BILL NUMBER: ACR 162 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members V. Manuel Pérez and Cedillo
JUNE 20, 2012
Relative to pupil rights.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
ACR 162, as introduced, V. Manuel Pérez. Pupil rights: Student and
Youth Bill of Rights.
This measure would declare that the Legislature recognizes the
importance of engaging with young people to influence decisions that
affect their quality of life and well-being, and that the Student and
Youth Bill of Rights serves as a framework to guide and inform the
youth of the state in organizing and advocating policy issues on
their own behalf.
Fiscal committee: no.
WHEREAS, Throughout the state of California, children, youth, and
young adults under 25 years of age comprise roughly one-third of the
state's population; and
WHEREAS, The youth of California are among the state's greatest
assets and are an important indicator of the state's future
prosperity. The youth of the state are tomorrow's workers,
entrepreneurs, educators, public servants, and community leaders and
need the education and training to participate and succeed in the
California economy; and
WHEREAS, It is projected that by 2018, nearly two-thirds of the
jobs in California and the nation will require some college or
additional training after high school and it is imperative that our
youth are prepared to compete for jobs in this economy. However, many
youth in California lack the basic conditions that promote their
well-being and educational success; and
WHEREAS, The face of California is changing and racial and ethnic
minorities now comprise the majority of the student population as
Latino, Asian, African American, Pacific Islander, and mixed-race
students make up 73 percent of all California students; and
WHEREAS, While many populations face barriers and challenges, an
abundant body of research has demonstrated that young people of color
disproportionately experience lower and worsening outcomes with
regard to educational attainment, socio-economic status, health
status, and interactions with the juvenile justice and child welfare
systems; and
WHEREAS, Young people of color are more likely to grow up in
neighborhoods where they confront challenges to their safety and
well-being and also are more likely to attend schools that lack the
facilities, funding, and support staff, including, but not limited
to, counselors, coaches, and after school programs, that contribute
to a successful learning environment; and
WHEREAS, Young people of color are more likely to start their
adult lives without a high school diploma as a result of the barriers
they encounter. African Americans over 25 years of age are nearly
twice as likely to be without a high school diploma as their white
counterparts, and Latinos are almost seven times as likely to lack a
high school degree compared to their white counterparts. Furthermore,
young people of color who graduate from high school are less likely
to be prepared for college, with data showing that only 14 percent of
Latino high school graduates and 15 percent of African American high
school graduates have completed the courses needed to access higher
education; and
WHEREAS, In seeking to respond to these sobering conditions, it is
not enough to appeal to individual responsibility, self discipline,
and personal commitment to one's self actualization as the remedy.
Instead, a societal commitment is needed to confront and rectify
these barriers by recognizing the systemic and pervasive nature of
the barriers and deriving hope from the fact that they are human made
and can be changed; and
WHEREAS, All young people have a stake and role to play in this
effort and must be active participants in articulating a vision for
surmounting these challenges. Therefore, beginning in 2010, hundreds
of youth and youth advocates throughout California began a needs
identification and discussion to develop a "Student and Youth Bill of
Rights" to serve as a framework for doing so; and
WHEREAS, In keeping with the basic principles of our democracy,
the Student and Youth Bill of Rights is premised on the fundamental
belief that the right to a quality of life shall not be denied or
abridged based on one's race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation,
disability, religion, socio-economic status, place of residence,
country of origin, or previous and resolved contact with the justice
system; and
WHEREAS, The Student and Youth Bill of Rights also rests on the
belief that in addition to educational opportunity, youth need
supportive conditions in which to thrive and grow, including safe and
secure housing, safe neighborhoods and communities, basic human
services, healthy and nutritious food, physical activity and
recreation, art and culture, affordable and accessible public
transportation, and dental and health care, among other supports; and
WHEREAS, The Student and Youth Bill of Rights sets forth that all
students are deserving of safe and secure public school facilities of
equal quality, regardless of whether it is a magnet school, a
continuation school, or a charter school or the public school is in a
rural, urban, or suburban location; and
WHEREAS, Youth in California should be served by school districts
that are adequately funded through a school finance system that is
fair, transparent, equitable, and accountable. The system should
recognize the additional educational barriers experienced by
particular subgroups, including, but not limited to, English learners
and children living in poverty, and include a transparent method for
ensuring the allocation of supplemental funding tied to their
amelioration; and
WHEREAS, Youth should have the opportunity to study curriculum
that is relevant to their life experiences, includes content
acknowledging the ongoing struggle of oppressed peoples, and examines
the material, social, and cultural needs of their communities. This
knowledge helps personalize education for all youth and provides them
with examples of how to become agents of change in their
communities; and
WHEREAS, Students and youth with children of their own should have
the right of access to affordable day care for their children as
long as they maintain a passing grade point average or employment;
and
WHEREAS, Students and youth have a right to receive their school
records, transcripts, test scores, medical records, immunization
records, and key identification documents in order to access schools
and public and community resources without prejudice and in a timely
manner. Youth exiting foster care, group homes, mental health and
other facilities, including, but not limited to, detention or
incarceration facilities, should be assured timely access to these
documents as well as referrals to education and essential services at
the time of their release; and
WHEREAS, Communities should have the ability to establish and be
engaged in the development of programs for restorative and
transformative justice and positive behavior interventions in their
schools that make use of intervention workers and peace builders in
schools and communities to address conflicts while preventing school
suspension, expulsion, and arrests, providing safe passage to and
from school, providing for rumor control and retaliation prevention,
and building truces and cease fires between neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, Due to the importance of family stability to child and
youth development, teen and young adult parents incarcerated due to
nonviolent and nonsexual crimes should be encouraged and supported to
remain in contact with their children. Similarly, youth whose
parents are detained or incarcerated should be assisted to the extent
possible in maintaining family bonds; and
WHEREAS, New schools and other youth-serving facilities should be
built to encourage and celebrate youth identities and possibilities,
with attention focused not only on function but also on what is
communicated through the design and aesthetic aspects of the
buildings and the environments they support; and
WHEREAS, Pupils and youth deserve the opportunity to develop, make
mistakes, and grow with appropriate limits established and without
unreasonable school, court, or law enforcement labeling and
surveillance. In instances when the law is broken, due process should
not be denied, and youth under 18 years of age should not be added
to police databases without a fair and just trial, and pupils and
youth should be secure from arbitrary police stops, searches and
seizures, excessive ticketing and fines, and criminalization of
truancy or lateness to school; and
WHEREAS, On completion of elementary and secondary education, all
California high school graduates should be prepared to either enter
into a career or have acquired the knowledge and completed the
coursework necessary to start a successful college tenure; and
WHEREAS, All eligible students, including immigrant students,
should have access to affordable and available higher education,
ensuring that course offerings are available not only for the
full-time, nonworking students, but that ample evening, weekend, and
online courses are available for those who work while pursuing their
careers; and
WHEREAS, The state is just one partner among many that must be
invested in the fulfillment of our societal promise to California's
youth, and other critical partners are parents, peers, neighbors,
philanthropy, the private sector, and nongovernmental organizations;
now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature recognizes the importance of
engaging with young people to influence decisions that affect their
quality of life and well-being, and that the Student and Youth Bill
of Rights serves as a framework to guide and inform the youth of the
state in organizing and advocating policy issues on their own behalf;
and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.