BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 919
Author: Lieu (D)
Amended: 5/10/11
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 10-0, 5/4/11
AYES: Lowenthal, Runner, Alquist, Blakeslee, Hancock,
Huff, Liu, Price, Simitian, Vargas
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : School safety: sexting
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill defines sexting, requires the
School/Law Enforcement Partnership to have the purpose of
reducing sexting, and includes sexting as a topic that may
be included in the partnership's conferences.
ANALYSIS : Existing law authorizes principals and
superintendents to suspend or recommend pupils for
expulsion only for certain acts, as specified, and then
only when the acts are related to school activity or school
attendance occurring within a school under the jurisdiction
of the superintendent of the district or principal or
occurs within any other school district including acts that
occur. A pupil may be suspended or expelled for acts that
occur while on school grounds, while going to or coming
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from school, during the lunch period (on or off campus), or
while going to or coming from a school-sponsored activity.
Existing law, the Interagency School Safety Demonstration
Act of 1985, establishes the School/Law Enforcement
Partnership comprised of the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (SPI) and the Attorney General for the
development and administration of safe school programs.
SBX3 4 (Ducheny), Chapter 12, Statutes of 2009, Third
Extraordinary Session, reduced funding for various
categorical programs including the School Safety
Consolidated Competitive Grant program, which funds local
School/Law Enforcement Partnerships, for the 2008-09 fiscal
year through the 2012-13 fiscal year and authorized school
districts to use funding for those programs during that
time for any educational purpose to the extent permitted by
federal law. For 2008-09 to 2012-13, local educational
agencies that use the flexibility provisions are deemed to
be in compliance with the program and funding requirements
contained in statutory, regulatory, and provisional
language for those programs.
This bill:
1.Defines sexting as the sending or receiving of sexually
explicit pictures or video images by means of an
electronic aid.
2.Expands provisions of the Interagency School Safety
Demonstration Act to include sexting; adds sexting as a
topic that may be included in regional conferences
sponsored by the School/Law Enforcement Partnership; and
encourages school districts, county offices of education,
law enforcement agencies, and agencies serving youth to
reduce sexting through interagency strategies, programs
and activities.
Comments
Education Campaign . The permissive nature of the Education
Code suggests that schools and other agencies that work
with students could implement an education campaign about
sexting without benefit of legislation. To the extent that
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districts choose to spend funds for this purpose, the bill
could help districts become more strategic in working with
the School/Law Enforcement Partnership program to
incorporate information about the effects and potential
dangers of sexting into larger discussions about
establishing healthy relationships and setting boundaries
for electronic communication and social networking.
Related/Prior Legislation
SB 13 (Correa), 2011-12 Session, requires 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. (In Senate Education
Committee)
SB 755 (Lieu), 2011-12 Session, makes numerous changes to
the requirement that each school have a school safety plan,
imposes new penalties for schools and districts that fail
to meet these requirements, and requires school districts
and county offices of education to be responsible for the
development of school safety plans at any charter school
the district or county office has authorized. (On Senate
Appropriations Committee Suspense File)
SB 453 (Correa), 2011-12 Session, expands the definition of
bullying to include acts motivated by specified actual or
perceived characteristics of the victim, and adds bullying,
as specified, to the list of acts for which expulsion may
be recommended. (In Senate Appropriations Committee)
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/24/11)
American Civil Liberties Union
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
sexting has become a difficult problem for school districts
due to the alarming number of participating students.
According to the International Association for the Wireless
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Telecommunications Industry (CTIA), there were
approximately 187.7 billion text messages sent each month
in 2010. A recent survey conducted by the National
Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy revealed
that 20 percent of all surveyed teens between the ages of
13 and 19 have sent or posted nude or semi-nude pictures or
videos of themselves. This report also noted that sending
and posting nude or semi-nude photos or videos starts at a
young age and can become more frequent as teens become
adults.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : According to the American Civil
Liberties Union, the definition for "sexting" in this is so
broad that it could encompass many different acts that
should not be subject to school discipline. The ACLU
believes that California's discipline code currently
provides more appropriate mechanism for school districts to
address problems of "sexting" on their campuses.
CPM:cm 5/24/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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