BILL NUMBER: ACR 60 ENROLLED BILL TEXT ADOPTED IN SENATE JULY 6, 2015 ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 22, 2015 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 20, 2015 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Santiago APRIL 28, 2015 Relative to education. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST ACR 60, Santiago. Education: students with disabilities. This measure would recognize the necessity of a more respectful and humanistic view of students with disabilities, and would affirm that state policies and procedures should use People First Language to the greatest extent possible. WHEREAS, All students deserve to be treated with dignity and respect; and WHEREAS, More than 700,000 students with disabilities receive special education services in California, comprising more than 10 percent of the state's public school enrollment; and WHEREAS, Students with disabilities are sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, friends, and neighbors; and WHEREAS, The contributions of students with disabilities enrich our communities as they live, learn, and share their lives; and WHEREAS, The language used to refer to students with disabilities has a profound impact in shaping beliefs and attitudes about these students, driving policies and laws, influencing our feelings and decisions, and affecting students' daily lives; and WHEREAS, Old, inaccurate, and inappropriate descriptors about students with disabilities perpetuate negative stereotypes and attitudinal barriers; and WHEREAS, When we identify or describe students with disabilities primarily in terms of their disability or medical diagnosis, we undervalue and stigmatize them; and WHEREAS, Using thoughtful terminology can foster positive attitudes about students with disabilities; and WHEREAS, One of the major improvements in communicating verbally or in writing with or about students with disabilities is People First Language, which places the person ahead of his or her disability; and WHEREAS, People First Language is an objective form of communication that eliminates generalizations and stereotypes by focusing on the person rather than the disability; and WHEREAS, For example, we do not refer to a child with cancer as a "cancerous child," and similarly, we should not refer to a child with autism as an "autistic child" or a child with epilepsy as "an epileptic child"; and WHEREAS, A recent report of California's Statewide Task Force on Special Education entitled, "One System: Reforming Education to Serve All Students," called for a unified, inclusive educational system that supports all students based on individual needs; and WHEREAS, The manner in which written and verbal policies and communications refer to students with disabilities can further this important state educational goal; and WHEREAS, The California Legislature recognizes the necessity of a more respectful and humanistic view of students with disabilities; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature affirms that state policies and procedures should use People First Language to the greatest extent possible, especially those used by state and local educational agencies; and be it further Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.