BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Carol Liu, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 1165
AUTHOR: Mitchell
AMENDED: April 3, 2014
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: April 24, 2014
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Lynn Lorber
SUBJECT : Sexual abuse and sex trafficking prevention
education.
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes schools to provide sexual abuse and sex
trafficking prevention education, as specified, and requires
the next revision of the health framework to include a
distinct category on sexual abuse and sex trafficking
prevention education.
BACKGROUND
Current law:
1) Requires school districts to ensure that all students in
grades 7-12 receive HIV/AIDS prevention education, as
specified, from instructors trained in the appropriate
courses. Each student must receive this instruction at
least once in junior high or middle school and at least
once in high school. (Education Code � 51934)
2) Authorizes school districts to provide comprehensive
sexual health education, as specified, consisting of
age-appropriate instruction, in any grade, using
instructors trained in the appropriate courses. (EC �
51933)
3) Provides that parents have the right to excuse their
child from all or part of comprehensive sexual health
education, HIV/AIDS prevention education, and assessment
related to that education. Current law requires school
districts to notify the parent of each student about
instruction in sexual health and HIV/AIDS prevention and
research on student health behaviors and risks planned
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for the coming year. (EC � 51938)
The health framework was last adopted in 2003, and was in the
process of being revised when the statutory (and budgetary)
suspension of that process took effect in July 2009. Adoption
of the revised health framework was projected for March 2011.
The processes for reviewing frameworks and adopting
instructional materials have been suspended since July 28,
2009. The State Board of Education (SBE) is specifically
prohibited from reviewing frameworks and adopting
instructional materials until the 2015-16 school year (other
than as specifically authorized for common core English
language arts and mathematics, the revised science standards
and framework, and the revised history-social science
framework). (Education Code � 60200.7, � 60200.8, and �
60200.9)
ANALYSIS
This bill authorizes schools to provide sexual abuse and sex
trafficking prevention education, as specified, and requires
the next revision of the health framework to include a
distinct category on sexual abuse and sex trafficking
prevention education. Specifically, this bill:
1) Authorizes a school district to provide sexual abuse and
sex trafficking prevention education, and if this
instruction is provided, requires the school district to
ensure that:
a) The education is from instructors
trained in the appropriate courses.
b) Each student receives this
instruction at least once in junior high or middle
school, and at least once in high school.
2) Requires the instruction and materials to include:
a) Information on different forms of
sexual abuse and assault; discussion of prevention
strategies; how to report sexual abuse or suspected
sexual abuse; and local resources for victims.
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b) Discussion of healthy boundaries for
relationships; how to recognize potentially harmful
and abusive relationships; and refusal skills to
overcome peer pressure and to avoid high-risk
activities.
c) Information on sex trafficking and
risk factors; the recruiting tactics of sex
traffickers and peer recruiters, including
recruitment through the Internet; how to report sex
trafficking or suspected sex trafficking; and local
resources for victims.
d) Discussion of legal aspects of sexual
abuse and sex trafficking under state and federal
laws.
e) Discussion of how culture and mass
media influence and desensitize our perceptions of
sexual abuse and sex trafficking, including but not
limited to stereotypes and myths about the victims
and abusers, victim blaming, and the role of
language. This instruction must emphasize
compassion for people who have suffered from sexual
abuse or sex trafficking, and support positive
reentry experiences for survivors returning to
school.
3) Authorizes the California Department of Education (CDE)
to develop model curricula on sexual abuse and sex
trafficking prevention education and make it
available to school districts by posting it on the CDE's
website. This bill authorizes CDE to include a guide for
parents on its website.
4) Requires sexual abuse and sex trafficking prevention
education, whether taught by school district personnel or
outside consultants, to satisfy many of the existing
conditions relative to sexual health education, such as
to be age appropriate, medically accurate and objective,
and encourage communication between students and their
parents.
5) Adds sexual abuse and sex trafficking prevention
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education to existing parental opt-out and notification
provisions (current provisions relate to comprehensive
sexual health education and HIV/AIDS prevention
education).
6) Requires the Instructional Quality Commission, during the
next revision of the health framework, to consider,
develop, and recommend for adoption by the State Board of
Education, a distinct category on sexual abuse and sex
trafficking prevention education that includes but is not
limited to all of the following described in #2 above.
7) Encourages school districts to collaborate with outside
consultants with expertise in sexual abuse and sex
trafficking prevention education in order to create a
school safety plan to address the threat of sexual abuse
and sex trafficking.
8) Encourages school districts to collaborate with law
enforcement on a referral protocol for high-risk students
and minor.
9) Authorizes in-service training to be conducted
periodically to enable school personnel to learn new
developments in the understanding of sexual abuse and sex
trafficking, and to receive instruction on current
prevention efforts and methods. This bill encourages
school districts to include training on early
identification and mandated reporting of sexual abuse and
sex trafficking of students and minors.
10) Defines "sexual abuse and sex trafficking prevention
education" as instruction on the prevalence and nature of
sexual abuse and sex trafficking, strategies to reduce
their risk, and how to safely report an incident.
11) Adds to the definition of "instructors trained in the
appropriate courses" the knowledge of essential concepts
on preventing sexual abuse and sex trafficking.
12) Adds providing students with the knowledge and skills
necessary to protect himself or herself from sexual abuse
and sex trafficking to the stated purposes of the
California Comprehensive Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS
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Prevention Education Act.
13) Add sexual abuse and sex trafficking prevention education
to:
a) Legislative intent that students
communicate with their parents, a process for
parents to review materials and evaluation tools,
and excuse from participation in that instruction.
b) Instruction for which school
districts may contract with outside consultants.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Authorized instruction . This bill authorizes but does
not require a school district to provide sexual abuse and
sex trafficking prevention education. This is consistent
with existing provisions relative to comprehensive sexual
health education. School districts that choose to
provide sexual abuse and sex trafficking prevention
education must ensure that the instruction includes
specified information and is age appropriate, medically
accurate and objective, and encourages communication
between students and their parents.
The Education Code is permissive, and as such, schools may
currently provide sexual abuse and sex trafficking
prevention education. This bill requires schools that
elect to offer this instruction to ensure that
instruction uniformly meets specific criteria. Could
this bill create situations where an existing program
would no longer be allowed to be offered if it does not
meet the criteria specified in this bill? For example,
existing instructional programs about sexual abuse
prevention may not include information about sex
trafficking, as would be prescribed by this bill.
2) Health standards and framework . The health standards and
framework currently include some references to sexual
assault, sexual harassment, sexual violence, and sexual
exploitation but do not reference sex trafficking.
Neither the standards nor the framework include the level
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of detail about sexual abuse and sex trafficking
prevention that could be incorporated into the curriculum
pursuant to this bill.
This bill requires the Instructional Quality Commission,
during the next revision of the health framework, to
consider, develop, and recommend for adoption by the
State Board of Education (SBE), a distinct category on
sexual abuse and sex trafficking prevention education.
The creation of a distinct category within a framework is
consistent with current law relative to the development
of a distinct category on mental health instruction
within the health framework.
The SBE adopted the health education framework in 2003, and
adopted the health content standards in March of 2008.
The health framework was scheduled for review in 2011 but
the entire process to revise the frameworks and adopt
instructional materials has been suspended until the
2015-16 school year. There does not appear to be a
specific plan for the resumption of the process of
reviewing and updating the health framework. Assuming
the
prior schedule is resumed as it was upon suspension, the
health framework would likely be revisited in 2018 at the
earliest.
3) Parental opt-out . This bill requires schools that choose
to provide sexual abuse and sex trafficking prevention
education to notify parents prior to this instruction,
and allows parents to request that their child not
receive this instruction, which is consistent with
current law relative to comprehensive sexual health
education.
4) Related legislation . AB 1432 (Gatto), among other
things, requires annual mandated reporter training of all
school districts, county office of education (COE) and
charter school personnel within the first six weeks of
each school year or within six weeks of employment AB
1432 is scheduled to be heard by the Assembly Public
Safety Committee on April 29.
5) Prior legislation . SB 13 (Correa, 2011) and SB 1300
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(Correa, 2010) 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. This instruction would have
included components about, inappropriate sexual behavior,
sexual harassment, sexual violence, and sexual assault.
Both bills included parental notification and opt-out
provisions. Concerns were raised about blending violence
prevention education with sexual health education, and
the ability of parents to opt-out of violence prevention
education. SB 13 failed passage in this Committee, and
SB 1300 failed passage in the Assembly Education
Committee.
AB 1373 (Fong, 2011) would have authorized school districts or
the county office of education to provide education
programs to promote healthy relationships and prevent
teen dating violence to pupils in grades 7-12. AB 1373
did not reference sexual abuse or violence and therefore
did not include parental notification and opt-out
provisions. SB 1373 was held in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee.
SUPPORT
California Communities United Institute
City of Carson
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
Saint Thomas More Catholic Church
Soroptimists Together Against Trafficking
Youth ALIVE
An individual
OPPOSITION
None on file.