BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SCR 73|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SCR 73
Author: Yee (D)
Amended: 5/25/12
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 6-0, 5/16/12
AYES: Lowenthal, Hancock, Liu, Price, Simitian, Vargas
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Alquist, Blakeslee, Huff,
Vacancy
SUBJECT : Child sexual abuse curriculum
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This resolution encourages school districts to
include age-appropriate instruction related to child sexual
abuse in the curriculum.
ANALYSIS : The Health Framework, adopted by the State
Board of Education on March 6, 2002, includes references to
child sexual abuse, including rape and sexual exploitation.
This resolution encourages schools to include instruction
related to child sexual abuse in the curriculum.
Specifically, this resolution:
1. Encourages school districts to include instruction
related to child sexual abuse in their curriculum in
order to help pupils understand the difference between
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2
appropriate and inappropriate conduct in situations
where child sexual abuse could occur, and to provide
pupils with resources on how to handle these potentially
dangerous situations.
2. States several findings and declarations relative to the
indicators, effects and treatment of child sexual abuse.
Comments
Need for this resolution . According to the author, "Child
sexual abuse has been reported up to 80,000 times a year,
but the number of unreported instances is far greater
because the children are afraid to tell anyone what has
happened, and the legal procedure for validating an episode
is difficult. The effects of sexual abuse extend far
beyond childhood."
Related legislation . ACR 125 (Beall) acknowledges April
2012 as Child Abuse Prevention Month, and includes
references to child sexual abuse but is not specific to
pupil instruction. The resolution is pending in the
Senate.
Prior Legislation
SB 13 (Correa, 2011) would have required schools that elect
to provide teen dating violence prevention education to
ensure that the instruction meets certain criteria, and
requires the State Board of Education to incorporate teen
dating violence and sexual violence curriculum into the
health curriculum framework. The bill failed passage in
the Senate Education Committee.
AB 578 (Honda, 2000) would have required the Superintendent
of Public Instruction to develop training standards for
teachers on domestic violence and sexual assault
recognition and appropriate prevention responses. The bill
stipulated the use of these standards as optional for
school districts. The bill was held in the Senate
Appropriations Committee.
ACR 32 (Harkey), Resolution Chapter 64, Statutes of 2011,
declared
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April 29, 2011, as the day of the annual Talk About Abuse
to Liberate Kids (TAALK) -a-Thon sponsored by TAALK, and
encourages all adults in California to be knowledgeable and
outspoken about the prevention of child sexual abuse.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
PQ:kc 5/25/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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