California Assembly Bill AB630 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 630AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 26, 2011 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 31, 2011 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Hueso FEBRUARY 16, 2011 An act to add Article 1.4 (commencing with Section 32204) to Chapter 2 of Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, relating to pupil safety. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 630, as amended, Hueso. Pupil safety: bullying. Existing law establishes the School Safety and Violence Prevention Act, a statewide program administered by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, pursuant to which funds are allocated to school districts serving pupils in any of grades 8 to 12, inclusive, for the purpose of promoting school safety and reducing schoolsite violence, including, but 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 express the intent of the Legislature to encourage school districts  , at their discretion,  to establish programs, to be integrated  either  into the regular curriculum  or through separate instruction  during National Bullying Prevention Month  and throughout the year  ,  at the discretion of each school district,  to reduce bullying through training with appropriate activities and best practice methodologies involving collaboration among pupils  , parents,  and school staff. The bill would declare the intent of the Legislature that the training encouraged by the bill should help pupils identify different forms of bullying behavior, and should create a school environment where pupils know that reports of bullying will be properly handled and that the confidentiality of their statements will be respected. The bill would also express the intent of the Legislature that training include school administrators and teachers,  parents, pupils, and anyone else who is in frequent contact with children,  and cultivate positive behaviors that can create a bully-free learning community in each school. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Article 1.4 (commencing with Section 32204) is added to Chapter 2 of Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, to read: Article 1.4. Bullying 32204. It is the intent of the Legislature to encourage school districts  , at their discretion,  to establish programs to be integrated  either  into the regular curriculum  or through separate instruction  during National Bullying Prevention Month  and throughout the year  for a minimum of one class period each day, or a minimum of five  hours, at the discretion of each school district   hours per month  , to reduce bullying through training with appropriate activities and best practice methodologies involving collaboration among pupils,  parents,  and school staff, in accordance with all of the following: (a) Training should educate pupils to increase their awareness of bullying  and to create a school environment that empowers parents, school staff and administration, and pupils   as well as to prevent and manage bullying at their schools. This training should have three main goals: (1) To help pupils identify different forms of bullying behavior, which include physical, verbal, psychological, and electronic bullying. (2) To create a school environment where pupils know that reports of bullying will be properly handled, so that pupils who are either targets of bullying or bystanders will freely report incidents of bullying when it is necessary. (3) To build trust so that pupils will feel that the confidentiality of statements they intend to keep private will be respected. (b) Training should include school administrators and teachers  , parents, and pupils, and anyone else who is in frequent contact with children  . The training should promote awareness of bullying, as well as kindness, communication, cooperation, and friendship while stressing empathy for all pupils. Each school district may develop a training curriculum that fits its specific needs. (c) Training should essentially foster key educational building blocks to build a positive school climate, address and prevent bullying behavior in California schools, create an awareness and encourage discussion of the bullying problem as a school community, and cultivate the positive behaviors that can create a bully-free learning community in each school.