BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1056
Page 1
GOVERNOR'S VETO
AB 1056 (Chu)
As Amended May 2, 2006
2/3 vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |51-28|(January 30, |SENATE: |22-14|(August 24, |
| | |2006) | | |2006) |
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|ASSEMBLY: |47-27|(August 29, | | | |
| | |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
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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.
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.
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE :
I vetoed a similar bill, AB 723 (Chu, 2005)
because it was a largely duplicative of current
efforts to provide more avenues to teach about
tolerance and human rights. For example, current
law already establishes a Center for the
Excellence on the Study of the Holocaust,
Genocide, Human Rights, and Tolerance (Center) to
provide teachers the training and resources to
effectively teach about these subjects. In
addition, the State Board of Education has
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adopted a Model Curriculum for Human Rights and
Genocide that is available to all schools.
Furthermore, the Center is required to submit a
report to the Administration and the Legislature
no later than January 31, 2007, outlining the
activities of the Center and reporting the
progress made in achieving its goals. It would
be prudent to review the progress being made
before any additional actions are contemplated.
Analysis Prepared by : Dee Brennick / ED. / (916)
319-2087
FN: 0017942