BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Alan Lowenthal, Chair
2011-12 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 1967
AUTHOR: John A. Pérez
AMENDED: June 21, 2012
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: June 27, 2012
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Beth Graybill
SUBJECT : Pupil instruction: organ and tissue donation.
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Instructional Quality Commission and
the State Board of Education (SBE) to ensure that the health
and science frameworks adopted in the course of the next
submission cycle, include the subject of organ procurement
and tissue donation, as appropriate.
BACKGROUND
Academic content standards define the knowledge, concepts,
and skills that pupils should acquire at each grade level.
Curricular frameworks are the blueprint for implementing the
standards, and include criteria by which instructional
materials are evaluated.
Existing law 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. The SBE adopted the current Health Education
Content Standards in March 2008. (EC § 51210.8)
The processes for reviewing frameworks and adopting
instructional materials have been suspended since July 28,
2009. The State Board of Education (SBE) is specifically
prohibited from reviewing frameworks and adopting
instructional materials until the 2015-16 school year.
(Education Code § 60200.7)
California does not require the completion of a health course
as a condition for graduation from high school. (EC §
51225.3)
ANALYSIS
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This bill :
1) Requires the Instructional Quality Commission and the
State Board of Education (SBE) to ensure that the health
frameworks and the science frameworks adopted in the
course of the next submission cycle include the subject
of organ procurement and tissue donation, as
appropriate.
2) Makes findings and declarations about the number of
people on the national organ transplant list and the
percentage of California drivers designated as organ or
tissue donors.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill : According to information provided by
Donate Life California, sponsor of this bill, there are
more than 113,000 people on the national organ
transplant waiting list, of which nearly 21% are
Californians. The author's office reports that one
organ donor can save up to 8 lives and one tissue donor
can improve the lives of 50 others. Although California
makes it easy for individuals to register as an organ
donor, the California Department of Motor Vehicles
indicates only 25% of individuals applying for or
renewing a driver's license check "yes" to donation.
Information provided by the author's office indicates
that approximately 18 people die each day awaiting
life-saving organ transplants. By making organ donation
education more widespread and educating high school
students about organ donation, the author hopes this
bill will result in more people registering as an organ
donor.
2) Curriculum Frameworks . Neither the health education
standards nor the frameworks require students to learn
about organ procurement or tissue donation. Similarly,
the current science standards and frameworks do not
include information about the subject of organ and
tissue donation. This bill requires both the health
frameworks and the science frameworks to include the
subject of organ procurement and tissue donation when
those framework documents are next updated and adopted
by the SBE. Although organ donation is not currently
included in the state's academic content standards,
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nothing in current law precludes school districts or
teachers from educating students about organ donation.
As part of the effort to develop standards common across
states, California is one of 26 lead states in the
effort to develop the Next Generation Science Standards
(NGSS). The development process for NGSS is following a
different developmental pathway than did the Common Core
State Standards in English language arts and
mathematics. The process for the science standards
development was informed by the contributions of the
scientific and research community. The first draft of
these standards was released nationally for public
comment on May 11, 2012. A second opportunity for
public feedback will occur in Fall 2012. Conceivably,
the topic of organ procurement and tissue donation could
be incorporated into these standards during the SBE's
adoption process, which would precede the adoption of
new frameworks.
Opponents argue that the subject of organ/tissue donation is
not appropriate for high school students who may be
impacted by an emotionally presented curriculum and
should not be included in the health and science
frameworks.
3) Organ donation . There are currently two ways to
register as an organ donor:
a) 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.
b) Since 2006, the Donate Life California website
provides a way to register online as an organ
donor.
4) Related and prior legislation . The Legislature has
considered a number of measures concerning curriculum
instruction, including the following bills concerning
subject of organ/tissue donation:
AB 1118 (J. Perez, 2011) would have required high schools
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that offer health classes in 9th and 10th grade to offer
instruction on organ donation in California. This bill
was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
SB 552 (Padilla, 2010) would have required a school district,
beginning with the 2010-11 school year, to offer health
classes to ninth and tenth graders and provide at least
15 minutes of instruction on organ procurement and
tissue donation. This bill was held under submission by
the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
SUPPORT
Association of California School Administrators
California Transplant Donor Network
Donate Life California
Donate Life Florida
Head-Royce School, Oakland, CA
Lifeline of Ohio
Los Angeles County Office of Education
National Organization for Renal Disease
New York Alliance for Donation
OneLegacy
Santa Clara County Deputy Superintendent of Schools, Cary
Dritz
Sierra Donor Services
State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson
University of Wisconsin Organ Procurement Organization
Individual letters
OPPOSITION
California Right to Life Committee