BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1290
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Date of Hearing: June 16, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
SB 1290 (Kehoe) - As Amended: April 28, 2010
SENATE VOTE : 25-3
SUBJECT : Physical education: self-defense and safety
instruction.
SUMMARY : Requires the state board of education (SBE) to include
self-defense and safety instruction in the next revision of the
physical education (PE) framework for students in grades 7, 8,
9, 11 and 12. Specifically, this bill defines:
1)Self-defense instruction to include, but not necessarily be
limited to, martial arts, boxing, and other defensive
techniques.
2)Safety instruction to include, but not necessarily be limited
to, awareness and avoidance of potentially dangerous
situations.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires high school PE to be judged on whether or not the
course of study provides for instruction in each of the
following areas: effects of physical activity upon dynamic
health, mechanics of body movement, aquatics, gymnastics and
tumbling, individual and dual sports, rhythms and dance, team
sports, and combatives for boys. (California Code of
Regulation, Title 5, Section 10060)
2)Provides a framework for self-defense instruction to be
included in course two of high school PE in the combatives
section. (2009 Physical Education Framework)
3)Defines combative activities to include wrestling, fencing,
boxing, kickboxing, martial arts, and self-defense. (2009
Physical Education Framework)
4)Prohibits the SBE from reviewing frameworks and adopting
instructional materials until the 2013-14 school year.
(Education Code 60200.7)
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FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : This bill requires the PE frameworks to be revised to
include self-defense and safety instruction in grades 7, 8, 9,
11 and 12. The committee should consider whether it is
appropriate to codify specific instructional topics for a
certain course subject. If one considers PE just like any other
content area, should the state be more prescriptive with regard
to PE instructional topics, as compared to the other subject
areas?
According to the author, the intent of SB 1290 is to provide
school districts with enhanced authority to better prepare
students to avoid and handle threatening situations when they
arise. On February 25, 2010, a 17-year-old San Diego County
resident named Chelsea King was attacked and killed after
apparently jogging alone near Lake Hodges. The attacker has
confessed to the murders of both Chelsea and Amber Dubois, a 14
year-old victim who was killed in February 2009. Following his
arrest, another jogger came forward to allege that she had been
assaulted by the same man two months earlier. That jogger had
received martial arts training and was able to fend off the
attack. Although she had received training in advanced
self-defense techniques, her experience demonstrates the public
value of educating students on basic self-defense techniques.
In an effort to help give all students basic instruction on how
to defend themselves against physical assault, SB 1290 aims to
incorporate self-defense training into the PE framework for high
school students. The bill may not turn California public school
students into self-defense experts, but it will ensure that
school districts have the option of making pupils familiar with
methods of avoiding physical assault and increasing awareness of
how to handle unsafe situations.
Physical Education Content Standards, Framework & Regulation .
The PE model content standards provide guidance for developing
PE programs by identifying what each student in California
should know and be able to do at each grade level. The
standards highlight the fact that participation in physical
activity is not the same as learning the content in PE. The
content standards address a student's ability to demonstrate
motor skills, movement patterns, knowledge of physical fitness,
and knowledge of psychological and sociological concepts that
apply to physical activity, among others. Decisions about how
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best to teach the standards are left to teachers, schools, and
local educational agencies.
The PE framework assists administrators and teachers with
instituting standards-based PE instruction and programs that are
effective for every student; and, provides instructional
suggestions for teachers on each standard at each grade level.
The framework describes the why, when, and how of assessing
student learning and presents detailed examples of different
types of assessment. Focusing on the tools for standards-based
instruction, the framework highlights the instructional content
of the model content standards, student assessments,
instructional considerations, universal access, support, and
instructional resources.
Specifically with regard to self-defense instruction, the PE
framework suggests that high school course two (which is grade
10) should address three content areas: combatives, gymnastics
and tumbling, and team activities. The framework states,
"self-defense is one option for addressing the content area of
combatives. Because it is directly related to student safety,
it is an important area for physical educators to teach and
students to learn. The emphasis of this unit is on how to
defend, not how to fight. The unit begins with students
learning about potentially unsafe situations and how to avoid
them. Safety skills are the initial focus of instruction. Only
after learning safety skills do students begin to learn how to
protect themselves should they be attacked." Because
self-defense and safety are already included in the PE framework
for grade 10, this bill only requires the inclusion of
self-defense and safety for grades, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12.
State regulation also specifies that school districts shall
judge the quality of a high school PE program based upon whether
or not the course of study provides for instruction in each of
the following areas: effects of physical activity upon dynamic
health, mechanics of body movement, aquatics, gymnastics and
tumbling, individual and dual sports, rhythms and dance, team
sports, and combatives for boys.
Framework Adoption Process . The process of adopting
instructional materials begins with the review and update of the
curriculum framework. The framework development process
typically takes 24 months from initiation to approval by the
SBE. Once the framework for a particular subject is adopted by
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the SBE, the instructional material adoption process begins,
which includes submissions from publishers, review by the
Instructional Materials Advisory Reviewer and Content Review
Expert, Curriculum Commission hearings and SBE adoption. The
adoption process typically takes 30 months. Schools were
required to provide pupils with instructional materials within
24 months of adoption by SBE, but this requirement is suspended
from the 2008-09 to 2012-13 fiscal year.
The processes for reviewing frameworks and adopting
instructional materials has been suspended since July 2009,
pursuant to AB 2 X4 (Evans), Chapter 2, Statutes of 2009, which
among other things, prohibited the SBE from reviewing frameworks
and adopting instructional materials until the 2013-14 school
year. AB 2 also extended to the 2012-13 fiscal year the
suspension of the requirement to purchase instructional
materials within any specific period of time following adoption
of those materials by the SBE.
A number of recent bills have sought to amend the curriculum
standards and frameworks, and some have required instruction in
a particular subject matter. Because the education code is
permissive, districts can offer self-defense instruction already
in high school. The committee should also consider whether
self-defense and safety instruction should be included in the
next revision of the PE frameworks since they are the blueprint
for instruction in PE courses across the state.
Committee Amendments : Staff recommends the bill be amended to
require the SBE and the Curriculum Development and Supplemental
Materials Commission to include these provisions in the next
revision of the PE framework.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
Planned Parenthood
San Diego Unified School District
WEAVE
Numerous Individuals
Opposition
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None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087