Bill Text: CA AB5 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: The Safe and Supportive Schools Act.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 15-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-09-23 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 220, Statutes of 2023. [AB5 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB5-Amended.html
NOYES
Local Program:
NOYES
(1)No later than July 1, 2021, the department shall develop resources or, as appropriate, update existing resources for in-service training on schoolsite and community resources for the support of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) pupils, pupils and strategies to increase support for LGBTQ pupils and thereby improve overall school climate. The resources shall be designed for
use in schools operated by a school district or county office of education and charter schools serving pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive.SECTION 1.
Bill Title: The Safe and Supportive Schools Act.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 15-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-09-23 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 220, Statutes of 2023. [AB5 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB5-Amended.html
|
Amended
IN
Assembly
March 23, 2023 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 5
| Introduced by Assembly Member Zbur |
December 05, 2022 |
An act to amend Section 218 of, and to add Section 218.3 to, the Education Code, relating to educational equity.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 5, as amended, Zbur.
The Safe and Supportive Schools Program. 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 requires, no later than July 1, 2021, the State Department of Education to develop resources or, as appropriate, update existing resources for in-service training on schoolsite and community resources for the support of LGBTQ
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) pupils, and strategies to increase support for LGBTQ pupils, as specified. Existing law encourages schools operated by a school district or county office of education and charter schools to use those resources to provide training at least once every 2 years to teachers and other certificated employees of those schools that serve pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive.
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation to ensure (1) that teachers and other certificated employees of schools operated by a school district or county office of education or charter schools have the tools and training they need to support and meet the needs of LGBTQ+ pupils and (2) that California schools are safe and supportive for all pupils, teachers, and other certificated employees. It is the intent of the legislature to enact subsequent legislation to specify the timeline for implementation of teacher and other certificated employee cultural competency training programs developed by the department.
This bill would require the State Department of Education, on or before July 1, 2025, to finalize the development of an online training delivery platform and an online training curriculum to support LGBTQ cultural competency training for teachers and other certificated employees, as specified. The bill would delete the above-described encouragement and instead would require, commencing with the 2025–26 school year, each school operated by a school district or county office of education and each charter school serving pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to use the online training delivery platform and curriculum, or an in-service alternative, to provide at least 4 hours of training at least once every 3 years to teachers and other certificated employees at those schools, as provided. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the department to ensure a 95% completion rate of
the training required pursuant to these provisions within each 3-year training period, and would require the department to report specified completion data to the Legislature, as provided. The bill would require these provisions to be known as the Safe and Supportive Schools Act.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee:Bill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Safe and Supportive Schools Act.SEC. 2.
Section 218 of the Education Code is amended to read:218.
(a)(2)Schools described in paragraph (1) are encouraged to use the resources developed by the department pursuant to paragraph (1) to provide training at least once every two years to teachers and other certificated employees at those schools that serve pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive.
(b) The department shall periodically update the schoolsite and community resources for the support of LGBTQ pupils to reflect changes in law.
(c) (1) As used in this section, schoolsite resources for the support of LGBTQ pupils include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(A) Peer support or affinity clubs and organizations.
(B) Safe spaces for LGBTQ pupils.
(C) Antibullying and harassment policies and related complaint procedures.
(D) Counseling services.
(E) School staff who have received antibias or other training aimed at supporting LGBTQ youth.
(F) Health and other curriculum materials that are inclusive of, and relevant to, LGBTQ youth.
(G) Suicide prevention policies and related procedures.
(H) Policies relating to use of school facilities, including, but not limited to, bathrooms and locker rooms.
(I) Policies and procedures to protect the privacy of LGBTQ pupils.
(2) As used in this section, community resources for the support of LGBTQ pupils include, but are not limited to, both of the following:
(A) Local
community-based organizations that provide support to LGBTQ youth.
(B) Local physical and mental health providers with experience in treating and supporting LGBTQ youth.
SEC. 3.
Section 218.3 is added to the Education Code, immediately following Section 218, to read:218.3.
(a) For purposes of this section, “school” means each school operated by a school district or county office of education and each charter school serving pupils in any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive.(b) (1) On or before July 1, 2025, the department shall finalize the development of an online training delivery platform and online training curriculum to support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) cultural competency training for teachers and other certificated employees.
(2) The department may use resources developed pursuant to Section 148 of Chapter 44 of the Statutes of 2021 or Provisions 47 to 49, inclusive, of Item
6100-001-0001 of Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of 2021 (Chapters 21, 69, and 240 of the Statutes of 2021) to meet the requirements of paragraph (1).
(c) Commencing with the 2025–26 school year, a school shall provide at least four hours of training to teachers and other certificated employees serving pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, every three years. All of the following shall apply to the training under this section:
(1) A school may provide the training using the online training curriculum and platform pursuant to subdivision (b) or with in-service training using the resources developed by the department pursuant to Section 218 that meets the requirements of this section.
(2) A school electing to deliver training using the in-service method shall report to the department the number of its teachers and other
certificated employees who received in-service training pursuant to that method.
(3) A school shall ensure that teachers and all other certificated employees complete the training required by this section during the employees’ regular work hours or designated professional development hours unless otherwise negotiated and mutually agreed upon with the employees’ exclusive representative.
(4) Employees may complete training individually or as part of a group presentation and may be completed in shorter segments as long as the applicable hourly total requirement is met.
(d) (1) The department shall ensure that the in-service training provided by a school as an alternative to the online training is substantially similar to and meets the same standards of the online training described in this
section.
(2) The department shall consider four hours of training as the minimum threshold. The department shall not relieve a school from providing longer, more frequent, or more elaborate relevant in-service training to meet the online training standards.
(e) (1) The department shall ensure a 95-percent completion rate of the training required pursuant to this section within each three-year training period.
(2) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, the department shall provide a report to the Legislature within three months after the conclusion of each three-year training period detailing the percentage of each school’s certificated staff who completed the online training and the percentage of certificated staff who received the alternative in-service training pursuant to
this section.
(3) Each report required by paragraph (2) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
SEC. 4.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.It is the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation, that shall be known, and may be cited, as the “Safe and Supportive Schools Program,” to ensure (1) that teachers and other certificated employees of schools operated by a school district or county office of education or charter schools have the tools and training they need to support and meet the needs of LGBTQ+ pupils and (2) that California schools are safe and supportive for all pupils, teachers, and other certificated employees. It is the intent of the legislature to enact subsequent legislation to ensure that the Safe and Supportive Schools Program specifies the timeline for implementation of teacher and other certificated employee
cultural competency training programs developed by the State Department of Education.
