Bill Text: CA AR28 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Relative to humane education.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 50-22-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-05-02 - Read. Amended. Adopted. (Page 4622.). [AR28 Detail]

Download: California-2015-AR28-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: HR 28	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 2, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Members Dababneh and Calderon
    (   Coauthors:   Assembly Members 
Achadjian,   Alejo,   Travis Allen,  
Arambula,   Atkins,   Baker,   Bigelow,
  Bloom,   Bonilla,   Bonta,  
Brough,   Brown,   Burke,   Campos, 
 Chang,   Chau,   Chávez,   Chiu,
  Chu,   Cooley,   Cooper,  
Dahle,   Daly,   Dodd,   Eggman, 
 Frazier,   Cristina Garcia,   Eduardo Garcia,
  Gatto,   Gipson,   Gomez,  
Gonzalez,   Gordon,   Gray,   Hadley,
  Harper,   Holden,   Irwin,  
Jones,   Jones-Sawyer,   Kim,   Lackey,
  Levine,   Linder,   Lopez,  
Low,   Maienschein,   Mathis,   Mayes,
  McCarty,   Medina,   Melendez, 
 Mullin,   Nazarian,   Obernolte,   O'
Donnell,   Olsen,   Quirk,   Rendon, 
 Rodriguez,   Salas,  Santiago,  
Steinorth,   Mark Stone,   Thurmond,  
Ting,   Wagner,   Waldron,   Weber, 
 Wilk,   and Wood   ) 

                        JULY 15, 2015

   Relative to humane education.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
             HOUSE OR SENATE RESOLUTIONS DO NOT CONTAIN A DIGEST



   WHEREAS, Sections 233.5 (part of the Hate Violence Prevention Act)
and 60042 of the Education Code require instruction in kindergarten
and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to promote and encourage kindness to
pets and humane treatment of animals; and
   WHEREAS, The States of Florida, Illinois, Maine, New Jersey,
Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin have adopted humane
education laws similar to California's; and
   WHEREAS, Numerous academic studies have established a correlation
between animal cruelty during childhood and interpersonal violence in
adulthood; and
   WHEREAS, Law enforcement agencies in major cities such as Houston,
Chicago, and Los Angeles have acknowledged this correlation and
formed special enforcement units to combat animal cruelty; and
   WHEREAS, Humane education, such as that involving wildlife, the
animals' place in the overall environment, and the negative impacts
humans can have on them, including death and extinction, can disrupt
the cycle of animal and human abuse by decreasing a child's potential
to be abusive or neglectful toward animals and, consequently, to
promote prosocial behavior toward humans; and
   WHEREAS, Humane education programs seek to prevent violence by
teaching empathy, compassion, and respect for all living beings and
help children develop into caring, responsible citizens; and
   WHEREAS, Reputable nonprofit organizations are working to
implement humane education programs through in-classroom
presentations, teacher training, and the provision of relevant
resources, and these organizations could assist California schools in
complying with the Education Code's humane education provisions
without burdening school budgets; and
   WHEREAS, The experiences of these nonprofit organizations, as well
as other teachers or organizations that have conducted pilot humane
education efforts, provide evidence that student knowledge and
positive perceptions of animals is not as commonplace as it should
be; and
   WHEREAS, Deficiencies in children's understanding of the role
animals have in the economy of nature and in people's lives
contribute to a proliferation in the number of wild and domestic
animals that are suffering from cruelty, abandonment, high animal
shelter euthanasia rates, and, in extreme circumstances, extinction;
and
   WHEREAS, Schools and school districts are undertaking steps to
rectify these deficiencies by promoting humane education and
implementing it in classrooms; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, That
compliance with Education Code provisions should include educating
students on the principles of kindness and respect for animals and
observance of laws, regulations, and policies pertaining to the
humane treatment of animals, including wildlife and its environment;
and be it further
   Resolved, That actions such as implementing statewide or
districtwide "humane education days" and involving nonprofit
organizations in humane education activities with local faculty and
school administrators be considered for inclusion in compliance
efforts; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Superintendent of Public Instruction be
encouraged to ensure the incorporation of humane education in the
core curriculum; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the State Senate, the Superintendent of Public
Instruction, the State Board of Education, the State Department of
Education, and the author for appropriate distribution.