and other
school staff members.
(4) Maintain documentation of all complaints of discrimination and
harassment.
(b) The department shall display information on trainings,
curricula, and other resources that specifically address bias-related
discrimination and harassment based on the characteristics set forth
in Section 422.55 of the Penal Code and Section 220, including, but
not limited to, actual or perceived gender identity and sexual
orientation, on the California Healthy Kids Resource Center Internet
Web site.
234.3. (a) A complaint alleging that a school district is not
complying with this article may be filed with the department pursuant
to the Uniform Complaint Procedures as set forth in regulations and
procedures promulgated pursuant to Section 11138 of the Government
Code.
(b) If the Superintendent determines that a school district is not
complying with this article, pursuant to subdivision (a) or
otherwise, he or she may use any means authorized by law to effect
compliance with this article, including, but not limited to, the
withholding of all or part of the relevant state fiscal support of
the school district.
(c) Any funds withheld by the Superintendent pursuant to
subdivision (b) shall be used to implement the California Student
Safety and Violence Prevention Act of 2000.
(d) This article does not abrogate or limit any other basis of
liability or any other remedy that is otherwise available at law.
SEC. 3. Section 241 of the Education Code is amended to read:
241. (a) Nothing in the California Student Safety and Violence
Prevention Act of 2000 requires the inclusion of any curriculum,
textbook, presentation, or other material in any program or activity
conducted by an educational institution or postsecondary educational
institution; the California Student Safety and Violence Prevention
Act of 2000 shall not be deemed to be violated by the omission of any
curriculum, textbook, presentation, or other material in any program
or activity conducted by an educational institution or postsecondary
educational institution.
(b) Nothing in the California Student Safety and Violence
Prevention Act of 2000 precludes the inclusion of any curriculum,
textbook, presentation, or other material in any program or activity
conducted by an educational institution or postsecondary educational
institution that furthers or supports the obligation of schools to
combat bias-related discrimination and harassment, to provide equal
educational opportunities to all pupils, and to protect the
inalienable right of each pupil to attend a campus that is safe,
secure, and peaceful.
SEC. 4. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.