BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1118
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 13, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
AB 1118 (John A. Perez) - As Introduced: February 18, 2011
SUBJECT : Pupil instruction: health education: organ and tissue
donation.
SUMMARY : Requires school districts to offer pupils who are
enrolled in health classes during grade 9 or 10 at least 15
minutes of instruction on organ procurement and tissue donation,
as specified. Specifically this bill :
1)Specifies that instruction on organ procurement and tissue
donation should be designed to develop a knowledge of the
potentially lifesaving results achieved through organ and
tissue transplantation.
2)Makes Legislative findings and declarations regarding the
national organ transplant waiting list and the current
percentage of California drivers that are designated as organ
or tissue donors.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Declares Legislative intent that an adequate health education
program in the public schools is essential to continued
progress and improvement in the quality of public health in
this state and that comprehensive health education, taught by
properly trained person, is effective in the prevention of
disease and disability. (Education code 51881)
2)Defines "comprehensive health education programs" as all
educational programs offered in kindergarten and grades 1 to
12 in the public school system designed to ensure that pupils
will receive instruction to aid them in making decisions in
matters of personal, family, and community health. (Education
code 51890)
3)Requires the State Board of Education to adopt content
standards in the curriculum area of health education, based on
the recommendations of the Superintendent of Public
Instruction. (Education code 51210.8)
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FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee for a substantially similar bill:
1)Potential General Fund/Proposition 98 (GF/98) state
reimbursable mandated costs, likely between $355,000 and
$711,000, to provide 15 minutes of instruction on organ and
tissue donation, as specified.
2)Potential GF/98 state reimbursable mandated costs, of
approximately $916,300, to provide professional development to
the 1,309 health teachers to comply with the requirements of
this measure.
3)Potential GF/98 state reimbursable mandated costs, likely
between $1.3 and $2.6 million, to provide materials regarding
organ procurement and tissue donation to comply with the
instructional requirement of this measure.
4)Potential GF administrative costs, likely between $200,000 and
$700,000, to the State Department of Education's (CDE)
Curriculum Commission to complete the requirements of this
measure. This assumes a portion or all of the Commission's
funding is restored to complete the development of the health
curriculum framework, as specified. The governor vetoed all
GF funding for the Commission and indicated his intention to
do so for the next several years.
COMMENTS : This bill requires school districts to offer pupils
who are enrolled in health classes during grade 9 or 10 at least
15 minutes of instruction on organ procurement and tissue
donation.
Electing to be an Organ Donor . Currently, there are two ways to
register as an organ donor in California. First, each
application for a new or renewal driver's license or
identification card provides a place for the applicant to
indicate if he or she wants to be an organ donor. If the person
affirms this desire, the pink donor dot symbol is pre-printed on
the driver's license or identification card. Second, the Donate
Life California website provides a way to register as an organ
donor online.
According to Donate Life California, there are more than 100,000
people on the National Organ Transplant Waiting List, more than
21,000 of whom live in California. Nationwide, approximately 18
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people die each day awaiting life-saving organ transplants, and
a new name is added to the national waiting list every 13
minutes. One Organ donor can save up to eight lives and one
tissue donor can improve lives of up to 50 others. Nationwide,
minorities represent 49% of organ transplant candidates and more
than 60% of kidney transplants. In California, Latinos make up
32% of those waiting for life-saving transplants, Asians/Pacific
Islanders 16%, and African Americans another 14%.
Health Education Standards & Graduation Requirements . Neither
the health education standards nor the frameworks include any
information about organ procurement or tissue donation. The
health curriculum framework was scheduled to be revised this
year to align it to the 2008 health standards but due to the
fiscal situation in the State and resulting budget actions, the
development of curriculum frameworks and adoption of
instructional materials has been suspended until the 2015-16
school year. AB 2 X4 Chapter 2, Statutes of 2009-10, Fourth
Extraordinary Session prohibits the state board of education
(SBE) from adopting or following any of the procedures to adopt
instructional materials, including following the procedures
related to framework development, through the 2012-13 school
year. The recently enacted education budget trailer bill, SB 70
(Budget Committee) Chapter 7, Statutes of 2011, extends this
prohibition to the 2015-16 school year. The revision and
adoption of a health framework may be several years away given
the existing fiscal challenges.
Despite the delay in the adoption of a health framework, the
committee should consider whether it is important to include
organ and tissue donation in the next revision of the health
framework. California does not require the completion of a
health course as a condition for graduation from high school.
Districts are authorized to offer health education courses to
students and may require students to complete health education
coursework as a district graduation requirement. According to
Donate Life California, since 2006, more than 80 California high
schools have voluntarily hosted organ donation presentations in
their classrooms.
A number of recent bills have sought to amend the curriculum
standards and frameworks, and some have required instruction in
a particular subject matter, like this bill requires. Because
the education code is permissive, districts can offer health
education already, and many if not most already do offer health
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education in high school. The committee should consider whether
it is appropriate for the Legislature to decide the number of
minutes required for instruction in a specific subject matter.
What Other States are Doing . Several other states either
require or authorize instruction on organ donation to high
school students in health education courses or students in
driving training courses. These states include Illinois,
Wisconsin, Iowa, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Minnesota,
Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, Indiana, Ohio, Washington,
New Jersey, and Louisiana.
Committee Amendments : Staff recommends the bill be amended to
require instruction in organ procurement and tissue donation
begin in the 2012-13 school year to allow for implementation
time. Staff recommends the bill be amended to require the State
Board of Education (SBE) and the Curriculum Development and
Supplemental Materials Commission (Curriculum Commission) to
ensure that the health framework, evaluation criteria, and
instructional materials (IM) adopted (as part of the next
submission) for pupils in grades nine and ten include
instruction on organ procurement and tissue donation. The bill
requires districts to "offer" instruction in organ procurement
and tissue donation, committee staff recommends the bill be
amended to require districts to "provide" instruction by
including organ donation within the current definition of
"comprehensive health education" programs in Education Code
51890.
Related legislation : AB 739 (Lowenthal & Brownley) from 2011,
requires the SBE and the Curriculum Commission to include
suicide prevention instruction and mental illness awareness
instruction, as defined, in the health education framework for
pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, during the next revision of
that framework.
Previous legislation : SB 552 (Padilla) from 2009, which was
held on the Assembly Appropriations Suspense file, required a
school district, beginning with the 2010-11 school year, that
offers health classes to grade nine and ten pupils to provide at
least 15 minutes of instruction on organ procurement and tissue
donation.
AB 1132 (Jones) from 2009, which was vetoed by the Governor,
required the Department of Motor Vehicles to make information
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available about organ donation as part of the online vehicle
registration renewal process. The Governor vetoed the bill with
the following message:
"While I fully support the Donate Life program, this bill
would cap the amount the Department of Motor Vehicles can
recover for its administrative costs under the program and
removes the flexibility of the Department to cover its
future costs as inflation and other expenditures increase."
AB 1972 (Steinberg) from 2004, was held on the Assembly
Appropriations Suspense File, would have required at least 30
minutes of instruction regarding organ and tissue donation as
part of the driver education course requirement for grades 7-12.
SB 112 (Speier) Chapter 405, Statutes of 2003, authorized organ
procurement organizations to establish an organization known as
the California Organ and Tissue Donation Registrar.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Donate Life California (Sponsor)
Astellas Pharma UC, Inc.
Blood Centers of California
California Transplant Donor Network
Carolina Donor Services
Center for Organ Recovery & Education
Chris Klug Foundation
Donate Life America
Donate Life Hollywood
Donor Racing
Intermountain Donor Services
Kentucky Circuit Court Clerks Trust for Life (Organ Donor
Awareness Program)
Legacy of Life Hawaii
Life Choice Donor Services
Life Connection of Ohio
Moving Hearts Foundation
National Organization for Renal Disease
New Jersey Sharing Network
OneLegacy
SightLife
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South Coast Realty
The Lopez Foundation
Thousand Oaks Surgical Hospital
University of Wisconsin Organ Procurement Organization
Many individuals and families of organ donors and recipients
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087