Bill Text: CA AB2845 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: School safety: Safe Place to Learn Act.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2016-09-25 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 621, Statutes of 2016. [AB2845 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB2845-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 2845 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 621
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 25, 2016
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 25, 2016
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 18, 2016
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 24, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 16, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 26, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 12, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 17, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Williams
(Coauthor: Assembly Member McCarty)
FEBRUARY 19, 2016
An act to amend Sections 234.1 and 234.5 of the Education Code,
relating to school safety.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2845, Williams. School safety: Safe Place to Learn Act.
Existing law establishes the system of public elementary and
secondary schools in this state, and provides for the establishment
of local educational agencies to operate these schools and provide
instruction to pupils. Existing law states the policy of the State of
California to afford all persons in public schools, regardless of
their disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression,
nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any
other specified characteristic, equal rights and opportunities in the
educational institutions of the state. Existing law, the Safe Place
to Learn Act, requires the State Department of Education, as part of
its regular monitoring and review of a local educational agency, to
assess whether the local educational agency has, among other things,
adopted a policy that prohibits discrimination, harassment,
intimidation, and bullying, as specified, and has publicized that
policy to pupils, parents, employees, agents of the governing board,
and the general public.
Existing law also requires the department to assess whether the
local educational agency has provided to certificated schoolsite
employees who serve pupils in any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive,
information on existing schoolsite and community resources related to
the support of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning
pupils, as specified.
This bill would express legislative findings and declarations
relating to pupils who are subject to verbal, physical, and online
harassment. The bill would add the support of pupils who face bias or
bullying on the basis of religious affiliation, or perceived
religious affiliation.
Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to
post, and annually update, on the department's Internet Web site and
provide to each school district a list of statewide resources,
including community-based organizations, that provide support to
youth who have been subjected to school-based discrimination,
harassment, intimidation, or bullying, and their families.
This bill would instead provide that that list include statewide
resources, including community-based organizations, that provide
support to youth, and their families, who have been subjected to
school-based discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying on
the basis of religious affiliation, nationality, race, or ethnicity,
or perceived religious affiliation, nationality, race, or ethnicity.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) All pupils deserve and need safe and supportive school
environments in which to learn.
(2) Pupils who are Muslim, Sikh, or of South Asian descent often
face verbal, physical, or online harassment, all of which have
significant effects on their academic achievement and mental health.
(3) Recent reports indicate that more than half of Muslim and Sikh
pupils in California report that they have faced verbal threats or
insults, cyberbullying, or physical assaults.
(4) The federal government has recognized the harm that is caused
by such bullying, and has called upon Muslim parents to contact the
United States Department of Justice or the United States Department
of Education if their children are bullied at school. The White House
has initiated the Asian American and Pacific Islander Bullying
Prevention Task Force in response to concerns about the bullying of
Muslim, Sikh, and Asian American pupils.
(5) Multiple studies demonstrate that pupils who face bullying
suffer academically. Bullying is also linked to negative outcomes,
including impacts on mental health, substance use, and suicide.
(6) Research demonstrates that Muslim, Sikh, and other pupils who
face hate-based bias and bullying in school do not report these
incidents to school staff, primarily because they believe that school
staff are not trained to address these issues.
(7) Creating supportive learning environments improves pupil
performance.
(8) The United States Department of Education provides numerous
resources for schools to support pupils who are facing bullying due
to their religion, race, or national origin. These resources were
highlighted in an open letter dated December 31, 2015, and sent by
the United States Secretary of Education to education administrators
throughout the nation.
(b) The Legislature therefore encourages school districts, county
offices of education, and charter schools to provide information on
existing schoolsite and community resources to educate teachers,
administrators, and other school staff on the support of Muslim,
Sikh, and other pupils who may face anti-Muslim bias and bullying, as
required by subdivision (d) of Section 234.1 of the Education Code.
SEC. 2. Section 234.1 of the Education Code is amended to read:
234.1. The department, pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section
64001, shall monitor adherence to the requirements of Chapter 5.3
(commencing with Section 4900) of Division 1 of Title 5 of the
California Code of Regulations and this chapter as part of its
regular monitoring and review of local educational agencies, commonly
known as the Categorical Program Monitoring process. The department
shall assess whether local educational agencies have done all of the
following:
(a) Adopted a policy that prohibits discrimination, harassment,
intimidation, and bullying based on the actual or perceived
characteristics set forth in Section 422.55 of the Penal Code and
Section 220 of this code, and disability, gender, gender identity,
gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual
orientation, or association with a person or group with one or more
of these actual or perceived characteristics. The policy shall
include a statement that the policy applies to all acts related to
school activity or school attendance occurring within a school under
the jurisdiction of the superintendent of the school district.
(b) Adopted a process for receiving and investigating complaints
of discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying based on
any of the actual or perceived characteristics set forth in Section
422.55 of the Penal Code and Section 220 of this code, and
disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality,
race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or association with
a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived
characteristics. The complaint process shall include, but not be
limited to, all of the following:
(1) A requirement that, if school personnel witness an act of
discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying, they shall
take immediate steps to intervene when safe to do so.
(2) A timeline to investigate and resolve complaints of
discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying that shall be
followed by all schools under the jurisdiction of the school
district.
(3) An appeal process afforded to the complainant should he or she
disagree with the resolution of a complaint filed pursuant to this
section.
(4) All forms developed pursuant to this process shall be
translated pursuant to Section 48985.
(c) Publicized antidiscrimination, anti-harassment,
anti-intimidation, and antibullying policies adopted pursuant to
subdivision (a), including information about the manner in which to
file a complaint, to pupils, parents, employees, agents of the
governing board, and the general public. The information shall be
translated pursuant to Section 48985.
(d) (1) Provided, incident to the publicizing described in
subdivision (c), to certificated schoolsite employees who serve
pupils in any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, who are employed by the
local educational agency, information on existing schoolsite and
community resources related to the support of lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) pupils, or related to the
support of pupils who may face bias or bullying on the basis of
religious affiliation, or perceived religious affiliation.
(2) As used in this subdivision, both of the following apply:
(A) Schoolsite resources may include, but are not limited to, peer
support or affinity clubs and organizations, safe spaces for LGBTQ
or other at-risk pupils, counseling services, staff who have received
antibias or other training aimed at supporting these pupils or who
serve as designated support to these pupils, health and other
curriculum materials that are inclusive of, and relevant to, these
pupils, online training developed pursuant to Section 32283.5, and
other policies adopted pursuant to this article, including related
complaint procedures.
(B) Community resources may include, but are not limited to,
community-based organizations that provide support to LGBTQ or other
at-risk pupils and their families, and physical and mental health
providers with experience or training in treating or supporting these
pupils.
(e) Posted the policy established pursuant to subdivision (a) in
all schools and offices, including staff lounges and pupil government
meeting rooms.
(f) Maintained documentation of complaints and their resolution
for a minimum of one review cycle.
(g) Ensured that complainants are protected from retaliation and
that the identity of a complainant alleging discrimination,
harassment, intimidation, or bullying remains confidential, as
appropriate.
(h) Identified a responsible local educational agency officer for
ensuring school district or county office of education compliance
with the requirements of Chapter 5.3 (commencing with Section 4900)
of Division 1 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations and
this chapter.
(i) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require school
employees to engage with religious institutions in the course of
identifying community support resources pursuant to this section.
SEC. 3. Section 234.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:
234.5. (a) The Superintendent shall post, and annually update, on
the department's Internet Web site and provide to each school
district a list of statewide resources, including community-based
organizations, that provide support to youth, and their families, who
have been subjected to school-based discrimination, harassment,
intimidation, or bullying, including school-based discrimination,
harassment, intimidation, or bullying on the basis of religious
affiliation, nationality, race, or ethnicity, or perceived religious
affiliation, nationality, race, or ethnicity.
(b) The department's Internet Web site shall also include a list
of statewide resources for youth who have been affected by gangs, gun
violence, and psychological trauma caused by violence at home, at
school, and in the community.
