BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1785
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Date of Hearing: February 29, 2000
Counsel: Gregory Pagan
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Carl Washington, Chair
AB 1785 (Villaraigosa) - As Introduced: January 26, 2000
SUMMARY : Requires the Department of Education to include the
reporting of hate-motivated incidents and hate crimes, as
defined, on the standard crime reporting form and makes other
conforming changes. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the standard school crime reporting form to include
hate crimes and hate-motivated incidents.
2)Defines "hate crime" as an act or attempted act against the
person or property of another person or institution which in
any way manifests evidence of hostility toward the victim
because of his or her actual or perceived race, religion,
disability, gender, nationality, or sexual orientation, and
includes threatening telephone calls, hate mail, physical
assault, vandalism, cross burnings, destruction of religious
symbols, or fire bombings.
3)Defines "hate-motivated incident" as an act or attempted act
which constitutes an expression of hostility against a person,
property, or institution because of the victim's real or
perceived race, religion, disability, gender, nationality, or
sexual orientation, and includes using bigoted insults,
taunts, or slurs; distributing or posting hate group
literature or posters; defacing, removing or destroying posted
materials or announcements; and posting or circulating
demeaning jokes or leaflets.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the Department of Education in consultation with
specific individuals to develop a standard school crime
reporting form defining the crimes to be reported including a
description of the crime, victim characteristics, and suspect
characteristics, if known. (Penal Code Section 628.1)
AB 1785
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2)Requires each principal of a school to forward a completed
report of crimes committed on school grounds at the end of
each reporting period to the superintendent of schools, and
requires the superintendent of schools to submit the aggregate
data to the Department of Education on a specified date.
(Penal Code Sections 628.2 (a) and 628.2 (b).)
3)Requires the Department of Education to distribute to
specified organizations and the Legislature a summary of the
statewide aggregate data for the last school year along with
specified trends in school crime. (Penal Code Section 628.2
(d).)
4)Requires the Department of Education to establish guidelines
for reporting and documentation for validating the incidents
of each crime description, including, but not limited to,
battery, assault with a deadly weapon, graffiti, homicide, sex
offenses, robbery, extortion, drug and alcohol offenses,
possession weapons, destructive devices, arson, burglary,
theft, and vandalism. (Penal Code Section 628.5.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement . According to the author, "AB 1785 will
improve the collection of information about hate crimes and
hate-motivated incidents in our schools, including the type
and frequency of the crime.
Every student deserves to learn in a safe environment, free of
fear, hostility and intimidation. Unfortunately, hate crimes
are becoming more prevalent in our schools. AB 1785 will help
us identify and respond appropriately to hate crime hot spots.
By improving the data collection about hate crimes occurring
in our schools, we can more efficiently target our limited
resources. We will better understand where and why these
crimes are occurring. Only then can we begin to break the
cycle of intolerance.
Currently, the State Department of Education receives crime
statistics from schools twice a year. However, sufficient
data is not collected about hate-motivated incidents such as
violence or hostility against a student because of his or her
race, religion, disability, or sexual orientation. AB 1785
AB 1785
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will require the Department of Education to identify
guidelines for reporting and documentation for validating the
incidence of hate crimes, as it currently does for other
school crimes.
Hate-related incidents and harassment can adversely affect a
student's ability to learn and can escalate into serious
school violence. AB 1785 will give us another tool - the tool
of accurate information - to effectively teach young people to
appreciate and respect our differences so they can interact
harmoniously today and in the future."
2)Arguments in Support . According to the Anti-Defamation
League, "For over fifteen years, we have been training campus
law enforcement and security personnel, teachers and
administrators in hate crime response and prevention. The
most common complaint at these sessions is fear of being
singled out as a 'problem' school by the district if a hate
crime is reported. The statewide guidelines and reporting
requirement outlined in AB 1785 will send a message that
hate-motivated behavior disrupts the educational environment
and appropriate reporting will allow California to target
resources to ensure that all students, teachers, and
administrators are safe and respected."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California School Employees Association
Anti-Defamation League
Opposition
None on File
Analysis Prepared by : Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744