Important legislation you should know about

Bill/Description

CTA’s position

Status

AB 25 HEAD AND NECK INJURIES (Hayashi)

Adds requirements for first aid certification so that parents and school personnel can recognize symptoms and take appropriate emergency action regarding head and neck injuries.

Support: This bill addresses several key concerns. Parents must be aware of potential medical repercussions when their children participate in physical activities. Only licensed medical personnel should give an injured student clearance to return to sports activities, and they should have the most up-to-date information related to head injuries.

Signed into law

AB 124 ALIGNING ELD STANDARDS (Fuentes)

Requires the State Board of Education to consider adopting English language development (ELD) standards aligned to the Common Core State Standards in English-language arts (ELA), based on recommendations by a group of experts convened by the superintendent of public instruction.

Support: This bill helps to ensure that English learners have an equal opportunity to succeed in school.

Signed into law

AB 446 RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PROGRAMS (Carter)

Authorizes a county to adopt restorative justice programs to address the needs of minors, victims and the community, which will be implemented through a protocol developed by the juvenile court in conjunction with associative groups.

Support: CTA believes that restorative justice programs provide opportunities to repair injuries caused by crime by enabling the victim, the offender and the affected members of the community to be directly involved in responding to the crime.

Vetoed by governor

AB 1034 CHARTER SCHOOL ACCESS (Gatto)

Eliminates preferences and admissions criteria at charter schools; ensures that all students will have access to charter schools.

Support: CTA believes discrimination is incompatible with quality education and that all forms of discrimination must be eliminated.

Vetoed by governor

SB 126 UNION ELECTIONS (Steinberg)

Provides that if the Agricultural Labor Relations Board sets aside an employees’ election because of unfair employer misconduct, the labor organization shall be certified as the exclusive representative for the bargaining unit.

Support: CTA supports collective bargaining and unionizing, and believes that the exploitation of workers is inhumane and unjust.

Vetoed by governor

SB 140 ALIGNING INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS (Lowenthal)

Requires the State Board of Education (SBE) to consider approving supplemental instructional materials aligned to the Common Core State Standards in language arts and math for grades K-8, based on recommendations by the California Department of Education; and allows school districts to approve instructional materials other than those approved by the SBE.

Support: This bill ensures that classroom teachers participate in the approval process for supplemental instructional materials aligned to the state-adopted common core standards.

Signed into law

SB 161 ADMINISTERING DIASTAT (Huff)

Authorizes a school district to provide school employees with voluntary training in rendering emergency medical assistance to pupils with epilepsy suffering from seizures, including rectal administration of Diastat; and allows a parent of a pupil with epilepsy to request the school to have an employee receive the training if the pupil suffers a seizure when a nurse is not available.

Oppose: CTA believes specialized health care should be provided by qualified designated personnel as defined in the Education Code and recommended by the credentialed school nurse.

Signed into law