BILL NUMBER: AB 223	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 15, 2009
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 25, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Members Ma and Lieu
   (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Cook)

                        FEBRUARY 4, 2009

   An act to add Section 51230.1 to the Education Code, relating to
physical education, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect
immediately.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 223, as amended, Ma. Physical education: Junior Reserve
Officers' Training Corps.
   Existing law provides that the governing board of any school
district maintaining a secondary school may establish in the school
courses in military science and tactics complying with the laws of
the United States made and provided with reference to Reserve
Officers' Training Corps units in educational institutions.
   This bill would make findings and declarations concerning the
value of Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) programs.
This bill would require the San Francisco Board of Education to make
JROTC courses available to pupils under its jurisdiction in grades 9
to 12, inclusive  , at all schools within the district where
JROTC courses were offered during the 2008-09 school year if it also
makes athletic programs available to those pupils  . 
Because this bill would require a school district to provide a higher
level of service and to perform additional administrative tasks,
this bill would create a state-mandated local program. 

   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.  
   This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions. 
   This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
   Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  yes
  no  . State-mandated local program:  yes
  no  .


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) is a
leadership and citizenship program offered before, during, and after
school in public high schools that fosters character development,
pupil achievement, leadership skills, wellness and physical fitness,
and civic responsibility.
   (b) The mission of the JROTC program is "To Motivate Young People
to be Better Citizens."
   (c) Pupils and instructors in the JROTC program volunteer
thousands of community service hours to their schools and
communities.
   (d) Pupils of all genders, races, and sexual orientations
participate in the JROTC program. Openly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and
transgender pupils number among the cadets and cadet leadership
staff.
   (e) The JROTC program has been cited by program alumni, parents,
principals, counselors, and teachers as supporting at-risk high
school pupils.
   (f) Over 90 percent of JROTC program participants go on to
college.
   (g) In November 2008, the voters of the City and County of San
Francisco overwhelmingly passed Proposition V by nearly 55 percent
urging the San Francisco City Unified School District to support the
JROTC program by continuing to make it available to district pupils.
   (h) The JROTC curriculum contains a rigorous and intense physical
 education   activity  component that
motivates pupils toward a lifelong commitment to physical fitness and
health.
  SEC. 2.  Section 51230.1 is added to the Education Code, to read:
   51230.1.  Consistent with the authority afforded to the governing
board of any school under Section 51750, the San Francisco Board of
Education shall make Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC)
courses available to pupils under its jurisdiction in grades 9 to 12,
inclusive  , at all schools within   the district where
JROTC courses were offered during the 2008-09 school year if it also
makes athletic programs available to those pupils  .
  SEC. 3.  The Legislature hereby finds and declares that due to
unique circumstances relating to the City and County of San
Francisco, a general statute cannot be made applicable within the
meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution.

  SEC. 4.    If the Commission on State Mandates
determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs
shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of
Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code. 
   SEC. 5.   SEC. 4.   This act is an
urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the
public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of
the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts
constituting the necessity are:
   In order to ensure that Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps
continue in existence in the San Francisco City Unified School
District with as high a rate of pupil participation as possible, it
is necessary that this measure take effect immediately.