BILL ANALYSIS
SB 161
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Date of Hearing: June 15, 2005
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Jackie Goldberg, Chair
SB 161 (Soto) - As Amended: April 21, 2005
SENATE VOTE : 22-15
SUBJECT : California Youth Access to Information Act (CYAIA).
SUMMARY : Establishes the CYAIA which requires the State
Department of Education (SDE) to post on its website, a
statement in English and Spanish that delineates certain rights
of students relative to health and safety issues. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Requires the SDE, on or before July 1, 2006, to prepare a
statement of pupil rights in both English and Spanish that
shall include all of the following statements:
a) You have the right to consent to medical care related to
the prevention or treatment of pregnancy;
b) If you may have come into contact with an infectious,
contagious, or communicable disease, you have the right to
consent to medical care related to the diagnosis or
treatment of that disease if you are 12 years of age or
older;
c) You may consent to medical care related to the diagnosis
and treatment of an alleged sexual assault and the
collection of medical evidence with regard to the alleged
sexual assault;
d) You may consent to medical care and counseling relating
to the diagnosis and treatment of a drug- or
alcohol-related problem if you are 12 years of age or
older;
e) You may consent to mental health treatment or counseling
on an outpatient basis if you are 12 years of age or older;
f) You have the inalienable right to attend classes on
school campuses that are safe, secure, and peaceful;
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g) You have the right to be free from discrimination on the
basis of sex, ethnic group identification, race, national
origin, religion, color, mental or physical disability, or
any actual or perceived characteristic that is contained in
the definition of hate crimes;
h) You have the right to surrender your newborn child to a
hospital or a fire station within 72 hours of giving birth
without being asked any questions;
i) You have the right to change your mind about giving your
baby up for adoption, and to rescind the adoption, within
30 days of relinquishing your child to the State Department
of Social Services or to a licensed adoption agency; and
j) You have the right to be read Miranda warnings prior to
any interrogation if you are taken into custody.
2)Authorizes the SDE to alter the statements listed above with
regard to the reading and comprehension level of pupils.
3)Prohibits the SDE from including additional information
intended to persuade pupils to make specific decisions or
removing any references to specific provisions of law
contained in the statements.
4)Requires the statement to also contain a statement that
directs pupils to the local department of health services,
local department of social services, school nurse, or school
counselor for further information.
5)Requires the SDE to annually review the statement for accuracy
and post the statement on its website on or before July 1,
2006.
6)Authorizes a school district to display the statement at
school facilities and requires the statement to be printed in
no less than 12-point bold type and requires the statement to
be titled "California Youth Access to Information Act."
7)Makes several legislative findings and declarations and states
legislative intent to enact legislation to ensure that the
information required by the CYAIA is provided to pupils
between 12 and 17 years of age, with the understanding that
California's youth have a responsibility to themselves, to
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their peers, and to the state.
EXISTING LAW establishes certain rights relating to a child's
ability to consent to certain medical care, rights relating to
adoption procedures, and rights relating to criminal procedure
and also provides pupils with certain rights relating to the
attendance of safe schools, and the right to be free from
discrimination in schools.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, no direct fiscal effect pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8.
COMMENTS : How are districts and students made aware of the
statement ? According to the author, "Although the rights
included in the bill are part of existing law, there is no
document that ties all of the rights together, nor is there a
requirement to make California's youth aware of all of the
rights."
While the bill creates a document outlining student's rights;
the bill does not require that students be notified that the
statement exists. The bill merely states legislative to "enact
legislation to ensure that the information required by the CYAIA
is provided to pupils between 12 and 17 years of age, with the
understanding that California's youth have a responsibility to
themselves, to their peers, and to the state." Staff recommends
the bill be amended to require the SDE to notify districts once
the information is available on the website and to encourage
districts to include a link to the SDE webpage on the district's
website.
This bill was introduced as a response to conclusions made by a
teen pregnancy consortium in the Senator's district. According
to the author, in 2003, it was revealed that the 32nd Senatorial
district has the 4th highest teen pregnancy rate in the State of
California. In an effort to mitigate this problem, the Senator
created the 32nd Senatorial District Teen Pregnancy Prevention
Consortium, which is comprised of stakeholders, community
members and youth. The Consortium has been meeting for the past
two years, analyzing and researching the core reasons for teen
pregnancy. The conclusion of the Consortium was that many of
the barriers youth face come from a lack of knowledge about
resources available to them. They are not exposed to many of
the laws that are pertinent to their lives, which would allow
them to become more responsible citizens. The author contends
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the bill is not intended to remove parents' responsibilities or
involvement in their children's lives. Rather, it facilitates a
more functional relationship between students, their parents and
their schools.
Arguments in support. According to Pomona City Councilmember
Daniel Rodriguez, "SB 161 is practical legislation which simply
seeks to let California's youth know what their rights are, with
the understanding that they have a responsibility to themselves,
their peers and society. That knowledge will help California's
youth arm themselves with information and seek out available
resources in order to prevent problems such as teenage
pregnancy, school dropouts and violence from growing amongst
them. Dissemination of this information will also help
California's youth continue to be a functional part of society,
thereby having a positive fiscal impact on the State."
Arguments in opposition. According to the Concerned Women for
America, "Many of the 'rights' to be included in the list are
actions that minors may take without their parents' knowledge or
consent - and that also have potentially serious emotional and
physical consequences. Posting this list on the department's
site and, in particular, at school campuses places our schools
in the position of encouraging students to circumvent the
important counsel of parents."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
ABC Unified School District
Buenanueva Foundation, Inc.
California Alliance Concerned with School age Parenting and
Pregnancy Prevention
California Association of Student Councils
East Valley Community Health Center
EcoSmart Environmental Technologies
El Nido Family Centers
Helping Other People Excel
Los Angeles County Inter-agency Council on Child Abuse and
Neglect
MAHEC
Marin County Youth Commission
Net Check Investigations
New Harvest Church
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Oneighty 2 Youth Services
Pomona City Councilmember Daniel Rodriguez
Pomona Valley Youth Employment Services, Inc.
Reproductive Rights Network of Santa Cruz County
Soledad Enrichment Action, Inc.
Vista High School Teen Parent Program
Youth Leadership Institute
Many individual letters
Opposition
California Family Alliance
Capitol Resource Institute
Concerned Women for America
Analysis Prepared by : Misty Padilla / ED. / (916) 319-2087