The State Board of Education recently announced it was
beginning the process to adopt regulations to implement AB 1575 (2012) and AB 9
(2011) regarding bullying. AB 1575 prohibits
school districts from charging students fees for participating in any
educational activity, including extracurricular activities. Districts were
required to have policies in place to implement AB 1575 by March 1, 2013. The
bill allows complaints regarding fees to be filed with the school principal.
Anonymous complaints are permitted, and if the complainant is not satisfied
with the decision at the school level, an appeal to the California Department
of Education may go forward. The department is authorized to direct
reimbursement of all improperly collected fees if it finds an appeal has merit.
AB 9 required districts to adopt policies prohibiting bullying based on
specific characteristics, including disability, gender, gender identity and
expression, nationality, race or ethnicity. AB 9 also required districts to
have procedures for receiving and investigating complaints of such bullying.
The proposed regulations published by
the State Board of Education amend the existing Uniform Complaint Procedures to
include complaints about student fees and complaints of bullying. Comments on
the proposed regulations may be submitted by e-mail or in writing until May 15,
2013. The regulations are posted at www.cde.ca.gov/re/lr/rr.
