Assembly Standing Committee on Education

All right. Good afternoon, everyone. I'm calling this hearing of the Assembly Education Committee to order. We do not have a quorum yet. I'd like to thank Ms. Castillo for being here on time and like to invite the rest of the Committee to come on down. So that we could establish a quorum.

I'd like to welcome Ms. Banta and invite the rest of the Committee. We have 12 bills on file today. There are three bills on consent, so these three bills will not be presented for a hearing, but they will be voted on as a block aye or nay.

These three bills on consent are SB389, SB4 11 with amendments, and SB5 10 as a reminder, for each Bill, we'll have up to two witnesses in support, two witnesses in opposition, each of whom may speak for up to two minutes each. And Members of the public in the hearing room will have an opportunity to state their position.

Please, please limit your comments to your name, affiliation and position on the Bill only. Members of the public are also welcome to provide comment through the Committee website, through the position letter portal.

And as a reminder, primary witnesses in support must be those accompanying the author who otherwise have a support letter on file, and the primary witnesses must have an opposition letter on file. All other support and opposition can be stated at the standing mic.

Hopefully don't expect any disruptive conduct today, but as a standard procedure, let me read our standard statement. We seek to protect the rights of all who participate in the legislative process so that we can have effective deliberation and decision making on the critical issues facing the State of California.

As we proceed with the witnesses and public comment, want to make sure everyone understands that the State Assembly has rules to ensure we maintain order and run an efficient and fair hearing. We apply these rules consistently to all people who participated in our proceedings, regardless of their viewpoint.

And in order to facilitate the goal of hearing as much from the public within the limits of our time, we will not permit conduct that disrupts, disturbs, otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of less than the proceedings. We will not accept disruptive behavior, behavior that incites or threatens violence.

Rules for today's hearing include no talking or loud noises from the audience. Public comment may be provided only at the designated time and place and as permitted by the chair. Public comment must relate to the subject being discussed today and no engaging in conduct that disrupts, disturbs or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of this hearing.

Please, please be aware that violations of these rules may subject you to removal or other enforcement actions. We are going by sign in order and so Madam Secretary, which file item? Okay, let's start with the quorum. Madam Secretary, please call the roll for quorum.

[Roll Call]

All right, we have a quorum and we will start with File item number nine. Senator Richardson presenting Senate Bill 631.

Well, thank you, Mr. Chair and Members. After all those disclaimers, I almost ran for the road. I'm just teasing you. They were actually very good. We're going to have to add those to the Senate. They were, they were very good. Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and Members.

I'd like to start by thanking the Committee staff for working with my office. To make technical changes to the language in order to strengthen the intent of the Bill. I'm accepting those amendments presented by the Chair and the Committee today. Let's first start with the facts.

Established in 1996, the Charter School Revolving Loan Fund provided low interest loans up to 250,000 to new charter schools. The loan program does not encourage or discourage charter schools. The loan program does engage in whether a charter school should exist. Excuse me, does not. The charter school revolving loan program is an existing line item in the budget.

Since assuming program administration of the program in 2014, the California School Finance Authority, CSFA, working alongside the California Treasurer's office, who we have representatives here today, have seen a steady decline in the number of applications to the program.

As applications have declined, actually, costs have gone up, and the CSFA has ramped up its marketing efforts to increase awareness amongst charter schools of the loan program. In light of these increased costs, this bill will allow the Treasurer's Office to provide the necessary dollars in loans from the Charter School Revolving Loan Fund.

This amount is less than what that number would look like. Excuse me. We made some changes at the last minute, so I'm catching up with these changes. This amount is less than what that number would look like today if adjusted for inflation. In terms of the bill process in Committee and on the Floor, this bill received zero no votes. And so I'm hoping the Assembly you'll do the same.

In fact, due to the nature of the bill, it's interesting and we're excited that major organizations that have typically weighed in, in the charter versus non charter environment, have remained neutral and have not testified to this matter. Here with me today to speak in support of the bill is Deputy Treasurer, Khaim Morton, on behalf of the State Treasurer's Office with Executive Director, Katrina Johantgen, here to provide technical backup.

Good afternoon, Chair, Members, Khaim Morton, Deputy Treasurer, Office of State Treasurer Fiona Ma. Proud, in her capacity, as a sponsor of SB 631 and as chair of the California School Finance Authority, known as CSFA.

As was mentioned, CSFA and within the Treasurer's Office has administered this program since 2014, serving over 61,000 students and totaling about 61 million in loans to those schools.

If enacted, SB 631 will also support charter schools directly by allowing those who have been impacted by some of the disasters, most notably the recent fires in the Los Angeles area, by allowing them access to the Revolving Fund as well.

The continued improvement in practices within CSFA and the Treasurer's office, in terms of best practices and mitigations, have minimized losses and safeguarded the program's funding, which have allowed us to be at this point where now we can look at as the new applications have decreased, how can we, you know, increase the effectiveness of the program and serve more of those schools?

Again, we want to thank the author and the Committee for, you know, working with us on this bill. And we're available for any questions. Thank you.

Thank you. Seeing no further primary witnesses in support. Any public comments in support of the measure, please come forward.

Mr. Chair, Members, Adam Keigwin, on behalf of the California Charter Schools Association, in support.

All right, any. Any witnesses in opposition to this measure, please come forward. Seeing none. Any public comments in opposition to the bill? Seeing none. Bring it back to the Committee. Any questions from the Committee? Ms. Bonta.

Thank you so much, Chair, and thank you to the author for bringing this forward. I did have just a couple of questions for the Treasurer's Office just to get a sense of kind of the context in which this request comes. What has been the amount of, what's the fund balance of the

That's a risky mic there. I think I heard 27 million. And what was the funding amount? What amount of disbursement was there through the loan fund in the last two years?

Give me one minute to do some quick math. So you said the last few years.

Yeah. Just if you could give how much was dispersed last year and the year before.

So there's a difference between the amount we award and the amount we disburse. So we make an award up to $250,000 and then schools need to meet certain benchmarks in order to receive up to $250,000. So I don't want to, you know, it's semantic. So we've awarded eight loans and of that amount I'd have to. I don't have the disbursed versus the award amount, but it would be a fraction of $2 million.

So eight loans awarded for, with a total value of $2 million

Correct

Potentially disbursed, but then there's less than that that has actually been disbursed

Correct

Because they have to meet their criteria. And that was just last year or the last two years.

That was from 22-23 through 24-25.

Okay, so $2 million dispersed to eight awardees with a total fund of 27 million.

Correct.

Okay. All right. That seems, my understanding of this bill is that it intends to expand the potential either awardees or criteria.

It does by expanding who's eligible. So currently, only charters in their first charter term are eligible. And since fewer charter schools are opening, it would expand that to all charter schools, with priority given for startup schools and those impacted by natural disasters. As a third priority, it would be all charters.

I appreciate the particular focus on providing funding to schools that have been impacted by natural disasters, including the wildfires that I know the Senator cares so deeply about in terms of supporting her community and her constituency. I just, the amount of funds that is available versus the amount has been spent seems to be in the neighborhood of 1%.

Yeah, there was a precipitous drop in 2019, I think, when the 1500 bills. I mean, fewer new charters opened and we, you know, we get fewer applications. Right.

Okay, thanks. I'm sure that this will be something that over time, we'll be able to see whether or not we're able to avail ourselves of more of that funding with these changes, because that leaves a lot of money unspent.

It also increases the loan amount from $250,000 to $500,000.

Yeah, understood.

Thank you.

All right, thank you.

All right, thank you.

Permission to respond through the chair?

Yes.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and to our Committee Member here, a couple things. The Treasurer approached me for the very reason that she wanted to make sure that the available funds were getting out as it as intended.

So that was her very purpose of her office, was evaluating the various funding mechanisms in identifying. While we have a funding mechanism that's not being utilized, part of the issue of it not being utilized was the lower amount that was provided.

So a school might typically go, oh my goodness, you know, actually, I need $1.0 million for something, and $250 isn't going to get me there. And hence, people weren't necessarily responding. We also had Covid, that was in the period there of 2019.

So all of those things combined, it was the request of the Treasurer that we increase amount to allow for the additional costs that are now required for many of the items that need to be improved in the schools.

All right, seeing no further questions from the Committee. Senator Richardson, thank you very much for bringing this measure forward. I know that as a fellow Los Angeles County representative, I know that there are at least three charter schools in the Pasadena area that have been hit hard.

And so this fund is hopefully going to assist those charter schools that are going to be needing help with the rebuilding.

Yes, sir.

Happy to support your measure. Would you like to close?

I respectfully ask for a motion and your aye vote and look forward to working with you all as we continue this process.

All right, thank you.

Thank you.

I'll make the motion.

Ms. Patel. Second by Ms. Castillo. Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

[ROLL CALL]

4 ayes. The bill is on call. Thank you.

Thank you. I enjoyed being here in Education. Now I'm headed to Banking. You were much more fun.

Please tell them that. Yeah, okay. All right.

I don't think that's a secret, Chair.

Okay, we have Senator Stern next. File item number seven, Senate Bill 472.

Welcome, ma' am. Welcome, Senator. I see you have a special guests or a special witness, but like to turn the floor over to you. Sir, ready?

Gotta remember my own mic. All right, thank you, Mr. Chair. Members, I'm here with you today to present Senate Bill 472. It's a simple concept that was memorialized in our education code decades ago when people were teaching about World War II and trying to avoid uncomfortable subjects, found themselves wanting to not talk about the Holocaust.

In the early 80s, the legislature changed the code to remind every LEA in the state that we need to have particular emphasis on human rights issues. And it calls out the Holocaust, slavery in particular.

There have been many cases of certainly before that law, where you would teach about, say, the Civil War and then avoid the uncomfortable subject of slavery and just say it was a fight between the North and South, just like World War II could have just been a war among nations.

But if you edit out parts of history that are uncomfortable, we lose something deep in our conscience and we leave our students bereft of a deeper sensitivity and understanding of how the world works and how the world can turn quite evil.

Even in modern democracies and even in places that you think that everything is fine, it's often quite a razor's edge. We've seen a rise in ignorance around what the Holocaust was and what a genocide actually means in the past years.

I know my generation, I'm an old millennial, but according to a nationwide poll, most millennials cannot tell you what Auschwitz was if you ask them. And I think it's a quarter of the next generation are skeptical as to whether the Holocaust even occurred or not.

There is a deep seated conspiracy driven disinformation campaign that is still alive and well. I know it because people followed my father in law around for about a decade saying that he didn't actually go through Auschwitz and have his whole family killed. And they say that it wasn't real and that he made it up.

And we can dismiss that as just pure ignorance, but in fact it's a very real virus working its way through our society. We formed quite a coalition in this state from survivors not just of the Holocaust, but from some of the other key genocides that have occurred in modern history.

From the Armenian community, from the Rwandan community, the Cambodian community. And we've been trying to get teachers and trainers who are actually survivors of these atrocities to help educate teachers.

So with us here in Committee today, Liz Igra, is one of the those survivor teachers who is part of our collaborative and is helping strengthen the next generation of teachers. And then one of her students, I guess I can call you that, Ms. Robinson, she's a teacher herself, but came to some realizations as they struggled through how to teach about really tough subjects in a very complicated time.

And I had the opportunity to meet one of the. Ms. Igra's student's student, right, Ms. Robinson's student the other day and talk about her project that she just did in class.She said, you know, a lot of my friends, we just read a chapter from Anne Frank and you move on.

And instead Ms. Robinson had the courage to really dig into tough subject matter that for especially for non Jewish students, but even for Jewish students may seem foreign, uncomfortable, and kind of unimaginable. My father in law, may his memory be a blessing, used to say, how can you believe what happened to me if I can't even believe what happened to me? But you find ways.

And through not just reading books, but through art, introspection, poetry, using other tools, we've seen a vibrancy wake up within our education system in teaching about genocide and the Holocaust. That I think is a rare bright spot in a moment of rising hate.

We just had our most recent cohort at the collaborative a couple weeks ago, or when was it? A week ago? I've lost track of time. And we all gathered at USC, and you've never met a more diverse group of people from all over this state.

Ethnic studies teachers from Calexico, up to you, you know, rural north teachers in some of the most conservative communities in our state, social studies teachers, math teachers, everyone trying to find ways through this moment and to teach our way through it. And so I'm really proud that this measure is coming to you today.

It will do two very simple things. One is just a reminder how the education code works, that it includes explicit mentions of the Holocaust as well as of slavery.

And to have that put on notice for those LEAs out there that may not be aware of that, or even those teachers who may not be aware of that. We found in a recent survey, the Governor convened a council that I chair, and about 26% of the state. Sorry, let's flip that.

74% of the state said that, would not say that they teach anything about Holocaust or genocide whatsoever in their classes. In other words, about three quarters of our schools couldn't attest to the fact that they had any kind of programming or curriculum or training or anything for their teachers. They're just sort of on their own.

And they couldn't specify in our survey whether they were even teaching about these subjects at all. And that's a really scary thing when the majority, again, the majority of our districts in the state need resources, they need tools, and they need some guidance.

So this gives a notice, and it also gives the opportunity to establish a grants program. We've been generous enough to appropriate some money over the past few years for teacher training, and it's going really well. And we're funded for another 2-3 years here.

And the goal is to train about 8,500 teachers around California and eventually to reach about a million students to make sure that every social studies teacher, if you're lucky enough to have a Ms. Robinson who can do it on their own, great. But for those who. And if you're blessed enough to Miss Igra, amazing. But for those who aren't blessed in that way, we need other tools. So this bill hopefully moves that forward. I'll turn over the mic to Ms. Igra.

Good afternoon and thank you for having me here. I am a child Holocaust survivor, and I am a teacher. I've been a teacher all my adult life. I decided to start Central Valley Holocaust Educators Network 16 years ago when at a conference sponsored by the U.S. Holcott's Memorial Museum, I met teachers who said it's fine to know this history, but how do I teach it? So my goal has been to help teachers teach this history. The reason, my reason for teaching this history is not because it's my history.

It's the most, the best documented genocide documented by the perpetrators, meticulously organized and accessible and memorialized and admitted by the perpetrators that we have. There is much to be learned and the first thing that happened, if you look at the way the laws were passed in Nazi Germany that led to the Holocaust, the first thing was education.

I could speak just about the education in Germany, but I think at this moment in our history, it behooves us that this history be taught well, that it will be accessible and understood. And I hope that California supports this latest bill that will help us do that work.

I thank you very much for allowing me to speak to you. I would be very happy to answer any questions anytime now or any other time. Thank you very much for your patience.

Thank you.

Good afternoon. Thank you Chair and Committee Members. My name is Anda Robinson and I'm a proud seventh and eighth grade English teacher of 13 years. And I currently teach at Miwok Middle School right here in Sacramento. Today I'd like to begin not with my own words, but with the voices of my students.

Every June, my classes complete a year end survey. One of the questions asks, what was your favorite thing we studied this year and why? Overwhelmingly, my students name our unit on the book, Night in the Holocaust. I brought several of their responses with me today. Here are just a few.

"My favorite thing was learning about the Holocaust because I got to read a first hand account of what happened which really changed my perspective, " "The Holocaust. Because we met a Holocaust survivor and the Holocaust is an important thing that isn't talked about enough,"

"My favorite thing we studied this year was the Holocaust because my family has dealt with it." Though this unit has clearly had a deep impact on my students, I only began teaching it a few years ago because a colleague exposed me to a unit she had developed.

Before that, I had never received training to help guide students through such an important and sensitive topic. I wasn't aware that it was part of California Ed Code and indeed most teachers are not.

There is a lack of clarity around the requirement, which leaves it up to an individual teacher who may be interested in the subject matter to figure it out themselves. I consider myself incredibly fortunate to work alongside thoughtful, passionate educators who pointed me toward Holocaust and genocide education events and professional development opportunities.

Opportunities and experiences like this have been transformative in providing me practical resources to teach my students about the past so that they can create a better future centered on justice, compassion, and understanding. Teachers across California are chronically overwhelmed and under resourced.

A bill like this, one that both reinforces the importance of Holocaust and genocide education and ensures that educators are supported in doing this work, demonstrates meaningful care not just for teachers, but for the future generations that we teach. As an educator, I believe deeply in that responsibility, but we cannot do it alone. We need the awareness, the tools, the training, and the time to do it well. To that end, I ask for your aye vote on this bill. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Public comments in support of the measure. Please come forward.

Mr. Chairman, Cliff Berg, on behalf of the Jewish Public affairs Committee, representing over 40 statewide and regional Jewish organizations. Urge your support for this important measure. Thank you.

Jeff Wiener from Jewish Family and Children Services in San Francisco. We strongly support. Thank you.

Seeing no further public comments in support of the measure. Any witnesses in opposition to the measure? Seeing none. Any public comments in opposition to the measure? Seeing none. Motion has been made and seconded. Any questions or comments from the Committee? Ms. Bonta

I want to thank the author for bringing forward this bill. And I had the ability to sit on this Committee last year in your attempt to bring forward a similar proposal. I also just want to thank your witness for being able to speak and provide us even with just a short and very important piece of education for us here. And to your witnesses, a teacher, I'm really thankful that you brought forward your. The statements from your students.

I had an opportunity when I was in the sixth grade to read Night by Elie Wiesel, and I also had the opportunity to go to school with his granddaughter. And so that was a piece of literature that was very formative for me.

And I'm very thankful that you kind of centered that in this discussion as well. Will be supporting this bill and recognize the incredible importance because the statistics, Senator Stern, that you offered in terms of the level of knowledge and awareness around the Holocaust, that is, that is real and that is happening in our schools right now.

And it is certainly something that I think with this bill we will be able to begin to address. So thank you for bringing forward.

Mr. Lowenthal

I'm so grateful to the author for bringing this forward. And thank you both to the witnesses for the testimony that you provided and for all the advocacy and all the work that you do on a regular basis.

But specifically to Senator Stern, I just want to say how proud of you I am for continuing to prioritize this, not just on behalf of our community, but on behalf of the entire State of California, for the betterment of everyone in this entire state.

When I was 21 years old, I was studying abroad in Europe, in Copenhagen, and I made my way to Poland, backpacking on a shoestring budget. And wanted to see Auschwitz. I wanted to make my way to Auschwitz. And the things that I was able to see and were exposed to changed the trajectory of my life.

Viewing mountains of hair that was shaved, of course, from prisoners. Gold teeth everywhere. Piles, huge piles of shoes to walk into the chambers themselves. You know, as a young man, that burned an indelible lesson into my soul.

And it's a lens by which I not only look at my own culture, but I look at all disadvantaged, marginalized groups of people, all groups that have come to America out of fear or out of violence or otherwise.

And I know it's not going to be possible for all students in the United States to be able to see those things, but it is so critically important for all students to have this as fundamental, foundational part of their education.

Again, not just to learn about the Jewish culture, but about all cultures and the inhumanity that can take place under our watch, how propaganda can rise and how people cannot even know what they're following necessarily until it's too late.

And in this world of disinformation, in this world today, where people are truly struggling to know what justice is and what it isn't, it is so vitally important that in our curriculum, that in our systems of education, that we have vehicles like this. So I'm proud to support this today.

And finally, I just want to say to all my colleagues here, in any other year, this would be a Jewish Caucus priority Bill. This year, the Legislative Jewish Caucus has chosen only one priority bill for very specific reasons. But had this bill been forward, I'm quite certain that it would be one of our priority, caucus priority bills. So thank you again, Senator, for bringing this forward.

Thank you. Any further questions or comments from the Committee? Thank you, Senator. I want to join my colleagues. I was here last, was it last year? With your last bill? And I was proud to support that and proud to support your proposal today. The statistics that you cite are shocking.

You know, I, I remember when I heard those statistics, I talked with my daughter and I asked, you know, she's going to be a junior in high school next year. But yeah, I was just checking on, you know, what she's learned and how much what is being taught in her schools. And I was happy and encouraged that she was learning much more about the Holocaust than I learned when I went to public schools.

And so I, you know, hopefully we see that as an indication of progress and that your measure is going to help make sure that that happens in all schools throughout, all public schools, throughout the State of California. So happy to support your measure. Would you like close?

Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Ms. Igra, for teaching teachers. And, you know, the Jewish tradition is to chase justice. The words from the Old Testament are, tsedek, tzedek Tyrdov. Our job is not just to try to elevate or exceptionalize the suffering that your family has been through.

My family's been through, but instead to look out for people who are left behind too. And I'm really proud of this legislation. And you know, to Senator Lowenthal's point, the word inhumanity is a direct quote, actually. You got the ED Code quite right. It's the inhumanity of genocide, slavery, and the Holocaust.

And these things that are so divisive, I think can actually start to unify us. So I hope this bill's a measure in the right direction and would respectfully ask for aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Before I ask the Secretary to call for the role, I'd like to be added as a coauthor to your measure. Thank you. And Mr. Lowenthal, and Ms. Bonta and Mr. Alvarez. Okay. All right. Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

[ROLL CALL]

Six ayes. The bill is out. Congratulations. All right, next we have in sign in order file item number one, Senator Gonzalez, Senate Bill 48.

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and Members. I'm here to present SB 48, which implements critical protections to ensure students, parents, staff and teachers feel safe and welcome at California schools.

Just a few couple months ago, in my district of South Los Angeles, the Florence Graham area, which is an unincorporated area of Los Angeles, South Los Angeles, five children were being seeked after by federal agents who arrived armed and were asking for wellness checks.

LAUSD responded perfectly and adopted the model guidelines that the Attorney General had put forward and actually amended earlier this year to be able to protect these children from these wellness checks. These federal agents also falsely mentioned that they had also falsely stated that the parents were seeking what, you know, where these children were, which was not accurate.

And it's been 28 days since extreme raids in Los Angeles have ensued. And over 1600 people in Los Angeles have been deported, many of which are children, over 50% of them from Los Angeles and between 60 to 70% of them, no criminal history whatsoever.

SB 48 will prohibit school officials from granting immigration authorities permission to access a campus without a valid judicial warrant and will protect students personal information and educational records. The Bill will also provide additional statutory clarity to school staff on the ground and in our communities, and will help our schools remain secure and supportive environments for children.

And just earlier this year as well, the House Democrats, led by my congressman and the Assemblymember Lowenthal's congressman, wrote a letter to the Trump Administration asking them to desist from immigration enforcement activity that will that targets children who do not pose a public safety threat. Why children would pose a public safety threat, I have no idea.

I would like to thank you, Mr. Chair, for your work with me. I know you have a very similar Bill and we are working together. I also would like to thank our Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tony Thurmond, who is here with me today, who brought this idea forward to me, and Juan Ramirez, who is actually my constituent in the City of Maywood. He is the Executive Vice President of cft. I respectfully asked for an aye vote.

Thank you. Welcome, Superintendent.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And to the Members of the Committee, it's an honor to be here in support of SB48. As a sponsor of the measure, I know that you all have seen the level of disruption that is occurring in our communities as it relates to raids and deportation.

As you can imagine, this will create the highest level of disruption in our schools. Our students struggle, and there is a financial consequence for our schools because anything that will cause our attendance to be deferred will reduce the amount of revenue that our schools have to work with.

This is a thoughtful, straightforward measure that says that schools are a place where there should be no Ayes enforcement and that schools should know that unless those who claim to be Ayes representatives have a judicial warrant, they should not be on campus. They are not entitled to any data about any student.

And so we're asking for your support of this measure. It has an urgency clause so that we can have this measure in law by the time that school starts. As you all know, many school districts have been impacted. We thank the author for her thoughtfulness. She referenced LA Unified School Districts.

Ayes has been lurking near schools for weeks, and the impact has been to suppress attendance, has created fear from those who don't even want to attend graduations because they think that Ayes is going to show up. Let's provide a clear message for our schools, for our communities, that Ayes has no place on campus. I respectfully urge and ask for your aye vote on SB48.

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair. My name is Juan Ramirez, and not only am I the Executive Vice President of the CFT, but I'm a former Vice President of United Teachers Los Angeles and have 24 years of teaching experience providing safe learning spaces for kindergarteners as well as second through fourth graders.

This is a very scary time for the immigrant community. As an educator, we are here for the benefit of all who are willing to learn. We do not discriminate, and we know we are providing essential services. We know education is the key to success. And we have taught that America is the land of opportunity.

We have taught the words engraved on the Statue of Liberty give me your tired, your poor, your huddle masses, your yearning for. For breathe free. Yet our community has been chased down and hunted by men in masks following orders of a man who doesn't understand the effects of his own words.

We have already seen agents come to our schools. On April 7, agents from Homeland Security Investigations visited Durazo and Lillian street elementary schools in the Florence Graham neighborhood of south la. This makes families live in fear. And when they live in fear, students don't come to class. They don't learn. Many don't eat.

Schools suffer from a loss of funding and in turn, all students suffer, regardless of their status. This Bill signals that we still honor our Constitution, a Bill of Rights, and and make sure warrants are in place before an agent steps foot in the classroom.

We must make sure that students know they don't have to look over their shoulders when they are learning, growing and playing at school grounds. I urge you to vote yes on SB48 and signal to our children that they are still safe in our schools. Thank you.

Thank you. Public comments in support of the measure, please come forward.

Valerie Johnson with the California Undocumented Higher Education Coalition in proud support.

Ellen Brittingham with Full Moon Strategies here on behalf of Alameda County in support.

Chloe King with Political Solutions on behalf of the same on behalf of San Mateo County in support. Thank you.

Brandy Bruny with the County Office of Education in support.

George Cruz on behalf of the California Behavioral Health Association in support.

Good afternoon. Derek Lennox on behalf of the California County Superintendents please to support.

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and Members. Pamela Gibbs representing the Los Angeles County Office of Education and we support the Bill.

Eric Paredes with the California Faculty Association in support.

Lizzie Cuzona on behalf of the California Academy of Children Adolescents Psychiatrists in support. Thank you.

Good morning. Tracy Rosenberg on behalf of both Oakland. Privacy and the Electronic Frontier Foundation in support.

Anna Iokimedes on behalf of Los Angeles Unified School District in support.

Catalina Silo Olivera on behalf of Davis College Democrats. In support.

Benton Buecker on behalf of Davis College. Democrats and strong support.

Kasha Hunt with Nosman on behalf of the County of Monterey Board of Supervisors. In support.

McLean Rosanski with the Alameda County Office of Education in support of Apostol on behalf of Drug Policy alliance in support.

Yesenia Jimenez with End Child Poverty in California and strong support also for my niece, Scarlett Jimenez, who saw ICE right outside her school. And we thank you deeply, Senator, for this measure.

Megan Baer on behalf of Oakland Unified School District and support.

Rebecca Gonzales with the Western Center on Law and Poverty in support. And also on behalf of Chirla.

Maria Morales on behalf of Hispanics for Political Equality Hope in support.

Ryan Joy, on behalf of the Special Education Local Plan Area Association in support.

Good afternoon, Chairmembers and staff. Debra Sanders of Kalos California. And strong support.

Elise Sporth on behalf of the California Community foundation and strong support. I'll grant on behalf of the California alliance of Child and Family Services and support.

Christina Salazar, Californians Together in support. But also on behalf of the Children's. Partnership Teach Plus Unitelay and the Sobrato Early Academic Language.

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and Members. Rosanna Carvato Elliott here on behalf of the City of Alameda in support. Thank you. With Children Now in support.

Adriel Nichango on behalf of Back to the Trot in support.

Kevin Mibiano on behalf of the University. Of California Student Association. In strong support.

Michelle Underwood on behalf of the Santa Clara County Office of Education and the Fresno Unified School District. In support.

Carlos Lopez on behalf of the California School Employees Association in support.

Annie Chow with the California Teachers Association. Support. And also registering for Equality California in support.

Mr. Chair and Members. Adam Kegwin on behalf of the California Charter Schools Association and Alliance College Ready. Public Schools in support.

Good afternoon. Carol Gonzalez on behalf of Long Beach City College, proud constituents of the member in support and on behalf of Ed Trust West. Thank you.

Good afternoon. Makenna Jenkins with NexGen California in support.

Good afternoon, chair and Committee Members. Barbara Schmitz on behalf of First Five California in support.

Good afternoon. Madison Mercado, on behalf of the San Francisco Unified School District. In support.

Layla Alicon on behalf of the School Employers Association of California in support.

Good afternoon. Kathy Van Osten on behalf of the American Association of University Women California in support.

Griseldo Chavez with the Mesa Verde Group on behalf of the Central American Resource Center and Asian Americans Advancing Justice in Southern California in support. Thank you.

All right. Seeing no further public comments in support. Any witnesses in opposition to the measure? Seeing none. Any public comments in opposition in the measure? Seeing none. Bring it back to the Committee. Dr. Patel. And then Mr. Lowenthal.

Thank you for bringing this very important and very timely Bill forward. As a former trustee in a school district in San Diego, County, I have seen the impacts that fear can have on our children and our communities. What we know is that if children are not safe, if they do not feel safe. They are not learning.

And that is the primary goal of our public education system here in California. We want our students to feel safe and we want them to learn. And certainly the points that have been brought up that there would be with fear of staying home and not attending school, there's the immediate loss of ADA funding. That is certainly the short term impact. But we also have to consider the long term impacts.

And that's why it's so important that you brought this Bill forward to the long term impacts to a child's educational trajectory and their future, the long term impacts with generational trauma that will be passed on not just to the individual child or the family experiencing it, but to the community as a whole.

And the long term impact to California when our children are not able to adequately learn and enter the workforce and contribute to our economy. So I will be supporting your Bill today and at the appropriate time, I'd like to move it.

Senator, thank you so much for bringing this forward. I am happy to support the Bill today. I would love to be added as a co author. Thank you, Mr. Superintendent, for all the work that you do. Thank you, cft, for all of our teachers, for all of the advocates that came and spoke today. Thank you.

Sending chills down my spine listening to all the incredible organizations, school districts, community members coming out, uniting to define the culture of the State of California here today. And we stand with you, and you give us such incredible energy in doing so. So thank you for your advocacy, and we all need to continue down that road.

Just very briefly, I want to state the obvious. We would not need this policy if the federal Administration was being honest, because they're not. They're being dishonest. Even when asked whether or not they are trying to go to schools, they say no at every opportunity. And we have video showing otherwise. So this policy is desperately needed. Thank you again for bringing it forward.

And I thank the author and certainly the Superintendent and our President of CFT for bringing forward this measure. I am a co author on this and I appreciate you including me in this.

I also just want to say that this piece of legislation is a part of probably nearly two dozen other bills that are passing through this Legislature with urgency, all on the topic of ensuring that we provide some modicum of safety and dignity for our immigrant community in this moment in time, right now.

I know the author is deeply connected to the travesty that is happening right now, particularly in Los Angeles, as so many people are being forced into the shadows where they do not belong because of the horror that Ayes agents and the Trump Administration, I can't even say the federal Administration anymore, that the Trump Administration is wreaking on our communities.

I want to thank you for bringing this forward and also as a point of privilege, thank you for your leadership as the chair of the Latino Caucus in this moment in time.

Thank you. Any further questions or comments? Motions made by Mr. Lowenthal, seconded by Dr. Patel. Thank you, Senator. I know that we talked early on in the less EDDA process when we both introduced very similar measures designed to work together to protect our immigrant students.

And so very proud to be working with you as part of this effort, together with, of course, our Superintendent and our teachers and so happy to support this measure as it moves forward. Would you like to close?

Absolutely. And I'll ask our Superintendent to help me close as well. I just want to say thank you so much. This is very personal to so many of us and I thank the comments from all of my colleagues in the co authorships and of course, your partnership. Mr. Chair.

It's personal because so many of us are mothers and parents of children that are in elementary school. My child is in the Long Beach Unified School District, elementary school.

And, and what I've said, and I'll say again, is he's been sleeping with me for the last two weeks because he's a Mexican kid and feels like he could be picked up at any time.

That is really horrible for so many parents that don't have the title and privilege that I do that we're representing, especially in places like southeast Los Angeles that have been hit so very hard. Not only are these federal agents coming to schools, but they're also throwing flashbangs and playgrounds like in the City of Maywood, where Mr.

Ramirez is from. And it's just unfair. It really is. And so this, I think, will be a really good step in the right direction with urgency. And I really thank you so much for your collaboration and we will continue fighting against this Administration and their egregious overreach.

Mr. Superintendent, thank you, Senator, for your great leadership. Thank you to the Members of this Committee and to the chair. We are excited to work with you on your measure and to all those who came in today to speak in support of it. I know you all noticed it.

It is a rare occasion when the chamber is full of supporters and no opposition. But even if that were not enough, the urgency clause is so important. If you think about the school districts that will begin school this very month, there are a number of school districts in San Diego County and elsewhere that begin school shortly.

And this sends a powerful message to them that we value them and that we will protect them against the trauma that you talked about. Chair and that you talked about. Senator Gonzalez. Protect children against the trauma that they are experiencing.

I know you all have heard from loved ones as I have and friends, people who just don't leave their homes. People have not left their homes for weeks. People are afraid to travel. And so let's send a powerful message that schools are a safe place for learning. And again respectfully ask for your aye vote here. Thank you.

Thank you. Motion has been made and seconded. Madam Secretary, please call the roll

File item 1, SB48. The motion is do pass to Judiciary Committee. [Roll Call]

Bye byes. The Bill is out. All right. Next in file sign in order is Senator Perez file. She has two bills. File item number two, SB98 and file item number 12, Senate Bill 848. It.

Which one would you like to start with? 98. Okay. So that is file item number two, Senate Bill 98.

Great. All righty. And may I begin when I'm ready? Okay. Thank you, Chair and Members. SB 98, the SAFE Act, requires K-12 schools and higher education institutions to notify students, staff, and other campus community members when immigration enforcement activity agents are present on campus.

Ensuring access to education in a safe space for all students is largely a state responsibility. Unfortunately, school campuses have begun to see an increased presence of immigration enforcement entities on campuses or near campuses. The presence of immigration enforcement officers can have detrimental effects on the student body and staff, especially those who may be undocumented or otherwise without permanent status.

Although schools and higher education institutions in California have guidelines for individuals on their rights and how to engage with immigration enforcement agents when they are present on campus, there are no requirements for school or campus administration to inform the campus community of their presence on campus.

SB 98 addresses the aforementioned gap by requiring that students and the school are notified of immigration enforcement agents on campus. These timely notifications are imperative for schools to be able to prevent panic, promote a sense of security, and maintain an environment where all students, regardless of immigration status, feel safe and supported.

This bill will give students and educators peace of mind in the classroom, while also maintaining the state's commitment that educational institutions are safe places where students can learn, teachers can educate, and schools can be a place exclusively dedicated to teaching and uplifting the next generation. Today with me, I have California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and Alisha Nagpal, a student at Folsom Lake College. When appropriate, I respectfully ask for your aye vote. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair and Members. Thank you, Senator Perez, for your important bill. We are honored to be a co-sponsor of this bill and to continue the conversation about how we support our students and families in schools as it relates to these immigration fears and concerns.

You all have heard, like most of us, that there are so many rumors percolating about where ICE is, and it is having disruptive effects in our schools and in our communities. It's important that schools be able to provide clarity to families when there is an ICE presence on campus. It is a powerful tool for supporting our families.

And for all the reasons that we've discussed about SB 48 and 98, these two obviously are working very closely together. Both of these measures. Both of these measures are priority bills for the Latino Caucus and the AAPI Caucus. And I respectfully ask for your aye vote on SB 98.

Good afternoon, Committee Chair and Members. My name is Alisha Nagpal, and I'm here on behalf of the Student Senate for the California Community Colleges, the official voice of 2.1 million students, in strong support of SB 98. This bill matters because undocumented students from kindergarten through college deserve a safe and stable educational environment.

And right now, they don't have that. In just the past month, principals and district staff from two elementary schools in Los Angeles reported that immigration enforcement agents showed up without federal warrants attempting to question students as young as first through fifth grade.

Currently, there is no law requiring notification to parents at the K-12 level or to students in higher education when immigration officials are present on or near a school campus. This lack of communication fosters fear, confusion, and silence, especially among mixed status families, undocumented students, and student parents. We're already seeing the real impacts of this.

Professors report sharp declines in attendance, especially in ESL classes. Some have even moved instruction back on Zoom, not for convenience, but out of the concern for their students. SB 98 is a critical step toward protecting our students and upholding the basic right to education.

It would require schools to notify parents at the K-12 level and students in higher education if immigration officials are present on campus. By ensuring transparency, this bill would help alleviate fear, protect our undocumented student population, and reinforce that every student, regardless of status, deserves access to their education without intimidation or uncertainty.

Undocumented students are vital members of our schools and communities, many having grown up here. Yet they remain excluded not only from essential support systems like financial aid, campus jobs, and work study programs, but also from critical information that directly impacts their safety.

Access to timely, transparent communication about potential risks on campus is fundamental to protecting their well being and allowing them to fully participate in their education without fear. SB 98 is not just policy, it's protection. We respectfully ask for an aye vote on SB 98. Thank you.

Thank you. Public comments in support of the measure, please come forward.

Mr. Chair and Members. Adam Keigwin on behalf of Alliance College Ready Public Schools and the California Charter Schools Association in support.

Griselda Chavez with the Mesa Verde Group on behalf of the Central American Resource Center in support. Thank you.

Kevin Bibiano on behalf of the University of California Student Association in strong support. Thank you.

Carlos Lopez with the California School Employees Association in support.

Pamela Gibbs representing the Los Angeles County Office of Education in support.

Yesenia Jimenez with End Child Poverty California, and also on behalf of my niece, Scarlett Jimenez. Thank you.

Hi, Mr. Chair. My name is McEwen Cheyne, student in West Contra Costa Unified, here in strong support.

Rebecca Gonzales in support from the Western Center on Law and Poverty and also CHIRLA.

Lizzie Cootsona here on behalf of the California Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in support. Thank you.

Maria Morales on behalf of Hispanas Organized for Political Equality, HOPE, in support.

Ivan Fernández, California Labor Fed, in support.

Elise Borth on behalf of the California Community Foundation in support.

Cristina Salazar with Californians Together, in strong support. And also on behalf of the Children's Partnership, Teach Plus, Unite LA, and Sobrato Early Academic Language.

Good afternoon. Madison Mercado on behalf of the San Francisco Unified School District in support.

Eric Paredes with the California Faculty Association in support and proud co-sponsor. Thank you.

Elle Grant with the California Alliance of Child and Family Services in support.

McKenna Jenkins with NextGen California in support.

Good afternoon. Ruth Sosa Martinez on behalf of Power CA Action in support.

Valerie Johnson with the California Undocumented Higher Education Coalition in support.

Michelle Underwood on behalf of Santa Clara County Office of Education and the Fresno Unified School District in support.

Good afternoon. Barbara Schmitz on behalf of First 5 California in support.

Good afternoon, Chair and Members. Carol Gonzalez on behalf of the Cal State Student Association, the official voice of over 160,000 students, proud co-sponsors. And on behalf of Ed Trust West, Alliance for Better Community, the Southern California College Attainment Network in support. Thank you.

Good afternoon, Chair and Members. David Neben on behalf of the Pasadena Area Community College District, the El Camino Community College District, and the Los Angeles Community College District in support. Thank you.

Thank you. Any witnesses in opposition to this measure, please come forward. Seeing none. Any public comments in opposition to the measure, please come forward. Seeing none. Bring it back to the Committee. Any questions, Mr. Lowenthal?

No, I just see my man from CFT in the back missed his opportunity to go to the microphone, so I. Yeah, come on.

Thank you, Members. Tristan Brown, CFT, in huge support. Thank you.

Thank you.

I just want to thank the author so much for bringing this forward. This is the world in 2025. This is the state that that is going to be standing up against this and showing the world what justice is and what it isn't. So appreciate you bringing this bill forward. I will be supporting it.

Dr. Patel? All right. Seeing no further questions or comments. Thank you, Senator, for, as the Superintendent indicated, being part of the fight to protect our immigrant students, immigrant families, communities in these crazy times. And happy to support your measure. Would you like to close?

Thank you. And appreciate all those who came to express their support. You know, I would just like to close by just highlighting, I think, the number of students that you saw here today that spoke in support of this measure. SB 98 was actually one of the first bills that I authored because I wrote it in partnership with students, undocumented students who had approached me about this.

We actually began having conversations about a concept around this bill back in 2016 when I worked at the Campaign for College Opportunity during Trump's first iteration when he was elected President. And it has been just so devastating to see what's happened to our communities. And you know, I very genuinely wanted us to not have to even utilize something like this.

To see what happened in Los Angeles Unified School District and to have DHS agents show up without a warrant and request to speak with school age children is highly disturbing and I think just an indicator of where we're at and what we need to do to protect our kids. We are very much under attack, and as somebody that represents LA County, I take that very seriously. So appreciate the support that's been shared and respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you. Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

File Item 2, SB 98, the motion is do pass to Higher Education. [Roll Call]

Three ayes. The bill is on call. Thank you very much. Moving on to the next file item number 12, Senate Bill 848.

Floor is yours.

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and Members. First, I want to thank the Committee staff's incredible work on SB 848. I also want to start my presentation by accepting the Committee's amendments reflected on page nine of the Committee analysis.

SB 848, the Safe Learning Environments Act, strengthens student safety in California schools by requiring updates to comprehensive school safety plans with clear procedures for preventing, detecting, and addressing employee sexual misconduct. It also broadens mandated reporting requirements, enhances employee training, and revises relevant provisions in current law to ensure stronger protections.

More than 75% of states have enacted laws to prevent educator sexual misconduct. California has taken significant steps in this area by implementing policy changes to safeguard both students and employees and enhance transparency. However, several high profile cases continue to highlight systemic failures and underscore the urgent need for stronger preventative measures to protect children.

In a series of articles published in 2023 and 2024, an investigative reporter uncovered a 40 year history of sexual misconduct at a single California high school located in my district, where dozens of educators engaged in behavior ranging from inappropriate sexual comments to sexual relationships with students. This is not an isolated incident.

According to the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistant Team, Also known as FCMAT, a 2023 report found that claims originated in 48 of 58 of California's counties, with a majority of offenses 50% occurring in classrooms, 68% taking place during general education, 14% in athletics, and 6% in before or after school programs.

While severe forms of sexual misconduct account for less than 1%, according to a 2022 survey reflecting national trends, this still translates to hundreds of thousands of cases exposing systemic deficiencies that contribute to educator sexual misconduct. California lacks a comprehensive standardized approach to preventing abuse in K-12 schools.

SB 848 implements stronger preventative measures, as recommended by FCMAT, to fully protect children by establishing professional boundaries, improving work history verification, and creating an electronic database of school employee misconduct. It also mandates comprehensive training, requires abuse awareness education for students, and ensures reporting of egregious misconduct, amongst other mandates.

Joining me to testify in support of the bill is Marivic Mabanag, President of Advocates for Children's Empowerment and Safety. At the appropriate time, I respectfully ask your aye vote.

Good afternoon, honorable Chair and Members of the Committee. My name is Marivic Mabanag and I was the former Executive Director of the California State Domestic Violence Coalition and presently President of Advocates for Child Empowerment and Safety, a 501c4 national coalition to protect children based in California.

Sexual abuse in the schools is a hidden epidemic. In schools across California, our young students are subjected to grooming and groping, porn, sexual misconduct, and statutory rape in some cases. School administrators and other personnel are failing to protect our young students.

I know I'm partly preaching to the choir because many of you have many, many years in education. This hidden public health epidemic, however, is preventable. As mentioned by the Senator, SB 848 will also broaden mandated reporting requirements, improve work history verification, enhance employee training, and revise relevant provisions in current law to ensure stronger protections.

Through our legislators efforts and advocates efforts, California has taken those significant steps to stop and help eliminate sexual misconduct through policy changes.

The most recent as early as February of this year, El Monte School District in Southern California was ordered to pay $48 million in connection with the sexual molestation of six students over several years by a former elementary school teacher. Child sex abuse is, has no place in our schools.

School sexual abuse is not only costing our schools, but more importantly and tragically, it is traumatizing the lives of our young children. Child sexual abuse is horrifying and unacceptable. Your Education Committee has the opportunity to prevent and eventually eliminate this problem. We respectfully urge your aye vote.

Thank you very much. Public comments in support of the measure. Please come forward.

Thank you, Mr. Chair and Members. Jeff Vaca representing the Riverside County Superintendent of Schools, in support.

Sara Pietrowski on behalf of the California Association of School Business Officials, in strong support.

Good afternoon. Dorothy Johnson with the Association of California School Administrators. Pleased to support.

Jeff Frost representing the California Association of Suburban School Districts. Thank you for your work on this Bill.

Megan Baer on behalf of the Schools Excess Liability Fund, also known as SELF, in support. Thank you.

Thank you. Do we have any witnesses in opposition to this measure? Please come forward. Any public comments in opposition to the measure? Please come forward. Seeing none. Bring it back to the Committee. Any questions or comments from the Committee. Motion has been made. Any second? Second by Mr. Lowenthal. Seeing no further questions. Thank you, Senator.

We know that issues of sexual misconduct, especially in our schools, can be more difficult than they should be sometimes in terms of trying to address solutions, trying to make our school safer.

I know as a father of a teenage daughter that whenever I hear about incidents taking place at our schools, it just, you know, really, really shows how we entrust our kids when we drop off our kids at school. You know, we entrust our schools to protect our kids, and yet too often we fail that trust.

And so I believe that your bill is a very important measure to move, you know, to strengthen protections for our kids. I would be honored if you would add me as a coauthor to your bill and want to give you the last word. You have a question, Mr. Lowenthal?

Well, thank you, and I really appreciate that. You know, I'd like to close by just sharing with you all a little bit about how this came about. The journalist that I refer to in my talking points is actually named Matt Drange. He was a journalist for Business Insider.

He was actually recently laid off, but if you would like to look at his work, you're able to do that. He's an incredible journalist and also graduated the same year as I did and went to Rosemead High School, which was the target of his investigative reporting, where he uncovered these cases.

I, when I was in high school, unfortunately, was in a situation in which a staff member approached me to tell me that he had romantic feelings for me when I was 17 years old. He was over 20 years my senior. That situation really stuck with me for many years and made me very angry.

I was very fortunate that I understood that I needed to run away and what was happening was inappropriate. But what happened to other students always remained on my mind and made me wonder when I came across Matt's work.

When he began writing these stories, it was about two years before I got here, about two years ago, and we got connected. And, you know, he found out I was running for office, and he asked me if I would be willing to do legislation in this space.

And I said, I don't know if I'll win, but, you know, it would certainly be something that would be really important to me. And so it is so, so personal to be able to now run the spill.

But what I really want to center in that is that it's the stories of the survivors that were just so moving and inspiring to me, and so many of them have actually flown up here to share their stories.

Unfortunately, they could not make it to today's hearing, but I wanted to take a moment to share one of their stories, because I think it's so important that you actually hear directly their words more than anyone else's today. So if you wouldn't mind.

"Chair and Members of the Committee. My name is Cindy, and I am here as a survivor of child grooming at Rosemead High School to express my strong support for SB 848. I was 15. It was my first role, paying job, as the piano accompanist for the school choirs. From day one, my choir teacher intentionally treated me as an adult instead of a teenager.

It started with coffee runs before our private rehearsals. Greetings like, hey, you. A friendly bop on the forehead and an affectionate squeeze of my shoulders quickly became part of our routine. We began spending more and more time together.

He told me, if you don't sign up for choir class next year, instead of calculus, I'll have to find another accompanist. I can't run choir class without you. I need you. Then came the fatherly advice. It's trashy when your bra straps show. And the unsolicited suggestions about sex. Marriage is like buying an expensive car.

Why brag about driving expensive cars as a valet driver when you could save up money to own the car? Over the next several years of my most formative teen years, my choir teacher became my most trusted confidant and mentor, consistently displaying performative acts of care towards me, both in private and in front of other students.

By the time he initiated sex with me, I was putty in his hands. And by the time I realized I had been groomed, I was completely isolated and psychologically destroyed. Tragically, this is the story of too many children who seek solace and safety at school only to end up in the wrong predatory hands.

A law like SB 848 would have adequately educated me about grooming behaviors. I would have known that these interactions were inappropriate and reported them. My abuser would be in jail and never be able to work around children again. Instead, he has been able to avoid these consequences, resigning twice from two different schools, 20 years apart.

Due to California's 'pass the trash laws', he is free to apply to other teaching jobs without disclosing what he did to me. SB8 48 would prevent all of this.

In addition to mandating comprehensive training, requiring abuse awareness education for students, and ensuring reporting of egregious misconduct, it would criminalize grooming, required thorough history checks, and create an electronic database to track school employee misconduct. My experience could have been very different if SB 848 existed. Maybe my abuser would have never even tried in the first place. For the safety of all children, I respectfully urge your support for SB 848." Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Secretary. Please call the roll.

[ROLL CALL]

Six ayes. The bill is out. Next, in signing order, we have Senator Padilla, File item number 10, Senate Bill 658, 38. And while you're at it, Senator Padilla, I think you are presenting on behalf of Senator Reyes two more measures which we'll call up following this bill. So I believe Senator, you're starting with your own bill, file item number 10.

Do that manually here, huh? A lot of freedom in the Assembly. Mr. Chairman.

We don't have all the money that you have on the Senate.

I wish that were true. Mr. Chairman and Members, I'd like to start off. I'm pleased to present SB 638

I'd like to start off by accepting Committee amendments and thanking your staff for their incredible work with ours on this. This past year, as many of you know, I cochaired the Affordability Working Group with my Senate colleagues. And in that work we place particular emphasis on expanding opportunities and pathways to the California dream.

SB 638 is a result of our efforts and it will help rebuild the middle class by increasing access to opportunity for all Californians, particularly those who pursue development of skills and talents outside of traditional educational pathways. Fundamentally, the ability to have marketable skills is your ability to to participate in our economy.

Your ability to participate in our economy is directly relevant to the questions of affordability that we're grappling with here in the legislature. As many of you know, recently a PPIC survey found that 70% of Californians think their children, when they grow up in California will be worse off financially than their parents.

Moreover, about 60% of Californians think that achieving the American Dream is harder in California than anywhere else. Put simply, opportunities are slipping away for millions of Californians and their family. It's primarily for three reasons.

First, California's education and workforce development system is not working as well for those who are on what we would prior consider non traditional paths as for those seeking baccalaureate or postgraduate studies.

Our income gap is continuing to grow rapidly and we are not churning out the workforce that is skilled and ready to meet the demands of our economy.

Our education and workforce development system is disjointed not for lack of many wonderful programs and efforts, but they're spread through multiple agencies and often are not coordinating or communicating with one another. In California, we spent $7.3 billion on a broad range of efforts.

But funding is spread across different programs that often require different plans, applications and requirements, making it often difficult for communities, especially under invested in rural ones, for example, to access funding.

California is rapidly and has been for some time becoming a tale of two economies that one for working poor or rural poor, others in coastal, urban and wealthier communities. This is not economically sustainable. It is not socially just. It is a violation of our social contracts.

A growing percentage of historically disadvantaged communities across California find themselves economically stranded. Rural and inland communities tend to have higher unemployment rates, lower levels of education completed, and more families just simply struggling with multiple jobs, often to put food on the table.

A recent CalMatters article on dual enrollment titled "More High Schoolers are Taking College Classes, but no Surprise Which Students Benefit Most," discussed these disparities. The status shows that some of California's rural students, as well as particularly for example males, students of color don't enroll and often do not complete courses at the same rate as other students.

This bill creates a coordinating body, Middle Class Pipeline Project, that will streamline, seek to streamline, identify, and improve interagency programming across education and workforce development as well as adopt regulations to better administer programs related to career tech education career pathways. To address regional disparities in the short term, the bill will inject resources.

Funding for this was stripped out of the budget submittal. We were proud to restore it in the Senate, that ultimately made its way into the budget agreement. Low income regions in our state, local education agencies need to have the ability to create higher tech education and pathways and for that they need resources.

We cannot afford to continue to push forward while only bringing certain communities along with us. The prosperity of our state needs to be available for everyone. I'm pleased today to be joined by Aj Johnson with Cal Competes and Zima Creason with the EDGE Coalition.

Good afternoon, Chair and Members. I'm Aj Johnson with California Competes: Higher Education for a Strong Economy. Before entering policy, I taught middle school in Oakland. Every day I saw how disconnected systems hurt students and families, and my students faced college requirements that were inconsistent and always shifting. The cost of attending was daunting.

They often came to school hungry or exhausted from bouncing between temporary housing or homes, and in turn I served as a social worker, housing navigator, college counselor, on top of teaching because there was no system connecting the dots for our students.

SB 638 is about coordinating our various government entities so that Californians can access what they need to learn and thrive. Our state faces a projected shortfall of 2 million college educated workers by 2030. Meeting that need requires better alignment across systems, starting with a statewide coordinating entity like the one this bill would establish.

California is the only state without a higher education coordinating entity, leaving students and families on their own to navigate complex and conflicting systems with high stakes consequences. SB 638 fills the gaps and more, connecting not just higher ed but also Tk12 workforce and safety net programs that Californians depend on.

Coordination will help address labor market shortages like in teaching, I saw the challenges of recruiting and retaining teachers from the communities my school served. A coordinating entity could provide actionable labor market information and use it to elevate career pathways and and design cross sector reforms that give every student access to a well supported teacher.

And let's not forget the role of caregivers. Most of the 6.8 million Californians with a high school diploma but no college degree have dependent children.

Better coordination could expand credit for prior learning and other policies that make it easier for learners to transition between systems and helping parents graduate faster which creates sustainability and multi generational success for their children.

If we want students to come to school ready to learn, if we want more teachers to stay in the profession, and if we want our state to have the workforce it needs, we need clear, coordinated, and supported pathways from education to employment and sometimes back again. And SB 638 helps make that possible. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, Chair, Members. I'm Zima Creason. I'm the Executive Director of the California EDGE Coalition. I also have the privilege of serving on the San Juan Unified Board of Education. But today I'm here with my EDGE hat on.

EDGE is a non profit, nonpartisan state policy organization dedicated to addressing workforce shortages in high road, high opportunity jobs, and expanding pathways to economic mobility for all Californians. All while also helping employers access the skilled and trained workforce that they need.

Right now, too many good jobs are going unfilled and too much talent in California is living below a living wage or in poverty. It just doesn't make sense. At EDGE, we work every day to clear close that gap. We strongly support SB 638 because it addresses long standing structural challenges we've prioritized for years.

At its core, this bill is about coalition building, something that's central to who we are at EDGE. Coalition is in our name. For decades, EDGE has brought together leaders from business, labor, education, workforce development, and social justice to advance our shared goals. We bring the right people to the table to plan, collaborate, and coordinate.

SB 368 aims to do the exact same thing. We know that this collaborative model works. California invests billions annually across siloed education and workforce programs, each with its own set of rules, funding streams and goals. Even as professionals, it absolutely makes our heads spin when we're trying to navigate these systems. It could be absolutely overwhelming.

Now imagine how difficult it is for students and families and workers trying to access opportunity. This coordinating body would help identify gaps and disparities across systems, ensuring that opportunity youth and adult learners don't face unnecessary barriers in their pursuit of economic security.

Equally important, it would bring together key partners to build a unified responsive system that works for all Californians. This bill's alignment with the Cradle to Career Data System is also critical. Data driven insights will help us better target investments and evaluate progress to ensure measurable outcomes.

On behalf of the EDGE Coalition, I respectfully ask for your support and thank you so much for your time and leadership.

Thank you. Public comments in support of the measure. Please come forward.

Good afternoon. Carol Gonzalez on behalf of Long Beach City College, in support. Thank you.

Thank you. Mark Mcdonald on behalf of National University, in support.

Good afternoon. Alex Graves on behalf of the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities, in support.

Good afternoon. Ryan Joy on behalf of Aspire Public Schools, in support.

Seeing no further public comments in support. Any witnesses in opposition? Seeing none. Any public comments in opposition? Seeing none. Bring it back to the Committee. Any questions or comments from the Committee? None. Thank you, Senator. I've been working on this issue of career technical education my 11 years here in the legislature.

And so it's exciting to see that you not only I've seen proposals to create these coordinating entities, but you got the funding for it, which is all the difference in the world.

And I appreciate you accepting the amendments because I know one of the concerns that was raised in our conversations about the master plan, the governor's master plan for career education, was the numerous funding streams that were often duplicative or, you know, confusing to a lot of the career technical education providers. And so.

But having the CTE and Career Pathways Grant program renamed and with a new purpose and mission, I think it's definitely a step in the right direction. I would be honored if you would add me as a coauthor to your bill and give you the opportunity to close.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for your leadership for so many years and working very collaboratively with our office. And it is, I think, something we agree upon that's important is to build on some of the prior concepts this legislature has put forward on coordinating entities.

As you well know and your members know, this is not a new concept, but what's distinct in this bill, what it seeks to ultimately accomplish, is to better operationalize that integrated entity, which is something that prior iterations did not achieve.

And we believe, and I believe that that is critical to achieving some of the ability to create additional room for additional participants to identify overlaps and duplicity, to really maximize participation and to sort of modernize the whole integrated system and maybe take a more systemic and strategic approach looking at all the leading industries that our state will need in the future.

So I think that's very important and very much appreciate your leadership, the work, the collaboration, and would respectfully ask for an aye vote.

All right, thank you. Motion's been made and seconded. Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

[ROLL CALL]

Seven ayes. The bill is out.

Thank you, sir.

All right. For Senator Reyes's bills. Senator Padilla, which one would you like to take up first?

Mr. Chairman, with your permission, SB 316.

File item number three, Senate Bill 316 on behalf of Senator Reyes. Senator Padilla.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members for the opportunity to present SB316, the High school Voter Registration act, on behalf of Senator Reyes. Every election cycle we discuss how low the voter turnout is across our country, particularly among our youngest citizens, residents and community.

We need to do more to instill in our youth the importance of voting and simplify the civic engagement process. This bill is an excellent tool to make it possible for 16 and 17 year old school to pre register to vote so that upon their 18th birthday, they're automatically registered.

In addition, it would provide students who are already 18 years of age information on how to register, how to vote by mail and the importance of the voter signature. By bringing resources directly to our youth, we can ensure that they are developing the habit of being actively civically engaged, regardless of party affiliation.

Civic engagement is an invaluable contribution to our democracy and this bill will increase participation, we hope, on election day. Pleased to have here to testify in support of the Senator's bill are Hugo Trejo, student from the Inland Empire, and Ruth Sosa Martinez, who will provide student testimony as only students can make it.

Good afternoon, Chair and members of the committee. My name is Hugo Trujo. I'm a student from San Bernardino speaking on behalf of my community. I'm a student leader within the congregation United for Change. And and most importantly, I am here. To voice my support for Senate Bill 316, the High School Voter Registration Act.

So as we all know, the infamous. Quote which goes along, if you don't care about politics, politics will one day care about you. And sadly, our youth today does not. Have the resources required to help actually provide and voice their opinions.

Today's legislation helps ease the process and makes it so that other extracurricular activities are provided to youth as provided in the Senate Bill activities, such as debates and mock trials will be provided that way so our youth can actually express their opinion. Most importantly, right now, school curriculum only.

Requires about one year and a half of civics based education. One in eighth grade in which our youth learns about the history of the the United States and the basics of government, and half a semester in high school in which you learn about more about civics and the current and the way that legislation goes.

But this bill does something which those do not, which is it helps bring civics outside of the classroom. It makes it so rather than having. To write an essay and having to. Express your opinions based on a grade, you're able to actually express your opinions. Outside of the classroom without being afraid of what those opinions are.

More importantly, this bill makes it so that those who are disconnected from politics can help bring in can help come back in. Thank you very much.

Good afternoon chair and members. My name is Ruth Zosa Martinez, policy strategist for Power CA Action, and I'm going to read a testimony from one of our students, Kylie Barker, who unfortunately couldn't make it today. Good afternoon committee members, I'm Kylie Barker, a member of Power California and a Merced resident.

Young Californians are on track to be the largest voting block in California by 2028, but often don't become civically engaged until later in life. However, what we do know is that the earlier they engage in our democratic process, the more likely they are to become lifelong voters. In 2020,

I was 18 and a senior in high school, but I didn't vote. Not because I didn't want to, but because I really didn't know how. No one in my high school talked about the importance of voting or what it what made me eligible to vote.

It wasn't until a peer from Power CA Action showed me how to register and the process, process for voting that I became civically engaged. I feel like I missed out in 2020 and I still remember my passion around that election wanting to vote. And because of how impactful the presidential race was.

Since then I've been getting my younger family members and peers politically engaged. Like my younger cousin, who I had many conversations with this last election to prepare her to vote.

I've also engaged in get out the vote efforts online to get young Californians to vote with Power CA action bills like SB316 remove voting barriers and engage young people early in their high school careers, creating more opportunities for them to become lifelong voters. I would have benefited from a policy like this during high school.

So I ask you today for your vote on SB316, thank you.

Public comments in support of the measure, please come forward.

Hello, Sam Nasher, on behalf of the Los Angeles County Office of, Office of Education, in support, thank you.

Savannah Jorgensen with the League of Women Voters of California in support.

Patricia Roscoe, student at San Gregonia High School and leader with ICUC in strong support.

Arturo Roscoe, voter engagement organizer with ICUC in strong support.

Thank you. Any witnesses in opposition in the measure, please come forward. Any public comments in opposition to the measure, please come forward. Seeing none, questions or comments from the committee? Dr. Patel?

Yes, I do have a couple of questions. Thank you for bringing this bill forward on behalf of Senator Reyes and thank you for your testimony today. I am a former school board trustee in a fairly large school district in San Diego. Our students have regularly participated in two programs that allow for early registration awareness.

One of them is the motor voter registration process and the other one is the Shirley and Weber who is the Secretary of State voter registration contest that she has.

And I, as someone who's been in education and has three teenage daughters, one of them actually just turned 20, I have seen how tackling an educational challenge from multiple different angles has always been helpful. So my question is, what would this do that these other voter registration efforts hasn't been able to do?

Mr. Chairman and Dr. Patel, thank you for the question. My understanding from the reference I was provided by the Senator's office and I may make it available to you, is there has been between the years 2018-21 a precipitous decline in participation in existing available protocols.

I think that the bill language here strengthens that impetus for local the requirements for which districts have to comply with making this program available and affirmatively educate student population and parents about its availability and effort to try to return those to prior numbers, which were based on a prior annual report through the year 2016 included over 1.1 million students participating that precipitously did decline by a significant percent, as much as 27% annually in the latter bracket of years.

So I believe that the author's intent here is to try to provide some tweaked tooling to return those numbers to prior participation.

Thank you. Certainly a noble effort. We do need to increase voter participation, especially in our younger generation of people so that they can have some self determination in their own future. I am also, as a former school board trustee, concerned about unfunded mandates.

It's something I talk about on a regular basis depending on the school district and what their funding availability is, and ability to enact the programs as described. Would it also be possible for, for districts if they were not able to und robust programs to satisfy the requirements through sending notices home or, or in.

Through the classroom, directly in a civics class or something like that?

Mr. Chairman. Dr. Patel, I don't have that answer handy in front of me, but I can be sure when I leave this hearing to make sure your office has access to it. On behalf of the Senator, thank you.

And with that, I'll second the motion from.

Thank you. So, motion's been made and seconded. Any further questions or comments seeing Mr.

Lowenthal. I just want to say very quickly, senator, if you are watching this, we miss you. We are so proud to be able to continue moving forward the legislation that you've been working on for so many years, and happy to, to support this bill today and committee.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Lowenthal. I was going to also say hi to Senator Reyes if you're watching, and we hope you're doing well and look forward to having you back. Senator Padilla, happy to support this measure. Would you like to close?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members. On behalf of Senator Reyes, respectfully ask for an aye vote.

All right, motion's been made and seconded. Please call the roll.

File item three. SB 316. Motion is due. Pass to elections. Muratsuchi. Aye. Muratsuchi, aye. Hoover. Addis. Addis, aye. Alvarez. Alvarez, aye. Bonta. Aye. Bonta, aye. Castillo. Castillo aye. Garcia. Garcia, aye. Lowenthal. Lowenthal, aye. Patel. Patel, aye.

Eight votes. The bill is out. All right, next is file item number four, Senate Bill 334.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to present on behalf of Senator Reyes, SB 334, the Education Against Harassment Act. I'd like to first note on behalf of the author, she'd like to thank committee staff and the chair for their work on the amendments in this bill. She will be accepting those amendments.

Today, there is a deficit in school curriculum pertaining to informing students about definitions related to sexual harassment, the protections people have students have, and how they can respond to adverse and questionable circumstances. A striking example of this lack of education took place at Redlands Unified School District in the Senators district.

Where the U.S. Department of Education and the California Department of Justice determined that the school district systemically violated laws related to the prevention of sexual assault, harassment and abuse. This occurred while this occurred. Excuse me.

While there were existing protocols in place that could have been used to mitigate or outright prevent these situations from taking place, this district is not alone in lacking sufficient preventative education, particularly focused on mitigating sexual harassment. We need to be preventative in our approach so that these instances of harassment do not continue anywhere in the state.

This bill will incorporate vital information into the health and education curriculum framework, including definitions related to sexual harassment and how students can respond in such instances, which will create a safer and healthier school environment.

Furthermore, promoting a healthy and preventative campus culture through Sexual Harassment Safety Week will also serve as a vital tool to keep students safe from harm. With Title IX enforcement in jeopardy at the federal level, it's critical now more than ever that our state prioritize how high schools enforce and teach students about sexual harassment prevention.

Joining me here to testify in support of the bill are Avantika Ravi, student leader with Generation Up, and Kathleen Van Osten on behalf of the American Association of University Women.

Good morning, Chair and committee members. My name is Avantika Ravi and I am the director of policy advocacy for Generation Up, a student movement mobilizing students to fight for education justice. I'm privileged to be here today to provide testimony in strong support of SB 334, the Education Against Harassment Act.

Across California, students continue to be sexually harassed and assaulted in K through 12 schools, often without any clear sense of their rights and how to get assistance. Too many survivors are met with the silence, confusion, or even retaliation. That is not just a policy breakdown, it is a breakdown in education and in protection.

SB 334 is a huge step towards safer and more informed schools by requiring the Instructional Quality Commission to consider adding Title IX protections, procedures, and response options into California's health education framework.

It also provides one Sexual Harassment Safety Week annually in the second full week of September, setting structured time for schools to talk openly and preventively with students and personnel. This legislation isn't merely about what occurs once the harm has taken place, but it is about equipping students with knowledge of their rights to prior to violation.

We have witnessed what happens when a system falters, such as at Redlands Unified, where ignorance and lack of accountability resulted in scores of student complaints and a Department of Justice investigation. Never again should something like that be allowed to happen. As students. We're not asking for small solutions later.

We're asking for structural clarity, truthful education, and empowered school communities that value safety as a priority. On behalf of Generation Up, I respectfully urge your aye vote on SB 334. Let's move from silence to transparency, from harm to prevention. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and members. Kathy Van Osten, representing the American Association of University Women of California, we're very, very grateful for this bill. AAUW California has about 9,500 members throughout the state. State we're in 116 branches.

Equal access to education, as well as racial and social justice and equity for all are some of our key tenants from our public policy platform. And you know, it's ironic. Just June 23rd was the 53rd anniversary of Title IX. And I do want to do a big shout out to Assemblymember Alvarez.

His work when he was chair of the committee, his call for the State Auditor to review Title IX compliance among our higher education institutions, in particular CSU, resulted in a report back to the legislature with a package of bills to follow that were most of which were enacted last year. And so we're grateful to him for that.

We have long been frustrated, not only because of the compliance issue at the higher education level, but the lack of focus on Title IX harassment. Education enforcement compliance in K12 has just been a non starter. It really has not had much bearing up here in terms of Title IX and sexual harassment issues.

And one thing we do know from the National Department of Education is that harassment and sexual violence on high school campuses, on school campuses is vastly underreported. But even that we know that 50% of all high school young girls have reported being sexually harassed at school. They need to know what to do.

They need to know how to respond. They need to know who to go to, what's going to happen, and that it won't fall on deaf ears. And you can Google the subject any day of the week and find kids who have committed suicide because they have not, their complaints went unheard, unlistened to the schools, did not cooperate.

They did not move them into different classrooms. They just didn't respond. So this bill is just so essential in making sure that all of our young students know what to. They can recognize what the harassment is and the bullying and they also know what to do with that and who to go to.

And that there is a process in place and it will not only help the schools focus on this, but it will also provide this information to students and parents, which we think is essential and very critical. So for that we are very grateful for this bill and certainly request your aye vote.

All right. Thank you very much. Public comments in support of the measure. Please come forward.

Sam Nasher on behalf of the Los Angeles County Office of Education support. Thank you.

Katherine Squire on behalf of the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls in support.

Thank you. Seeing no further public comments and support. Any witnesses in opposition? Seeing none. Any public comments in opposition? Seeing none. Bring it back to the Committee. Dr. Patel?

Yes. I want to thank you for bringing this bill forward. As a former trustee in a school district in San Diego, this is clearly an area that I know there's a high need in. Additionally, in our community, we do have a very active AUW branch, the Poway Penasquitos branch.

And one of my first public presentations I did was a Title IX presentation on what our school district does for Title IX to this branch of very actively engaged women.

And it opened up my eyes to some areas where we think we know what we're doing in public education, and that often stops sometimes in the Administration buildings and doesn't quite trickle out to our students.

And so this is a very important policy that's going to help fill that, close that loophole and in making sure that our students understand what their rights are and the processes on how to bring forward complaints and the accountability on the side of local school leaders as well as Administration to make sure that the students do hear their complaints and make sure that their needs are addressed.

So I appreciate you bringing this forward, and I will support this bill today. At the appropriate time, I'd be happy to make a motion.

All right, Ms. Addis, thank you.

I want to say hi to Senator Reyes, if you're watching, and thank you for bringing this bill forward. And thank you, Senator Padilla, and to the witnesses. And I just. I really do want to truly, deeply thank you for this. Two years ago, I passed legislation to lift the statute of limitations on child sex assault.

And you can imagine the conversations that we had with a number of institutions and school districts, et cetera, around child sex assault and the length of time that it sometimes takes people to come forward.

And in every one of those conversations, I would bring up the idea around prevention and how we need more training, we need to be on the preventative side of things and how important that is. And so this bill, along with one that we heard earlier in this hearing, I think are absolutely going in the right direction.

I hope that this training will include sexual harassment and sexual assault by adults and by adults that children are exposed to. We just heard very sensitive and I would say jarring testimony on an earlier bill from somebody who had been groomed on campus.

And so I hope that as this legislation moves forward, there will also be, when it gets across the line, that. That it will continue not just a focus on student to student harassment and assault, but also when that happens from adults on campuses and just want to thank you and happy to second the motion.

All right, thank you. Any further questions or comments? Seeing done. Thank you, Senator Padilla, for presenting on behalf of Senator Reyes. Again, very important bill. Would you like to close?

Respectfully ask for an aye vote. Thank you.

Motion's been made and seconded. Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

File item 4. SB 334. The motion is do pass as amended to appropriations. [Roll Call].

Nine ayes. And I also would like to be added as a co author. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Members.

All right. While we will take up the consent calendar, we'd like to ask Senator Ochoa. Bogue, you have the last bill. You're the last one that's holding us up here. And so please, come on over. Let's take up the consent calendar.

The consent calendar is as follows. SB389, the motion is due. Pass to business and professions. SB411, the motion is do pass as amended to Human Services. SB510, the motion is do pass to Appropriations. We need. Okay, thank you. On the consent calendar. Muratsuchi.

Aye.

Muratsuchi, aye. Hoover. Hoover, aye. Addis. Addis, aye. Alvarez. Alvarez, aye. Bonta. Aye. Bonta, aye. Castillo. Aye. Castillo, aye. Garcia. Garcia, aye. Lowenthal. Lowenthal, aye. Patel. Patel, aye.

Nine votes. The consent calendar is adopted. Yeah. That's next. Yeah. Okay, we'll allow members to add on to votes.

File item 1. SB 48, the motion is do pass to Judiciary Committee. Hoover. Hoover, no. Addis. Addi, aye. Castillo. Castillo, no. Garcia. Garcia, aye.

Seven to two, the bill is out.

File item two. SB 98, the motion is due pass to higher education. Hoover.

No.

Hoover, no. Addis. Aye. Addis aye. Alvarez.

Aye.

Alvarez, aye. Bonta.

Aye.

Bonta aye. Castillo. Castillo, no. Garcia. Garcia, aye.

Seven to two, the bill is out.

File item three. SB 316, the motion is due, pass to elections. Hoover. Hoover, aye.

9 0, the bill is out.

File item four. SB 334, the motion is due, passes amended to appropriations. Hoover. Hoover, aye.

9 0, the bill is out.

File item seven. SB 472. The motion is due, pass to appropriations. Hoover. Aye. Hoover, aye. Addis. Aye. Addis, aye. Garcia. Aye. Garcia, aye.

9 0, the bill is out.

File item 9. SB 631, the motion is due, passes amended to Appropriations. Hoover. Hoover, aye. Addis. Addis, aye. Alvarez. Alvarez, aye. Garcia. Garcia, aye. Lowenthal. Lowenthal, aye.

9 0, the bill is out.

File item 10. SB 638. The motion is due pass, as amended to higher education. Hoover not voting. Hoover not voting.

7 to 0. The bill is out.

File item 12. SB848. The motion is due pass, as amended to public safety. Hoover. Hoover, aye. Bonta. Aye. Bonta, aye. Castillo. Castillo, aye.

9 0, the bill is out. All right. Senator Ochoa Bogue, please come on over.

Mr. Chair. Yes. Could I request to be added as a co author to SB 4898?

All right, so noted. Should we give a time limit for Senator Ochoa Bogue? Another committee.

All right, just to update everyone, we received a request from Senator Ochoa Bogh's office if this committee will allow her staff to present on her behalf. And I've approved that request. So her Chief of Staff is coming on over for our last bill of the day. We have the Senator. All right. Busy day, Senator.

Catch your breath there. While you're getting set up, this is file item number 11, Senate Bill 745, our last bill of today's hearing. You want to turn your mic on? There we go.

Perfect. Thank you so much and I apologize for the delay. Mr. Chair, members, thank you for the opportunity to present Senate Bill 745. First, I'd like to accept the committee's amendments and thank the staff for working with my office. Thank you.

As amended, SB 745 directs the California Department of Education to work with county offices to develop curriculum guide and resources for one year course in American government and civics.

Additionally, this bill requires school districts participating in the State Seal of Civic Engagement to deem the completion of one year course in American government and civics as satisfying the criteria for receiving the state seal. Currently, California only requires a one semester course in American government and civics for high school graduation.

This does not allow sufficient time to study state and local government processes. Inadequate civics education leads to a lower voter turnout, lack of advocacy, and a diminished ability to discern incorrect information.

Research from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation show that more than 70% of Americans fail a basic civics literacy test, including basic facts such as the three branches of government. According to PEV research, nearly half of young Americans ages 18 to 29 primarily receive news regarding politics and elections through social media outlets.

With increased political polarization and lack of civil discourse, unfortunately, California's education system needs to adjust to mitigate these current statistics and trends. SB 745 aims to establish a strong foundation of government and civics education for students, enabling them to understand key issues, engage in informed discussions, and recognize the importance of their vote.

The curriculum will focus on local, state and Federal Government processes as well as the importance of voting. Greater knowledge and understanding of government processes increases the likelihood of civic engagement and may help reverse current trends and statistics among young voters.

Ultimately, a comprehensive course in American government and civics will empower our next generation of voters to be better informed, more politically active citizens. This will provide our schools with a guide on how to do that. Testifying in support is Julia Chambers with America Undivided and Emily Gorodesky. I had practiced that. I apologize, which is Ukrainian, a high school student from the San Francisco Unified School District.

Welcome.

All right, Mr. Chair and committee members, my name is Julia Chambers. I am the director of America Undivided, the sponsor of this bill. But more importantly, I am a 17 year old, a California public high school student who has seen firsthand just how unprepared my generation is for democracy.

So back when school was in session, I tracked down every senior I could find, each one who had already taken the required government course and asked them a few basic questions about civics. Not one single student could name a single representative, not their Congressman, Senator, state Senator, and especially Assemblymembers. Almost none planned to vote.

And only a few actually knew that states had their own governments, that this building, that any of you here actually exist. And so clearly something is wrong here.

So studies from UCLA, UC Riverside and the Public Policy Institute of California show that California schools are not providing adequate civic education, that 65% of California principals report major political tensions between students, and that in the last election only 10% of Californians aged 18 to 24 voted. That's far less than half of the national youth average.

The government course mandated by the state only covers the Federal Government and constitution. In our classes, we don't go over state and local governments or how to be a citizen and participate in our democracy, or to teach us how to have productive political conversations.

The problem is we are expected to participate in democracy, but we're not being taught how. So Senate Bill 745 doesn't mandate a new class. It doesn't tell teachers how to teach.

But what it does is provide resources and a curriculum guide to help schools, districts and teachers who want to go further, who want to provide more in depth government instruction and real civic learning. It empowers these schools with the tools to teach about state and local governments, civil discourse, and how students can participate actively in our democracy.

Today, I respectfully ask for your aye vote to take a step towards creating a more informed and engaged electorate. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and Members of the Committee. My name is Emily Gordetsky and I'm a student at the San Francisco Unified School District and the founder of VRing Democracy, a virtual reality headset transforming the future of civic education. Let me be honest, most of my peers have no idea how local government works.