BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  SB 1300|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SB 1300
          Author:   Correa (D)
          Amended:  6/1/10
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE  :  6-1, 4/21/10
          AYES:  Romero, Alquist, Hancock, Liu, Price, Simitian
          NOES:  Huff
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Maldonado, Wyland

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  7-3, 5/27/10
          AYES:  Kehoe, Alquist, Corbett, Leno, Price, Wolk, Yee
          NOES:  Denham, Walters, Wyland
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Cox


           SUBJECT  :    Teen dating violence prevention

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill authorizes schools to provide teen  
          dating violence prevention education and requires the State  
          Board of Education to incorporate teen dating violence and  
          sexual violence curriculum into the health curriculum  
          framework.

           ANALYSIS  :    

           Existing Law

           1.Authorizes schools to offer health education.  Current  
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            law defines "comprehensive health education programs" to  
            include activities designed to ensure that, among other  
            things, pupils will receive instruction to aid them in  
            making decisions and school district will voluntarily  
            provide pupils with instruction on preventative health  
            care.

          2.Authorizes schools to offer comprehensive sexual health  
            education.  Current law provides that one of the purposes  
            of the California Comprehensive Sexual Health and  
            HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Act is to encourage a pupil  
            to develop health attitudes concerning dating, among  
            other things.

          3.Authorizes schools to use School Safety Block Grant funds  
            to, among other things, provide age-appropriate  
            instruction in domestic violence prevention, dating  
            violence prevention, and interpersonal violence  
            prevention.  This funding is included in the categorical  
            flexibility pursuant to SBX3 4 (Ducheny), Chapter 12,  
            Statutes of 2009, Third Extraordinary Session, whereby  
            schools are authorized to u se funding from 43  
            categorical programs for any educational purpose.

          This bill authorizes schools to provide teen dating  
          violence prevention education and requires the State Board  
          of Education (SBE) to incorporate teen dating violence and  
          sexual violence curriculum into the health curriculum  
          framework.  Specifically, this bill:

           1.Authorizes a school district to provide teen dating  
             violence prevention education consisting of  
             age-appropriate instruction, as developed by the SBE, as  
             part of the sexual health and health education program  
             it provides to pupils in grades 7-12.

           2.Requires the SBE to incorporate teen dating violence and  
             sexual violence curriculum into the health curriculum  
             framework at its next revision.  

           3.Requires the SBE to consult with the Department of  
             Public Health, the Attorney General, and domestic  
             violence and sexual assault prevention advocates for  
             advice on the development of grade-level concepts and  







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             content guidelines to be incorporated into the sexual  
             health and health education program currently taught in  
             grades 7-12.

           4.Requires a school district that elects to offer teen  
             dating violence prevention education to include  
             instruction and materials regarding teen dating violence  
             that include methods for doing all of the following:

             A.    Recognizing what constitutes a healthy  
                relationship.

             B.    Identifying teen dating violence, verbal abuse,  
                nonverbal abuse, physical intimidation, stalking,  
                physical abuse, inappropriate sexual behavior, sexual  
                harassment, sexual violence, sexual assault, and  
                Internet abuse and cyber bullying.

             C.    Locating sources for legal, medical, mental  
                health, and other supportive services regarding teen  
                dating violence.

           5.Requires a school district that elects to offer teen  
             dating violence prevention education to satisfy criteria  
             that is consistent with current law regarding sex  
             education, including the information must be medically  
             accurate and objective, age appropriate, available to  
             English learners, encourage communication with parents,  
             and teach respect for marriage and committed  
             relationships.

           6.Requires each school district that provides teen dating  
             violence prevention education to notify the parent or  
             guardian of each pupil about instruction planned for the  
             coming year and research on pupil health behaviors and  
             risks.  The notice must include all of the following,  
             which is consistent with current law regarding sex  
             education and HIV/AIDS prevention education:

             A.    Educational materials are available for  
                inspection.

             B.    Whether the prevention education will be taught by  
                school personnel or by outside consultants (if by  







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                consultants, the date of instruction, name of  
                organization of each speaker, and statement of the  
                right of parents to request a copy of this section of  
                law).

             C.    Explanation of the right to request a copy of this  
                section of law.

             D.    The parent may request, in writing, that his or  
                her child not receive teen dating violence prevention  
                education.

             E.    Upon written request to the school principal, a  
                parent shall be allowed to examine the instruction  
                materials at the school in which the child is  
                enrolled.

           7.Authorizes anonymous, voluntary and confidential  
             research and evaluation tools to measure pupils' health  
             behaviors and risks, including questionnaires and  
             surveys containing age-appropriate questions about the  
             pupil's attitudes concerning teen dating violence to be  
             administered to any pupil in grades 7-12.  The  
             questionnaire or survey may be given only if the parent  
             is first notified, in writing, that it is going to be  
             administered and the pupil's parent is given the  
             opportunity to review the questionnaire or survey and to  
             request, in writing, that his or her child not  
             participate.  This is consistent with the current law  
             regarding sex education.

           8.Prohibits a pupil from attending any class in teen  
             dating violence prevention education, or participating  
             in any questionnaire or survey, if the school has  
             received a written request from the pupil's parent  
             excusing the pupil from participation.  This bill also  
             prohibits a pupil from being subject to disciplinary  
             action, academic penalty or other sanction if the  
             pupil's parent declines to permit the pupil to receive  
             teen dating violence prevention education or to  
             participate in a questionnaire or survey.  This bill  
             requires schools to provide an alternative educational  
             activity to pupils who are not participating in teen  
             dating violence prevention education or the  







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             questionnaire or survey.  All are consistent with  
             current law regarding sex education and HIV/AIDS  
             prevention education.

           9.Authorizes schools to use school district personnel or  
             outside consultants who are trained in the appropriate  
             courses, which is consistent with current law regarding  
             sexual education and HIV/AIDS prevention education

          10.Defines the following terms:

             A.    Abuse of property.
             B.    Dating partner.
             C.    Healthy relationship.
             D.    Inappropriate sexual behavior.
             E.    Internet abuse or cyber bullying.
             F.    Nonverbal abuse.
             G.    Obscene materials.
             H.    Physical abuse.
             I.    Physical intimidation.
             J.    Reproductive control.
             K.    Sexual assault.
             L.    Sexual harassment.
             M.    Sexual violence.
             N.    Stalking.
             O.    Teen dating Violence
             P.    Use of weapons.
             Q.    Written materials.  

          Comments

          Parental Opt-Out  .  This bill requires schools that choose  
          to provide teen dating violence prevention education to  
          notify parents prior to this instruction, and allows  
          parents to request that their child not receive teen dating  
          violence prevention education, which is consistent with  
          current law relative to sex education and HIV/AIDS  
          prevention education.  

           Already in Health Framework and Standards  ?  The SBE adopted  
          the health education framework in 2002, and adopted the  
          health content standards in March 2008.  The content  
          standards and framework currently include some references  
          to dating violence, characteristics of health  







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          relationships, and recognizing harmful or abusive dating  
          relationships.  However, neither the standards nor the  
          framework include the level of detail about teen dating  
          violence prevention that would be incorporated into the  
          curriculum pursuant to this bill.  
           
           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  No

                          Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions             2010-11            2011-12           
             2012-12            Fund

           Curriculum develop-     $450, whenever the health  
          curriculum         General
              ment                           is revised

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  6/1/10)

          American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
          California Association of School Psychologists
          California Medical Association
          California Parent-Teacher Association
          California State Sheriffs' Association
          California Teachers Association
          Crime Victims United of California
          Junior League of California, State Public Affairs Committee
          Junior League of Oakland - East Bay
          Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office
          Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health
          San Francisco Unified School District
          The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

           OPPOSITION  :    (Verified  6/1/10)

          Break the Cycle
          California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
          Peace Over Violence

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author's office,  
          "public schools currently do not have to educate employees  
          and pupils about dating violence, nor do they have to have  
          a response policy and protocol for complaints of teen  







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          dating violence.  SB 1300 would provide guidelines for  
          dating and sexual violence prevention on campus and aid in  
          preventing dating violence by spreading awareness."

          The Junior Leagues of California, in support, write that  
          "Teen dating violence is a pervasive problem among youth,  
          and it is precursor for violence in adult intimate  
          relationships.  This type of violence is impacting the  
          safety of school campuses and the academic success of  
          students:  victims of teen dating violence are more likely  
          to be truant, have lower grades, and are more likely to  
          bring a weapon onto campus."

           ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION  :    Peace Over Violence, in  
          opposition, contends that this bill is unnecessary,  
          restrictive, costly and burdensome.  They believe that it  
          will likely decrease the amount of teen dating violence  
          prevention education pupils receive.  They further contend  
          that teen dating violence prevention education is not sex  
          education and would like to see all references to human  
          sexuality removed from the language of the bill.   
           

          CPM:cm  6/1/10   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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