CAIR-CA Applauds Governor Brown's Signing of Anti-Bullying Bill
Sacramento, CA:The California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CA) September 18 applauded the signing of an anti-bullying bill into law by California Governor Jerry Brown.
AB 2291, introduced by Assemblyman David Chiu and co-sponsored by CAIR-CA, requires local educational agencies to adopt by December 31, 2019, procedures to prevent bullying.
The law requires schools operated by a school district or a county office of education, along with charter schools, to annually make available an online training module developed by the Department of Education to all school-site employees who have regular interaction with pupils.
The law requires the Department of Education to post its online training module and an annually updated list of other available online training modules related to bullying or bullying prevention.
READ: AB-2291 School safety: bullying
"Today California has taken an important step in addressing bullying and protecting all students," said Yannina Casillas, legislative and government relations coordinator for CAIR-CA. "The passage of AB 2291 will ensure that the learning environments for all of our students are free from hostility and discrimination."
CAIR-CA's statewide report on school bullying found that 53 percent of 1,041 Muslim students in California surveyed were bullied over their religion in 2016.
READ: Unshakable: The Bullying of Muslim Students and the Unwavering Movement to Eradicate
On Monday, Gov. Brown also signed AB 2184 into law.
The bill, also introduced by Chiu and on CAIR-CA's legislative agenda, requires cities and counties that license businesses to accept a California driver's license or identification number, individual taxpayer identification number, or municipal identification number.
AB 2291 and AB 2184 were both highlighted during CAIR-CA's Muslim Day at the Capitol, which was held on April 23.
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