BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1993
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 23, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
AB 1993 (Fox) - As Amended: April 10, 2014
SUBJECT : Bullying: teacher training
SUMMARY : Requires a school district to provide training on the
topic of bullying to every teacher employed by a school district
on or after July 1, 2015. Requires a workshop coordinated by
the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the California Department of
Education (CDE) to include training on restorative justice and
upstander behavior. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires a school district to provide training on the topic of
bullying to every teacher employed by the school district.
Requires every teacher employed by a school district on or
after July 1, 2015 to complete the training.
2)Requires training provided through the School Community
Violence Prevention Grant program to include, but not
necessarily limited to, restorative justice and promotion of
upstander behavior.
3)Defines "upstander" as a person who recognizes a bully-victim
situation and acts in a manner that is responsible and helpful
to the situation.
4)Specifies that the implementation of the School Community
Violence Prevention training is contingent upon the
availability of funds in the annual Budget Act.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the DOJ and the CDE to contract with one or more
professional trainers to coordinate statewide workshops for
school districts, county offices of education (COEs), and
schoolsite personnel to assist them in the development of
their respective school safety and crisis response plans, and
provide training in the prevention of bullying. (Education
Code (EC) Section 32283)
2)Defines "bullying" to mean any severe or pervasive physical or
verbal act or conduct, including communications made in
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writing or by means of an electronic act, and including one or
more acts committed by a pupil or group of pupils as defined
in EC Sections 48900.2, 48900.3, or 48900.4, directed toward
one or more pupils that has or can be reasonably predicted to
have the effect of one or more of the following:
a) Placing a reasonable pupil or pupils in fear of harm to
that pupil's or those pupils' person or property.
b) Causing a reasonable pupil to experience a substantially
detrimental effect on his or her physical or mental health.
c) Causing a reasonable pupil to experience substantial
interference with his or her academic performance.
d) Causing a reasonable pupil to experience substantial
interference with his or her ability to participate in or
benefit from the services, activities, or privileges
provided by a school. (EC Section 48900)
3)Expresses the intent of the Legislature to encourage school
districts, COEs, law enforcement agencies, and agencies
serving youth to develop and implement interagency strategies,
in-service training programs, and activities that will improve
school attendance and reduce school crime and violence,
including vandalism, drug and alcohol abuse, gang membership,
gang violence, hate crimes, bullying, including bullying
committed personally or by means of an electronic act, teen
relationship violence, and discrimination and harassment,
including, but not limited to, sexual harassment. (EC Section
32261)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : School-based harassment, discrimination, intimidation
and bullying can create a school climate of fear and disrespect
that can result in conditions that negatively affect learning. A
number of bills have been introduced over the last several years
to address bullying, including cyberbullying, in schools. Under
current law, a pupil may be suspended or recommended for
expulsion for committing specified acts, including bullying and
cyberbullying. "Bullying" is defined as any severe or pervasive
physical or verbal act or conduct, including communications made
in writing or by means of an electronic act, and including one
or more acts committed by a pupil or group of pupils engaging in
sexual harassment, hate violence, harassment, threats, or
intimidation, directed toward one or more pupils that has or can
be reasonably predicted to cause fear and have an impact on a
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student's physical and mental health, academic performance, or a
student's ability to participate in school and school
activities.
School Community Violence Prevention Training Grant . Prior to
the implementation of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF),
the School Safety Consolidated Competitive Grant provided
funding for several school safety and violence prevention
programs, including the School Community Violence Prevention
Training Grant, administered by the CDE. These activities were
conducted through a contract with the Kern County Office of
Education. The Kern County Office of Education coordinated
trainings on three topics: safe school planning, crisis
preparedness and response, and bullying and cyberbullying
prevention and intervention. The trainings are offered on a
statewide basis in various parts of the state divided into 11
regions and are conducted by law enforcement and education
professionals. According to the CDE, demand for the trainings
increased following the December 14, 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook
Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut.
This bill requires these trainings to include restorative
justice and promotion of upstander behavior. The bill defines
"upstander" as a person who recognizes a bully-victim situation
and acts in a manner that is responsible and helpful to the
situation.
Restorative Justice . AB 1729 (Ammiano), Chapter 425, Statutes
of 2012, requires schools to impose suspensions only when other
means of correction fail to bring about proper conduct. The
bill was introduced to reduce the use of punitive,
zero-tolerance measures and focus, instead, on alternatives to
address the causes of a pupil's behavior, and implement positive
behavioral programs, such as restorative justice programs. A
number of school districts, including San Francisco Unified
School District, Oakland Unified School District, and Los
Angeles Unified School District have implemented restorative
justice programs. The Oakland Unified School District (OUSD)
describes restorative justice as "a set of principles and
practices employed in the Oakland Unified School District to
build community and respond to student misconduct, with the
goals of repairing harm and restoring relationships between
those impacted. The RJ [restorative justice] program in OUSD
pilots a three-tiered model of prevention/intervention/supported
reentry in response to conflict/harm. The RJ program works to
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lower our rate of suspension and expulsion and to foster
positive school climates with the goal of eliminating racially
disproportionate discipline practices and the resulting push-out
of students into the prison pipeline." Changing the culture of
a school from a less punitive environment to a more positive one
and to implement positive behavioral programs, such as
restorative justice programs, require support from all school
staff as well as sufficient counselors, mental health providers,
and other school personnel.
Notwithstanding the value of the subject matters proposed to be
incorporated in the training, this bill will not impact the
trainings now that LCFF is in effect. Most categorical program
funds, including this program, were folded into the LCFF, with
local educational agencies' (LEAs) funding allocations based on
a grade span base funding with increases based on the
demographics of pupils in the LEA. Although the statutes that
established the categorical programs have not been eliminated,
LEAs have flexibility to use their funds based on accountability
objectives and are no longer required to use their appropriation
for the purposes specified through categorical programs.
According to the CDE, Kern County Office of Education will no
longer coordinate the regional trainings beginning July 1, 2014.
The trainings may continue to be offered regionally on a
fee-for-service basis; however, the trainings will not be
required to be consistent with the School Community Violence
Prevention Training statute.
Teacher training on bullying . This bill also requires a school
district to provide, and all teachers hired after July 1, 2015
to complete, training on the topic of bullying. The bill does
not specify how the trainings are to be provided, who provides
the training, or the topics that must be covered, such as
identifying bullying, how to address bullying, or the
school/district policies on bullying. The author may also wish
to consider whether all teachers, not just newly-hired teachers,
and administrators, should receive the training.
According to the author, "Existing law only authorizes schools
to provide training to teachers, now is the time to ensure that
teachers have the tools and resources they need to have
productive classes. Preventative bullying measures will avoid
the escalation of danger. We know that having more caring
adults in a student's life is important to building healthy
communities at schools. In my own district, we have witnessed
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firsthand how bullying and the way students react to bullying
disrupts the school day, students' lives and the community. 13
year old Nigel Hardy took his own life after being bullied. Had
there been more caring adults trained in identifying the signs
and symptoms of bullying and intervened earlier, perhaps this
tragic situation could have been prevented."
Previous related legislation . AB 470 (Mullin), held in the
Assembly Appropriations Committee suspense file in 2013, removes
$321,000 apportioned under categorical flexibility to support
the School Safety Consolidated Grant program for the purpose of
requiring the DOF and the CDE to continue contracting with one
or more professional trainers to coordinate statewide workshops
for school districts, COEs, and schoolsite personnel in their
development of school safety plans and provide training in the
prevention of bullying.
AB 1729 (Ammiano), Chapter 425, Statutes of 2012, requires
schools to impose suspensions only when other means of
correction fail to bring about proper conduct.
AB 1156 (Eng), Chapter 732, Statutes of 2011, made several
proposals related to bullying, including making training
available to school districts in the prevention of bullying,
giving priority for interdistrict transfers to victims of
bullying, and revising the definition of bullying.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Communities United Institute
Public Counsel
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087