BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1880
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 28, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
AB 1880 (Lara) - As Introduced: February 22, 2012
SUBJECT : Pupil safety: dating abuse prevention
SUMMARY : Replaces the term "teen relationship violence" in
existing law with "dating abuse," establishes a definition for
"dating abuse," requires middle schools and high schools to
establish and implement a policy to prevent and respond to
dating abuse, and requires the annual notification to parents
and guardians to include the dating abuse policy. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Makes findings and declarations regarding dating abuse, also
referred to as teen dating violence, which, in addition to
increasing victims' risk for low academic performance,
truancy, dropout, and harmful behaviors, can threaten the
safety of all pupils, distract pupils from a focus on
learning, and compromise the overall school climate.
2)Expresses the intent of the Legislature that schools promote
healthy relationships and prevent dating abuse through
age-appropriate, culturally sensitive, comprehensive
prevention, early intervention, and response strategies.
3)Replaces references to "dating violence" and "teen
relationship violence" with "dating abuse" in various sections
of the Education Code dealing with school safety.
4)Defines "dating abuse," which may also be referred to as teen
dating violence, to mean "physical, sexual, verbal, emotional,
or technological conduct by a person to harm, threaten,
intimidate, or control a dating partner, regardless of whether
that relationship is continuing or has concluded or the number
of interactions between the individuals involved."
5)Defines "dating partner" as "a person, regardless of sexual
orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, who is
involved in a relationship with another person, where the
relationship is primarily characterized by social contact of a
romantic or intimate nature, whether casual, serious, short
term, long term, or as otherwise defined by either person."
AB 1880
Page 2
6)Requires the schoolsite council of a middle school or high
school serving any of grades 6 to 12 to consult with local,
state, or national organizations with expertise in dating
abuse prevention and response in developing the dating abuse
policy of their comprehensive school safety plan.
7)Requires, as comprehensive school safety plans are reviewed
and updated, middle schools and high schools serving pupils in
any of grades 6 to 12 to do the following:
a) Establish and implement a policy to prevent and respond
to dating abuse, which shall do all of the following:
i) Define dating abuse and describe warning signs of
dating abuse perpetration and victimization.
ii) Prohibit dating abuse by any pupil on school
grounds, while traveling to and from school or a
school-sponsored activity, during the lunch period, which
may be on or off campus, and during a school-sponsored
activity.
iii) Specify procedures for responding to warning signs
and incidents of dating abuse. Procedures for responding
to incidents shall consider the context, intent, and
effect of the abuse and include protocol for working with
the targeted pupil, including providing possible safety,
health, and educational accommodations. The procedures
shall also include protocol for working with the alleged
offender and for enforcing any civil and criminal
protection orders for or against pupils.
iv) Designate one or more persons as the primary contact
persons who are responsible for integrating the dating
abuse policy with existing policy and programs.
v) Ensure that the school has staff that are informed
about the dynamics of dating abuse and are prepared to
prevent, recognize, intervene, and respond appropriately
to dating abuse.
i) Specify protocol for monitoring and assessing dating
abuse incidents and responses, as well as dating abuse
prevention and intervention activities.
a) Require schools to collaborate with organizations with
expertise in dating abuse prevention and response in
implementing the dating abuse policy. This collaboration
may include, but not be limited to, efforts to prevent
AB 1880
Page 3
dating abuse through age-appropriate curricular and
extracurricular activities and school climate improvement
activities that are in alignment with current research and
best practices.
b) Require school districts to include dating abuse policy
and how to make a complaint or help their child make a
complaint of dating abuse in the annual written notice to
parents and guardians of pupils. Requires the notice to be
prominently displayed in school common areas, classrooms,
and health services offices, including school-based health
centers where applicable, with contact information for
appropriate school personnel, including counselors and
health service providers, hotline numbers, and service
organizations, including domestic violence and dating abuse
service providers or social and emotional learning experts.
c) Require a copy of the dating abuse policy to be included
in school district and school handbooks.
8)Requires the annual notice to parents and guardians to advise
parents or guardians of pupils of the school's dating abuse
policy, and how to make a complaint or help their child make a
complaint of dating abuse.
9)Becomes operative on July 1, 2013.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Expresses the intent of the Legislature that all California
public schools work with local law enforcement agencies,
community leaders, parents, pupils, teachers, administrators,
and other interested parties in the prevention of campus crime
and violence, and develop a comprehensive school safety plan.
2)Specifies that the schoolsite council or a school safety
planning committee is responsible for developing the
comprehensive school safety plan.
3)Specifies that the comprehensive school safety plan shall
include an assessment of the current status of school crime
committed on school campuses and at school-related functions
and identification of appropriate strategies and programs that
will provide or maintain a high level of school safety and
address the school's procedures for complying with existing
AB 1880
Page 4
laws related to school safety, including child abuse reporting
procedures; disaster procedures; an earthquake emergency
procedure system; policies regarding pupils who commit
specified acts that would lead to suspension or expulsion;
procedures to notify teachers of dangerous pupils; a
discrimination and harassment policy; the provisions of any
schoolwide dress code; procedures for safe ingress and egress
of pupils, parents, and school employees to and from school; a
safe and orderly environment conducive to learning; rules and
procedures on school discipline; and hate crime reporting
procedures.
4)Requires the comprehensive school safety plan to be evaluated
at least once a year.
5)Requires school districts to send a notification to parents or
guardians at the beginning of the first semester or quarter of
the regular school term with specified information, including
parent rights and responsibilities; discipline policies;
excused/unexcused absences; minimum day schedules and staff
development days; the California High School Exit Exam dates;
the requirements for passing the exam, the consequences of not
passing the exam, and that passing the exam is a condition of
graduation; a copy of the district's sexual harassment policy;
requirements for graduation, including a list of career
technical education courses that satisfy admission
requirements for the California State University and the
University of California; pesticides used at a schoolsite; and
attendance options.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : The author introduced this bill as a result of the
September 30, 2011 fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Cindi Santana
during lunch time at South East High School in South Gate. Her
ex-boyfriend was charged with fatally stabbing Santana.
According to media reports, Cindi Santana's mother had notified
the school just a few days before her daughter's death that the
ex-boyfriend had been arrested for making threats against the
girl and her family and was recently released. The author
states, "While most schools have policies to deal with
peer-to-peer violence on campus, many lack clear procedures to
assist students, teachers and staff in addressing the
distinctive dynamics of abuse in a dating relationship. As a
result, many youth and adults may overlook abusive behavior at
AB 1880
Page 5
school or view it as a 'private matter.' Adults often minimize
the potential for harm among teens, unaware of the danger of
increasing frequency and severity of abuse over time, and the
heightened risk for physical violence during or after a break
up."
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), one in four teens report being victims of verbal,
physical, emotional or sexual violence each year. The CDC also
reports that teens in violent relationships are at higher risk
for health problems and unhealthy behaviors, including drug,
alcohol and tobacco use. Approximately 70% of girls and 52% of
boys who are victims of dating violence report an injury from a
violent relationship.
In 2004, the Attorney General's Office teamed up with the
Department of Education to raise the attention of teen dating
violence, which they called "a preventable epidemic". A paper
released by the two offices on teen dating violence's impact on
school safety and academic achievement found that "high levels
of student-on-student violence undermine our schools' capacity
to accomplish their core mission: academic achievement.
Students who experience physical and/or sexual violence will
have a much more difficult time learning. They are at
significantly greater risk of skipping school, fearing school,
considering or attempting suicide, and using drugs, alcohol, and
tobacco. They are also at greater risk of depression,
post-traumatic stress, and a host of risky health behaviors."
In a 2008 guide on teen dating and sexual violence in a school
setting, the Attorney General's Office suggests that schools
need to develop a comprehensive school-wide plan, with
objectives and guidelines on what the school community can do to
prevent and respond to this form of violence.
This bill is consistent with the Attorney General Office's
recommendation and requires middle schools and high schools, as
comprehensive school safety plans are reviewed and updated, to
develop and implement a policy to prevent and respond to dating
abuse and requires the policy to include a definition of dating
abuse, identify warning signs, procedures for responding to
warning signs and incidents, prohibit dating abuse on campus,
while traveling to and from school and during school events,
protocol for monitoring and assessing dating abuse incidents and
responses, designate a primary contact person responsible for
AB 1880
Page 6
integrating the dating abuse policy with existing policies, and
ensure that the school has staff that are informed about the
dynamics of dating abuse and are prepared to prevent, recognize,
intervene and respond.
According to the sponsor, California Partnership to End Domestic
Violence, 20 states have passed teen dating violence laws. The
organization proposes to use the term "dating abuse," rather
than "dating violence," to encompass a broader range of
behaviors than is typically included in the definition of dating
violence. The organization states that their experience has
shown that the term "dating violence" "inadvertently emphasizes
physical violence over other forms of violence and abuse, which
contributes to the under-recognition of the fully spectrum of
harmful behaviors and adverse impact of dating abuse in the
lives of students." However, the term "teen dating violence" or
"teen relationship violence" are widely recognized terms that
are used not only in existing California law but also by
researchers and the CDC. Several bills introduced previously
also use those terms. To ensure that there is recognition that
"teen dating violence" and "dating abuse" are inter-related,
staff recommends changing the term "dating abuse" to "teen
dating abuse," which more closely resembles the terms currently
used and signifies that the policies required to be established
by this bill focus on youths.
Existing law requires each school to develop a school safety
plan that includes processes, procedures, and policies to ensure
student and staff safety at a school site. As currently
written, this bill uses the review and update of a school safety
plan to trigger the requirement to develop a dating abuse
policy, but the policy is not a component of the school safety
plan, as intended by the author. Staff recommends an amendment
to clarify that the dating abuse policy is to be incorporated
into the school safety plan. The bill currently requires the
policy to define dating abuse, but the bill already establishes
this definition. Staff recommends requiring the policy to
include the law's definition of dating abuse.
The bill requires the schoolsite council, in developing the
policy, and schools, in implementing the policy, to consult and
collaborate with local, state, or national organizations with
expertise in dating abuse prevention and response. A schoolsite
council is authorized to delegate the responsibility for
developing and updating the school safety plan to a school
AB 1880
Page 7
safety planning committee. Staff recommends making a conforming
amendment.
The bill requires the dating abuse policy along with information
on how to file a complaint to be included in the annual notice
to parents or guardians regarding their rights and
responsibilities under specified sections of the law and
providing information deemed important or helpful by the
Legislature for parents to know. The notice includes school
policies such as school attendance and sexual harassment
policies. The bill requires the notice to be displayed in
commons areas, classrooms, and health services offices.
However, the notice is frequently in the form of a pamphlet or
booklet and can total more than 100 pages, which cannot be
easily displayed. Staff recommends requiring the information,
rather than the notice, to be displayed.
Arguments in Support . The California Partnership to End
Domestic Violence, in its letter of support, shares an example
of the importance of adopting dating abuse policies: When a
student from Laguna Hills High School was 16 in 2010, her
boyfriend was emotionally and physically abusive, but she didn't
realize it. Her aunt helped her to receive support from a
domestic violence organization and she was able to leave the
relationship. She reached out to her school when his ongoing
harassment continued to affect her school life. He grabbed her
by the arm and in sexual ways at school despite her protest, and
tried to turn her friends against her. But her principal and the
campus police told her there was nothing they could do. The
student said, "All schools need dating abuse policies and
procedures to respond to incidents of dating abuse on campus.
These policies will help to ensure that in the future, when
someone reaches out for help, staff will know what to do, and no
one will be turned away."
Related legislation . AB 1857 (Fong), also scheduled for today's
hearing, authorizes school districts to provide education
programs that promote healthy relationships and prevent teen
dating violence through curricular, extracurricular, and school
climate improvement activities, as specified, and requires the
Superintendent of Public Instruction to post information about
model curriculum programs on the California Department of
Education's Internet Web site.
Prior legislation . AB 1373 (Fong), authorizes school districts
AB 1880
Page 8
to provide education programs that promote healthy relationships
and prevent teen dating violence through curricular,
extracurricular, and school climate improvement activities, as
specified, and requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction
to post information about model curriculum programs on the
California Department of Education's Internet Web site. The
bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee's
suspense file in 2011.
SB 13 (Correa) establishes the Teen Dating Violence (TDV)
Prevention Education Act, authorizes school districts to provide
TDV prevention education as part of sexual health education
programs, and requires districts that choose to implement such
programs to follow specific guidelines and to provide parental
notification of such programs and an opportunity for parents to
opt their children out of this instruction. Requires the
inclusion of TDV prevention education in the heath curriculum
framework, and codifies several definitions. SB 13 is pending
in the Senate Education Committee.
SB 1300 (Correa) of 2010 establishes the Teen Dating Violence
Prevention Education Act, authorizes school districts to provide
TDV prevention education as part of sexual health education
programs, and requires districts that choose to implement such
programs to follow specific guidelines and to provide parental
notification of such programs and an opportunity for parents to
opt their children out of this instruction. Requires the
inclusion of TDV prevention education in the heath curriculum
framework, and codifies several definitions relative to TDV. AB
1300 failed passage in the Assembly Education Committee.
AB 589 (Levine) of 2007 requires school districts to develop
policies, procedures, and training for school employees
regarding the prevention of teen dating violence and sexual
violence. AB 589 was held in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee Suspense file.
AB 506 (Monta�ez) of 2005 requires each school district to
establish a policy and protocol, as specified, for dealing with
incidents of teen dating violence involving middle school and
high school students. AB 506 was held in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee Suspense file.
AB 558 (Jackson) of 2000 authorizes age-appropriate instruction
in domestic violence prevention in grades 1-12 and requires the
AB 1880
Page 9
California Department of Education to identify and distribute
information and a model curriculum to school districts and
county offices of education. AB 558 was vetoed by Governor
Davis.
AB 578 (Honda) of 2000 requires the Superintendent of Public
Instruction to develop training standards for teachers on
domestic violence and sexual assault recognition and appropriate
prevention responses, and stipulates that the use of these
standards as optional for school districts. AB 578 was held in
the Senate Appropriations Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Alternatives to Violence
Asian Women's Shelter
Center for Domestic Peace
Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse
Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Coalition
Domestic Violence Education and Services
Haven Hills
House of Ruth
Humboldt Domestic Violence Services
Jewish Family Services of Los Angeles
La Casa de las Madres
Lake Family Resource Center
Laura's House
Love is Not Abuse Coalition
Mariposa County Office of Education
Mountain Crisis Services
National Association of Social Workers
Next Door
North County Women's Shelter & Resource Center
Rural Human Services' Harrington House
Safe Alternatives to Violent Environments
SafeQuest Solano
Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Center
Shalom Bayit
STAND!
Su Casa
Tri-Valley Haven
Valley Crisis Center
Victor Valley Domestic Violence, Inc.
AB 1880
Page 10
Walnut Avenue Women's Center
Westside Domestic Violence Shelter
Wild Iris
WOMAN Inc
Women's and Children's Crisis Shelter
Many individuals
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087