BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 552
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Date of Hearing: August 14, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
SB 552 (Calderon) - As Amended: August 6, 2013
SENATE VOTE : 29-7
SUBJECT : Pupil Instruction: Social Science: Violence Awareness
SUMMARY : Permits local governing boards to provide instruction
in grades 1-12, inclusive, on violence awareness. Specifically,
this bill :
1) Permits local governing boards to include grade-level
appropriate instruction on violence awareness and
prevention in the adopted courses of study for each subject
area.
2) Specifies this instruction may include a component drawn
from personal testimony in the form of oral or video
histories of individuals who were involved in violence
awareness efforts that exemplify the economic and cultural
effects of violence prevention efforts within a city, the
state, and the country.
EXISTING LAW:
1) Defines "course of study" to mean the planned content of
a series of classes, courses, subjects, studies, or related
activities.
2) Requires the governing board of every school district to
prepare and keep on file for public inspection the courses
of study prescribed for the schools under its jurisdiction.
3) Requires the governing board of every school district to
enforce in its schools the courses of study adopted by the
proper authority.
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4) Specifies the areas of study that must be included in an
adopted course of study for grades 1 through 6 and grades 7
through 12.
5) Permits the governing board of any school district to
initiate and carry on any program, activity, or to
otherwise act in any manner which is not in conflict with,
or inconsistent with, or preempted by, any law and which is
not in conflict with the purposes for which school
districts are established.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed as non-fiscal by Legislative
Counsel.
COMMENTS : Violence refers to a variety of acts that may be
sexual, physical, or psychological. These acts may occur in the
home, in the workplace, on school grounds, or in the greater
community. According to the National Center for Disease Control
and Prevention, "[v]iolence is a serious public health problem
in the United States. From infants to the elderly, it affects
people in all stages of life. In 2010, over 16,250 people were
victims of homicide and over 38,360 took their own life." The
broad language of this bill permits local governing boards to
include instruction throughout all areas of study as appropriate
and ensures that each governing board is able to tailor its
course of study to best meet the needs of its pupils and
community. The broad language of violence awareness and
prevention will allow the local boards to weave content
throughout the entire curriculum with instruction that is grade
and age appropriate. For some districts there may be an
emphasis on domestic violence, others on gang violence, still
others on violence within the school setting. The language of
this bill does not limit the choices a school board may make in
crafting a course of study that is best suited for its pupils.
Should a local governing board act prior to, or in response to,
this legislation and amend its course of study to include
instruction on violence awareness, it would be left on its own
to identify and/or develop appropriate instructional materials
for this instruction. To alleviate some of this potential
burden, there are some materials already available that speak to
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numerous types of violence. The California Department of Public
Health has made resources available that attempt to combat
community violence through a systematic prevention process that
promotes healthy behaviors and environments, and reduces the
likelihood or frequency of intimate partner violence and sexual
violence. Similarly, the California Department of Education
(CDE) has numerous resources, including funding opportunities
for violence prevention activities related to safe schools.
Information about funds, training, resources, and technical
assistance concerning preventing violence, helping students to
make safe choices, and collecting data about violence in schools
are all readily available through the CDE. Additionally, the
current Health Frameworks, adopted by the State Board of
Education in 2003, addresses safe schools and violence
prevention, explores behaviors that may result in intentional
injuries (e.g. violence and suicide), and discusses drug use,
violence, and other health-risk behaviors as a concern and
responsibility of the entire community.
A number of bills have been introduced this year proposing to
require the instruction of a specific topic. The committee may
wish to consider the extent to which content should be initiated
through legislative action versus through the Instructional
Quality Commission (IQC) and/or local school boards when
adopting a local course of study. Also, because California's
Education Code is permissive, local governing boards are already
free to develop their own local course of study and nothing in
existing law prevents a local governing board from revising a
course of study to include this instruction today. This bill
does not require state action, curriculum development, guidance
through frameworks, or any other state direction for local
boards to consider when or whether to revise their adopted
course of study. Therefore, the committee may wish to consider
whether this bill is necessary.
Related legislation . AB 123 (Bonta), passed out of this
committee on March 20, 2013, requires instruction on the
contributions of Filipino Americans to the farm labor movement
in California.
AB 137 (Buchanan), passed out of this committee on April 17,
2013, requires the IQC to receive input from specified experts
on civic learning when the history-social science frameworks are
developed and encourages civic learning content to be integrated
throughout the history-social science framework.
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AB 166 (Hern�ndez), passed out of this committee on March 20,
2013, requires instruction in economics provided in grades 7
through 12 to include instruction related to personal finances.
AB 391 (Wieckowski), passed out of this committee on April 17,
2013, and held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee,
specifies the next time the history-social science frameworks
are developed that they encourage financial literacy and
requires the SPI to update the exiting consumer economics course
to include instruction in personal financial literacy.
AB 424 (Donnelly) passed out of this committee on May 1, 2013,
requires revisions to the history/social science framework to
encourage instruction in the social sciences to include the
development of democracy and the history of the development of
the United States Constitution.
Previous legislation : SB 993 (De Le�n), Chapter 211, Statutes of
2012, authorizes instruction in social science for grades 7-12
to include information about the Bracero program. This measure
was passed by the Assembly Education Committee by a vote of 7-2.
AB 199 (Ma & Cook), Chapter 607, Statutes of 2011, encourages
social studies instruction to include instruction on the role
and contributions of Filipino Americans in the United States
army in World War II. This measure was passed by the Assembly
Education Committee by a vote of 7-0.
SB 48 (Leno), Chapter 81, Statutes of 2011, requires instruction
in social science to include the role and contributions of
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans. This measure
was passed by the Assembly Education Committee by a vote of 7-4.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Board of Behavioral Health Practice
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence - California Chapter
California Council of Community Mental Health Agencies
National Alliance of Professional Psychology Providers
National Association of Social Workers - California Chapter
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The Nicholas and Dorothy Cummings Foundation
Youth Alive!
An individual
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Jill Rice / ED. / (916) 319-2087