BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1437|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1437
Author: Kuehl (D), et al
Amended: 5/1/06
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 3-1, 4/4/06
AYES: Dunn, Escutia, Kuehl
NOES: Ackerman
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 8-3, 5/3/06
AYES: Scott, Alquist, Lowenthal, Romero, Simitian, Soto,
Speier, Torlakson
NOES: Maldonado, Denham, Morrow
SUBJECT : School instruction: prohibition of
discriminatory content
SOURCE : Equality California
DIGEST : This bill prohibits instruction, or the adoption
of any instructional material, that reflects adversely on
persons due to sexual orientation. This bill also adds the
age appropriate study of the role and contributions of
people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender to the
social science course of study that covers the contribution
of men, women and groups to development of the state and
nation.
ANALYSIS : Existing law prohibits instruction or the
CONTINUED
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adoption of instructional materials that reflect adversely
on people because of their race, sex, color, creed,
handicap, national origin or ancestry. Existing law also
sets forth various "courses of study" that list topics that
should be addressed at some time during public school
instruction and are reviewed prior to the adoption of
instructional materials related to the course of study.
The current course of study for instruction in the social
sciences calls for "?study of the role and contributions of
both men and women, black Americans, American Indians,
Mexicans, Asians, Pacific Island people, and other ethnic
groups to the economic, political, and social development
of California and the United States?"
Under the state Constitution, and statutory law, the State
Board of Education adopts instructional materials to be
used in grades 1 through 8 and local governing boards adopt
materials for grades 9 through 12.
This bill:
1.Recasts current law that prohibits instruction or school
activity that reflects adversely on people because of
specified characteristics to add "sexual orientation" and
updates the other characteristics, consistent with other
statutes, by replacing "sex, color, creed, handicap,
national origin or ancestry", with ethnicity, gender,
disability, nationality, and religion.
2.Provides that the terms "race, ethnicity, gender,
disability, nationality, sexual orientation or religion"
shall be as defined in section 422.56 of the Penal Code.
3.Recasts current law that prohibits the State Board of
Education, or local governing boards, from adopting
instructional materials that reflects adversely on people
because of specified characteristics to add "sexual
orientation" and updates the other characteristics,
consistent with other statutes, by replacing "sex, color,
creed, handicap, national origin or ancestry," with
ethnicity, gender, disability, nationality, or religion.
4.Revises the social sciences course of study to include
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the age appropriate study of the role and contributions
of people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender
to the development of California and the nation with
emphasis on their role in contemporary society.
5.Requires that when adopting instructional materials,
local governing boards may only include instructional
materials that they determine to accurately portray, in
an age appropriate manner, the cultural, racial, gender
and sexual orientation diversity of our society,
including the contributions of people who are lesbian,
gay, bisexual, or transgender to the development of
California and the United States.
Comments:
Non discrimination policy. According to the Judiciary
Committee analysis, "Since 1965, the prohibition against
discriminatory bias in education (including curriculum and
educational materials) has been expanded to reflect the
expansion of civil rights protections to all aspects of
society. Thus, in 1965 statutory prohibitions against
curricula and books reflecting bias against persons because
of national origin and ancestry were enacted followed in
1973 by prohibitions against discrimination on the basis of
sex. Disability was added in 1987 and in 2003, SB 71
(Kuehl), Chapter 650, Statutes of 2003, prohibits promotion
of bias against any person on the basis of any
characteristic generally protected against discrimination
in sexual health and HIV/AIDS prevention curriculum,
instruction and materials.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/10/06)
Equality California (sponsor)
Asian Americans for Civil Rights & Equality
Bienestar Human Services
Billy DeFrank Community Center
California Alliance for Arts Education
California Church Impact
California Federation of Teachers
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California Safe Schools Coalition
California Teachers Association
Cesar E. Chavez Institute, San Francisco University
Commission on the Status of Women
Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, San
Francisco-East Bay
Gay-Straight Alliance Network
Human Rights Campaign
L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center
Lambda Letters Project
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
National Association of Social Workers
National Center for Lesbian Rights
Office of California Attorney General Bill Lockyer
Our Family Coalition
Protection and Advocacy, Inc.
People for the American Way
Public Advocates, Inc.
San Francisco AIDS Foundation
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/10/06)
California Catholic Conference
California Family Alliance
Campaign for Children and Families
Concerned Women for America of California
Solano Republican Women Federated
Traditional Values Coalition
United Families California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author's office states,
"Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are almost
entirely omitted from textbooks and other instructional
materials in California schools [citing the National School
Climate Survey, GLSEN, 2003, which found that 76.2 percent
of youth reported that lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender issues were never addressed or discussed in
their class]. In the rare instances where lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender people are explicitly mentioned in
the classroom or in classroom materials, it is often in
negative terms or in relationship to pathology. The
absence from our curriculum of positive images of lesbian,
gay, bisexual or transgender people and their many
contributions to California and the United States is a
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disservice to all children. Silence and biased messages
about lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people only
promotes negative stereotypes and this, in turn, can lead
to discrimination, harassment, and violence."
In fact, the author's office states, research shows most
hate crime perpetrators, who are in their late teens and
early twenties, believe that they do not violate any social
norms by attacking those they perceive to be gay, lesbian,
bisexual or transgender. This fact exposes students who
are perceived to be or are associated with gays, lesbians,
bisexuals or transgenders in school to violence and
harassment, and places them at greater risk for suicide,
skipping school, drug and alcohol abuse and other
risk-taking behavior, according to that research.
Proponents argue that the high rates of suicide among
lesbians, gays, bisexuals transgender youth and hate crimes
indicate that students should not have to wait until high
school to begin to talk about the community and families in
health and age-appropriate ways. The National Center for
Lesbian Rights points out that the lesbians, gays,
bisexuals or transgender community represents a significant
and important part of the history and social fabric of
California it quotes the 2000 Census, that found that there
are more than 92,000 same-sex couples living together in
California and that 67 percent of student who learned about
Lesbians, gays, bisexuals, or transgenders issues at school
felt safer in their schools.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Opponents argue that, "[b]y
proactively teaching about sexual lifestyles of historical
figures, the schools will be implicitly offering those
behaviors as normal to children." They add that
"[a]dopting such a policy would clearly be pandering to a
tiny minority (one to three percent) of the population who
identify with aberrant sexual behavior." (Letter from
Concerned Women for America, dated March 30, 2006.)
In reference to the prohibition against discrimination in
textbook and instructional material that would include
"gender" and "sexual orientation" on the list of
characteristics, the same opponents argue that "SB 1437
flies in the face of parents as it seeks to place the
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schools, rather than parents, in control of the moral
attitudes and beliefs of their children. The average
parent would be outraged at alternative sexuality even
being discussed in the classroom. Such topics are the
domain of the home, not the schools."
NC:do 5/10/06 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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