BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1967|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1967
Author: John A. Pérez (D), et al.
Amended: 6/21/12 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 7-1, 6/27/12
AYES: Lowenthal, Alquist, Blakeslee, Liu, Price, Simitian,
Vargas
NOES: Huff
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Hancock, Vacancy
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rules 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-1, 5/30/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Pupil instruction: organ and tissue donation
SOURCE : Donate Life California
DIGEST : 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.
ANALYSIS : 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.
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Existing law requires the SBE 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. (Education Code (ED)
Section 51210.8)
The processes for reviewing frameworks and adopting
instructional materials have been suspended since July 28,
2009. The SBE is specifically prohibited from reviewing
frameworks and adopting instructional materials until the
2015-16 school year. (ED Section 60200.7)
California does not require the completion of a health
course as a condition for graduation from high school. (ED
Section 51225.3)
This bill:
1. Requires the Instructional Quality Commission and the
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.
Comments
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, nothing in existing law
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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.
Organ donation . There are currently two ways to register
as an organ donor:
1. Each application for a new or renewal driver's license
or identification card provides a place for the
applicant to indicate if he/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.
2. Since 2006, the Donate Life California Web site provides
a way to register online as an organ donor.
Prior Legislation
AB 1118 (J. Perez, 2011) would have required high schools
that offer health classes in 9th and 10th grade to offer
instruction on organ donation in California. The 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. The bill was held under submission by the
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Assembly Appropriations Committee.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/6/12)
Donate Life California (source)
State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson
Association of California School Administrators
California Transplant Donor Network
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
University of Wisconsin Organ Procurement Organization
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/6/12)
California Right to Life Committee
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to 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 eight
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's office hopes this bill will result
in more people registering as an organ donor.
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ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : 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.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-1, 5/30/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, Eng,
Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth Gaines, Galgiani,
Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall,
Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso,
Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning,
Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V.
Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio,
Swanson, Torres, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada,
John A. Pérez
NOES: Donnelly
NO VOTE RECORDED: Conway, Fletcher, Gorell, Mansoor,
Valadao
PQ:k 8/6/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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