BILL NUMBER: SB 1256CHAPTERED BILL TEXT CHAPTER 115 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE JULY 19, 2010 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR JULY 19, 2010 PASSED THE SENATE JULY 1, 2010 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY JUNE 28, 2010 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 23, 2010 INTRODUCED BY Senator Hancock FEBRUARY 19, 2010 An act to amend Section 37222 of, to add Sections 37222.10, 37222.11, 37222.12, 37222.13, 37222.14, and 37222.17 to, and to repeal Section 37222.5 of, the Education Code, and to add Section 6724 to the Government Code, relating to Ed Roberts Day. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1256, Hancock. Ed Roberts Day. Existing law requires the Governor to proclaim certain days each year for specified reasons. Existing law also designates particular days each year as having special significance in public schools and educational institutions and encourages those entities to conduct suitable commemorative exercises on those dates. This bill would repeal and recast these provisions. This bill would require the Governor to proclaim January 23 of each year as Ed Roberts Day, would designate that date as having special significance in public schools and educational institutions, and would encourage those entities to conduct suitable commemorative exercises on that date. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The Legislature hereby finds and declares the following: (a) Edward Verne Roberts was born January 23, 1939. (b) Ed contracted polio as an adolescent in 1953. For the first year of his illness, he spent nearly all of his time in a hospital. Eventually he left the hospital, but had to spend vast expanses of time in an iron lung. (c) His career as an advocate began when a high school administrator threatened to deny him a diploma because he had not completed driver's education and physical education. (d) After attending the College of San Mateo, in 1962 he was admitted to the University of California at Berkeley where he became the first severely disabled student to attend UC Berkeley. (e) When his search for housing at the university met resistance, in part because of the iron lung that he slept in at night, the director of the campus hospital offered him a room in an empty wing. Ed accepted on the condition that it be treated as dormitory space. (f) Other significantly disabled students joined him there over the next few years. They began calling themselves the "Rolling Quads." (g) In 1968 when two were threatened with a loss of services by a rehabilitation counselor, the "Rolling Quads" organized a successful protest that led to the counselor's transfer. Their success on campus inspired the group to advocate for curb cuts, opening access to the wider community, and creating the first student-led disability services program at a university in the nation. (h) The student program in turn led to the creation, in Berkeley, of the nation's first center for independent living. Roberts assumed leadership of the Center for Independent Living, Berkeley, and guided its development as a model for disability advocacy and self-help services across the nation and around the world. (i) Ed Roberts earned a B.A. in 1964 and an M.A. in 1966, both from UC Berkeley, in Political Science. He also taught political science at the university for six years. (j) In 1975, Governor Jerry Brown appointed Ed Roberts Director of the Department of Rehabilitation. He served in that post until 1983 when he co-founded the World Institute on Disability. (k) Ed Roberts died from natural causes on March 14, 1995. SEC. 2. Section 37222 of the Education Code is amended to read: 37222. (a) On each day designated and set apart as a day having special significance, all public schools and educational institutions are encouraged to observe that day and to conduct suitable commemorative exercises. (b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the exercises encouraged by this section be integrated into the regular school program, and be conducted by the school or institution within the amount otherwise budgeted for educational programs. SEC. 3. Section 37222.10 is added to the Education Code, to read: 37222.10. (a) The second Wednesday in May is designated and set apart as the Day of the Teacher, a day having special significance pursuant to Section 37222. (b) On the Day of the Teacher, all public schools and educational institutions are encouraged to conduct exercises commemorating and directing attention to teachers and the teaching profession. SEC. 4. Section 37222.11 is added to the Education Code, to read: 37222.11. (a) April 21 of each year is designated and set apart as John Muir Day, a day having special significance pursuant to Section 37222. (b) On John Muir Day, all public schools and educational institutions are encouraged to conduct exercises stressing the importance that an ecologically sound natural environment plays in the quality of life for all of us, and emphasizing John Muir's significant contributions to the fostering of that awareness and the indelible mark he left on the State of California. SEC. 5. Section 37222.12 is added to the Education Code, to read: 37222.12. (a) April 6 of each year is designated and set apart as California Poppy Day, a day having special significance pursuant to Section 37222. (b) On California Poppy Day, all public schools and educational institutions are encouraged to conduct exercises honoring the California Poppy, including instruction about native plants, particularly the California Poppy, and the economic and aesthetic value of wildflowers; promoting responsible behavior toward our natural resources and a spirit of protection toward them; and emphasizing the value of natural resources and conservation of natural resources. SEC. 6. Section 37222.13 is added to the Education Code, to read: 37222.13. (a) May 22 of each year is designated and set apart as Harvey Milk Day, a day having special significance pursuant to Section 37222. (b) On Harvey Milk Day, all public schools and educational institutions are encouraged to conduct exercises remembering the life of Harvey Milk, recognizing his accomplishments, and familiarizing pupils with the contributions he made to this state. SEC. 7. Section 37222.14 is added to the Education Code, to read: 37222.14. (a) March 30 of each year is designated and set apart as Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day, a day having special significance pursuant to Section 37222. (b) On Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day all public schools and educational institutions are encouraged to conduct exercises recognizing the contributions of all those involved in the Vietnam War and remembering the sacrifices they made for their country. SEC. 8. Section 37222.17 is added to the Education Code, to read: 37222.17. (a) January 23 of each year is designated and set apart as Ed Roberts Day, a day having special significance pursuant to Section 37222. (b) On Ed Roberts Day, all public schools and educational institutions are encouraged to conduct exercises remembering the life of Ed Roberts, recognizing his accomplishments as well as the accomplishments of other Californians with disabilities, and familiarizing pupils with the contributions that Ed Roberts and other Californians with disabilities have made to this state. SEC. 9. Section 37222.5 of the Education Code is repealed. SEC. 10. Section 6724 is added to the Government Code, to read: 6724. The Governor shall annually proclaim January 23 as Ed Roberts Day.