(a) At the request of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the State Board of Education shall do all of the following as long as the board’s actions do not result in a state mandate or an increase in costs to a state or local program:
(1) Adopt policies directed toward creating a school environment in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, that is free from discriminatory attitudes and practices and acts of hate violence.
(2) Revise, as needed, and in accordance with the State Board of Education’s adopted Schedule for Curriculum Framework Development and Adoption of Instructional Materials developed pursuant to Section 60200, the state curriculum frameworks and guidelines and the moral and civic education curricula to include human relations education, with the aim of fostering an appreciation of the diversity of California’s population and discouraging the development of discriminatory attitudes and practices.
(3) Establish guidelines for use in teacher and administrator in-service training programs to promote an appreciation of diversity and to discourage the development of discriminatory attitudes and practices that prevent pupils from achieving their full potential.
(4) Establish guidelines for use in teacher and administrator in-service training programs designed to enable teachers and administrators to prevent and respond to acts of hate violence occurring on their school campuses.
(5) Establish guidelines designed to raise the awareness and sensitivity of teachers, administrators, and school employees to potentially prejudicial and discriminatory behavior and to encourage the participation of these groups in these programs.
(6) Develop guidelines relating to the development of nondiscriminatory instructional and counseling methods.
(7) Revise any appropriate guidelines previously adopted by the board to include procedures for preventing and responding to acts of hate violence.
(b) The State Department of Education, in accordance with policies established by the State Board of Education for purposes of this subdivision, shall do all of the following:
(1) Prepare guidelines for the design and implementation of local programs and instructional curricula that promote understanding, awareness, and appreciation of the contributions of people with diverse backgrounds and of harmonious relations in a diverse society. The guidelines shall include methods of evaluating the programs and curricula and suggested procedures to ensure coordination of the programs and curricula with appropriate local public and private agencies.
(2) Provide grants, from funds appropriated for that purpose, to school districts and county offices of education to develop programs and curricula consistent with the guidelines developed in paragraph (1).
(3) To the extent possible, provide advice and direct services, consistent with the guidelines developed in paragraph (1), to school districts and county offices of education that implement the programs and curricula developed in paragraph (2).
(c) The State Board of Education shall carry out this section only if private funds, in an amount sufficient to pay for related State Department of Education staff activities on behalf of the board, are made available.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the governing board of a school district to offer any ethnic studies or human relations courses in the district.
(e) As used in this section, “hate violence” means any act punishable under Section 422.6, 422.7, or 422.75 of the Penal Code.
(Amended by Stats. 2000, Ch. 955, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2001.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018