California Student Safety & Violence Prevention
California students are protected from discrimination or harassment based on sexual orientation or gender identification.Assembly Bill 537
Under the California Student Safety and Violence Prevention Act of 2000 (AB 537) - Full Text
(PDF), all California public schools have a duty to
protect students from discrimination and/or harassment on the
basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
In the Spring of 2000, former State Superintendent Delaine Eastin established an advisory task force to identify ways to implement the California Safety and Violence Prevention Act of 2000 (PDF; 2MB). The California Student Safety and Violence Prevention Act of 2000 (Assembly Bill 537) was enacted to amend California Education Code specifically prohibiting discrimination against and harassment of students and staff in schools on the basis of sex, ethnic group identification, race, national origin, religion, color, or mental or physical disability. This law added the provision that all students and staff in public schools have the same right to a safe learning environment, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Senate Bill 1234
The Legislature has recently defined "gender" for purposes of identifying hate crimes and eliminating unlawful discrimination in public schools in SB 1234, amending Penal Code Section 422.58 as follows:
"Gender" means sex, and includes a person's gender identity and gender related appearance and behavior whether or not stereotypically associated with the person's assigned sex at birth.
Senate Bill (SB)
1234
-
Full text of Senate Bill 1234 (Chapter 70, Stats of 2004).
Other Resources
Education Code that specifically addresses gender discrimination is listed below:
Education
Code sections 200-201
Education
Code sections 210-214
Education
Code sections 220-221.1
Education
Code sections 221.5-231.5
Visit the following Web site for testimony before the Senate Select
Committee on School Safety on "Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity
Discrimination, and School Safety": School Safety Committee - Hearings
[http://www.senate.ca.gov/ftp/SEN/COMMITTEE/SELECT/SCHOOL_SAFETY/_home/hearings.htp]
.