BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                             
           AB 1056
                                                                  Page  1

          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
          AB 1056 (Chu)
          As Amended May 2, 2006
          Majority vote
           
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          |ASSEMBLY:  |51-28|(January 30,    |SENATE: |22-14|(August 24,    |
          |           |     |2006)           |        |     |2006)          |
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           Original Committee Reference:    ED.

          SUMMARY  :  Establishes the Tolerance Education Pilot Program  
          (Program).  

           The Senate amendments  :

          1)Define "tolerance" as attitudes and behaviors that convey  
            respect toward individuals and groups, especially those  
            individuals and groups that have been, and continue to be,  
            systematically and historically marginalized and specify that  
            tolerance does not mean a passive allowance or indulgence of the  
            beliefs or practices of another individual.
          
          2)Encourage pilot schools to consult and partner with human  
            relations commissions and civil rights organizations that are  
            involved in addressing discrimination.
          
          3)Add familial status to the list of actual or perceived  
            characteristics that can form the basis of discrimination  
            against individuals or groups.
          
          4)Require that each school that is selected to participate in the  
            program shall develop a plan to implement a tolerance and  
            intergroup relations curriculum.

           EXISTING LAW  requires the State Board of Education to review  
          existing curriculum frameworks for conformity with new statewide  
          standards and to modify the curriculum frameworks to bring them  
          into alignment with the standards.

           AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY  , this bill was silent on the definition  
          of "tolerance," and required pilot schools to consult with human  
          relations commissions and civil rights organizations.








                                                                             
           AB 1056
                                                                  Page  2

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Senate Appropriations Committee,  
          this bill would incur $250,000 (General Fund, Proposition 98) in  
          2006-2007 to implement a tolerance curriculum and unknown major  
          cost pressure to expand the pilot program statewide.
           
           COMMENTS  :  This bill is similar to AB 723 (Chu) of 2006, which was  
          vetoed by the Governor who felt that this was already being done.   
          Although tolerance curricula exist on a variety of Web sites, use  
          of them is voluntary.  This bill would provide pilot projects to  
          teach these curricula and gather information on the effectiveness  
          this instruction has on reducing violence and intolerance on  
          school campuses.  By integrating the instruction into core  
          classes, all students will learn about intolerance as a part of  
          regular literature and history.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Dee Brennick / ED. / (916) 319-2087


          FN:  
          0016631