BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Tom Torlakson, Chairman
88 (Lieu)
Hearing Date: 07/09/07 Amended: 07/02/07
Consultant: Dan Troy Policy Vote: ED 9-0
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 88 would require the Department of Education
(SDE) to work with the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) to
ensure that the list of resources regarding internet safety from
the California Cyber Safety Resource Center (CSRC) addresses
various criteria. The bill would also require SDE to make the
list available on its own website.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 Fund
Internet Safety $100 $100 $100 General
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STAFF COMMENTS:
Current law, Chapter 313/2006 (AB 307, Chavez) requires SDE, by
July 1, 2007, to develop guidelines for information regarding
the safe use of the internet that should be included in district
education technology plans. The Department for Consumer Affairs
has created the Cyber Safety for Children website that will soon
include the CSRC, which will, among other things, provide an
annotated list of internet safety resources for parents,
educators, and law enforcement. This bill would require the SDE
to work with the DCA to ensure the following issues are address
on the CSRC:
Safe and responsible internet communication and
navigation.
Keeping personal information and pictures private.
Recognizing and reporting online sexual predator
solicitation.
Recognizing and avoiding unsolicited communication.
Spy ware countermeasures.
Copyrights, plagiarism, and illegal file sharing.
SDE would also be required to make the CSRC list available on
their website.
SDE indicates annual costs of approximately $100,000 for this
activity. The costs are largely driven by the need to perform
"social content" reviews of the material cited. Further, as the
bill does not specify that this is a one-time or periodic
activity, the cost of the reviews would be ongoing. Staff
recommends amending the bill so that the SDE is only required to
review and identify appropriate resources every three years,
rather than continuously.
Related legislation, SB 1740 (Murray, 2006), which would have
required SDE to
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AB 88 (Lieu)
develop and maintain internet safety curriculum guidelines, was
vetoed by the Governor because the development of the curriculum
would have circumvented the authority of the State Board of
Education to develop and approve curricula, and also because the
Cyber Safety for Children project was underway.