BILL NUMBER: AB 1390 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 29, 2000
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 28, 2000
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 25, 2000
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 6, 2000
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 25, 2000
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 12, 2000
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 3, 2000
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Havice
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Washington)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Alquist, Cunneen, and Kuehl)
FEBRUARY 26, 1999
An act to add Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 32246) to
Chapter 2 of Part 19 of the Education Code, relating to pupils, and
making an appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1390, Havice. Pupils: violence prevention.
Existing law establishes the School Safety and Violence Prevention
Act, a statewide program administered by the Superintendent of
Public Instruction, who, pursuant to the act, allocates funds to
school districts that maintain any of grades 8 to 12, inclusive, and
that certify the funds will be used as required by the act. Funds
allocated pursuant to this program are required to be expended for
purposes that include, but are not limited to, providing conflict
resolution personnel, providing on-campus communication devices,
establishing staff training programs, and establishing cooperative
arrangements with law enforcement agencies.
This bill would establish the Bullying Prevention Grant Program
for Grades 5 and 6. Schools maintaining grades 5 and 6 would be
authorized to apply to the State Department of Education for a $5,000
grant to implement a 2-year program. The bill would require the
Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop criteria by which
grant recipients will be selected. The bill would authorize grant
funds to be expended to implement a locally designed program or to
purchase existing bullying prevention materials and programs.
The bill would require the State Department of Education to
conduct a study of the overall effectiveness of the Bullying
Prevention Grant Program and report to the Governor and the
Legislature by July 1, 2003.
This bill would appropriate $150,000 from the General Fund to the
State Department of Education for purposes of awarding 30 $5,000
grants pursuant to the Bullying Prevention Grant Program for Grades 5
and 6.
Appropriation: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) School bullying is a significant problem facing this state's
schoolchildren.
(2) School violence at our schools, including bullying, can be
damaging to a child's sense of security and can dramatically effect a
child's academic achievement.
(3) Young bullies whose behavior goes unchecked are more likely
than other children to grow up and suffer from personal,
professional, and legal problems.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting the Bullying
Prevention Program to create an intervention and prevention program
that creates a norm in each school that discourages bullying,
empowers victims to take appropriate action, and teaches other youths
not to be bystanders, but rather to take appropriate action against
any bullying going on around them.
SEC. 2. Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 32246) is added to
Chapter 2 of Part 19 of the Education Code, to read:
Article 4.5. Bullying Prevention Grant Program for Grades 5
and 6
32246. There is hereby established the Bullying Prevention Grant
Program for Grades 5 and 6.
32247. Subject to an appropriation being made for this purpose, a
school district that has jurisdiction over schools maintaining
grades 5 and 6 may apply to the State Department of Education for a
grant to implement a two-year bullying prevention program. The
Superintendent of Public Instruction shall develop criteria by which
grant recipients will be selected. Grants shall be apportioned among
schools in the southern, central, and northern portions of the
state. Priority shall be given to those schools that demonstrate a
history of bullying problems.
32248. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall establish
and maintain guidelines for bullying prevention programs. The
program shall integrate schoolsite personnel, including, but not
limited to, teachers, school psychologists, school counselors, school
nurses, and shall seek to involve parents and guardians where
appropriate. The program shall include, but not be limited to, all
of the following:
(a) Direct instruction, including awareness and understanding of
the bullying and victimization process.
(b) Individual and group instruction on intervention and
prevention activities that are educational in nature and relate to
the school setting.
(c) Small group counseling settings with the emphasis on
prevention.
(d) Staff, pupil, and parent training in awareness, understanding,
prevention, and intervention in the bullying and victimization
process.
(e) Materials that are specially designed educational materials
that are commonly used in counseling, psychology, and educational
settings.
32249. The amount of a grant shall be five thousand dollars
($5,000) for a two-year program. Grant funds may be expended to
implement a locally designed program or to purchase existing bullying
prevention materials and programs that meet the parameters set forth
by this article and those set by the Superintendent of Public
Instruction.
SEC. 3. By July 1, 2003, the State Department of Education shall
transmit to the Governor and the Legislature a study on the grants
that have been awarded and the overall effectiveness of the Bullying
Prevention Grant Program.
SEC. 4. The sum of one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000)
is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the State Department
of Education for purposes of awarding 30 five thousand dollar
($5,000) grants pursuant to the Bullying Prevention Grant Program for
Grades 5 and 6 pursuant to Article 4.5 (commencing with Section
32246) of Chapter 2 of Part 19 of the Education Code.