BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 606|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 606
Author: Levine (D), et al
Amended: 8/23/06 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 8-2, 6/21/06
AYES: Scott, Alquist, Lowenthal, Romero, Simitian, Soto,
Speier, Torlakson
NOES: Maldonado, Denham
NO VOTE RECORDED: Morrow
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 8-5, 8/17/06
AYES: Murray, Alarcon, Alquist, Escutia, Florez, Ortiz,
Romero, Torlakson
NOES: Aanestad, Ashburn, Battin, Dutton, Poochigian
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 45-32, 1/26/06 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Safe schools: discrimination and harassment
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill establishes the Safe Place to Learn
Act requiring the California Department of Education (CDE)
to develop, and school districts to adopt, a model policy,
and take other actions to prevent or remedy discrimination
and harassment based on specified characteristics including
actual or perceived gender identity and sexual orientation.
This bill also charges the CDE to post specified
information on a web site and strengthen complaint and
CONTINUED
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compliance actions with regard to discrimination and
harassment.
ANALYSIS : Current law, Education Code, declares that it
is the policy of the state to afford all persons in public
schools, regardless of their sex, ethnic group
identification, race, national origin, religion, mental or
physical disability, or regardless of any actual or
perceived characteristic that is contained in the
definition of hate crimes set forth in Section 422.55 of
the Penal Code, equal rights and opportunities in the
educational institutions of the state.
Current law, Penal Code, also defines a "hate crime" as a
criminal act committed, in whole or in part, because of one
or more of the following actual or perceived
characteristics of the victim: (1) disability, (2) gender,
(3) nationality, (4) race or ethnicity, (5) religion, (6)
sexual orientation, and (7) association with a person or
group with one or more of these actual or perceived
characteristics.
Current law also provides that 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.
This bill:
1. Establishes the Safe Place to Learn Act declaring that
it is the policy of the state to:
A. Ensure that all school districts and schools
continue to work to reduce discrimination,
harassment, and violence.
B. Improve pupil safety at schools and the
connections between pupils and supportive adults,
schools, and communities.
2. Requires CDE to:
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A. Develop a model antidiscrimination and
antiharassment policy that prohibits discrimination
and harassment based on characteristics set forth in
current law, including gender identity and sexual
orientation.
B. Post the model policy on its Internet web site for
school districts to download.
3. Requires school districts to:
A. Adopt and publicize the model policy developed by
CDE. For the purposes of this bill, "publicize"
means to post on the web site of the district or to
make a written copy of the policy available, upon
request, in the administrative office.
B. Update specified publications on school safety to
include information on bias-related discrimination
and harassment based on characteristics set forth in
current law including gender identity and sexual
orientation.
C. Include information, during normal trainings or
when disseminating information about discrimination
and harassment, on methods of identifying and
responding to bias-related discrimination and
harassment.
D. Maintain documentation of all complaints of
discrimination and harassment.
4. Requires the CDE to display information on trainings,
curricula, and other resources that specifically address
bias-related discrimination and harassment based on the
characteristics set forth in current law, including
gender identity and sexual orientation, on the
California Healthy Kids Resource Center Internet web
site.
5. Declares that a complaint alleging that a school
district is not complying with the law established by
this act may be filed with the CDE pursuant to the
Uniform Complaint Procedure.
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6. Provides that the Superintendent of Public Instruction
may use any lawful means, including the withholding of
funds from school districts, to effect compliance with
this act, and further provides that any funds withheld
shall be used to implement the California Student Safety
and Violence Prevention Act of 2000.
7. Provides that nothing in the California Student Safety
and Violence Prevention Act of 2000 precludes the
inclusion of any material in a program or activity
conducted by an 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.
Comments
Need for the bill . According to the author, the 2004
California Healthy Kids Survey found that 7.5 percent of
California students reported being harassed on the basis of
actual or perceived sexual orientation. Furthermore, the
author argues that "many teachers and administrators have
not been trained to prevent and respond to illegal
harassment and discrimination. Most students do not know
how to file a complaint. School districts are responding
to complaints in an inconsistent manner and many districts
are failing to address the issue entirely."
Previous legislation . The California Student Safety and
Violence Prevention Act of 2000 was established by AB 537
(Kuehl), Chapter 587, Statutes of 1999, to link prohibited
discrimination in public or private schools to the list of
characteristics that define a hate crime, and to establish
the need for safe, secure, and peaceful schools in order to
prevent discrimination and teen suicide.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2006-07 2007-08
2008-09 Fund
State mandated local
program
Anti discrimination/ $750 $0
$0General*
harassment model policy
Publications updating Minor costs
CDE oversight Minor, absorbable costs
ongoingGeneral
* Counts toward meeting Proposition 98 minimum funding
guarantee
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/21/06)
AIDS Project Los Angeles
American Civil Liberties Union
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees
Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality
California Schools Employees Association, AFL-CIO
California State Employees Association
California State PTA
California Teachers Association
City of West Hollywood
Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
Office of the Attorney General
Public Advocates, Inc.
San Francisco Unified School District
Service Employees International Union, Local 1000
State Treasurer Phil Angelides
OPPOSITION : (Verified 6/21/06)
California Catholic Conference
California Concerned Women for America
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Calvary Chapel of El Cajon
Traditional Values Coalition
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Baca, Berg, Bermudez, Calderon, Canciamilla, Chan,
Chavez, Chu, Cohn, Coto, De La Torre, Evans, Frommer,
Goldberg, Hancock, Jerome Horton, Jones, Karnette, Klehs,
Koretz, Laird, Leno, Levine, Lieber, Lieu, Liu, Matthews,
Montanez, Mullin, Nation, Nava, Negrete McLeod, Oropeza,
Parra, Pavley, Ridley-Thomas, Ruskin, Saldana, Salinas,
Torrico, Umberg, Vargas, Wolk, Yee, Nunez
NOES: Aghazarian, Benoit, Blakeslee, Bogh, Cogdill,
Daucher, DeVore, Emmerson, Garcia, Harman, Haynes,
Shirley Horton, Houston, Huff, Keene, La Malfa, La Suer,
Leslie, Maze, McCarthy, Mountjoy, Nakanishi, Niello,
Plescia, Richman, Sharon Runner, Spitzer, Strickland,
Tran, Villines, Walters, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Arambula, Bass, Dymally
NC:mel 8/23/06 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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