AB 9 Seth's Law - The Resounding SLAP to the Faces of Victims and Educators Alike.

California AB 9 "Seth’s Law” is a relatively new law (July 1, 2012.) that somewhat strengthens state anti-bullying laws to “help protect all California public school students.” 

This writer feels as a public school counselor that AB 9 doesn’t do nearly enough and has a glaring flaw that renders it effectively useless.

Seth’s Law is named after a 13-year-old California student who tragically took his own life in 2010 after years of anti-gay bullying that his school failed to address. The latter is an overwhelmingly common theme in student suicides caused by the destructive atmosphere of peer bullying.

Seth’s Law requires public schools in California to update their anti-bullying policies and programs, further it’s authors state, it focuses on protecting students who are bullied based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity/gender expression, as well as race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, disability and religion.

California law says that all public school students should have equal rights and opportunities. Free of hindrance towards the learning process. However, many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning students report that they experience significant bullying in California schools under previous statute and loosely organized attempts to prevent this. Further, teachers, administrators, and other staff often fail to address the bullying when they see it. 

AT A GLANCE: The California State anti-bullying law requires school districts to:

Adopt a strong anti-bullying policy that specifically spells out prohibited bases for bullying, including sexual orientation and gender identity/gender expression.

Adopt a specific process for receiving and investigating complaints of bullying, including a requirement that school personnel intervene if they witness bullying.

Publicize the anti-bullying policy and complaint process, including posting the policy in all schools and offices.

Post on the district website materials to support victims of bullying.

School Personnel Must Intervene

Seth’s Law specifically contains the following requirement: “If school personnel witness an act of discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying, he or she shall take immediate steps to intervene when safe to do so.” (Education Code Section 234.1(b)(1)) (See definition of "Intervene" below)

AB 9: SETH’S LAW; CALIFORNIA EDUCATION CODE SECTIONS

234, 234.1, 234.2, 234.3 AND 234.5

FROM THE ACLU OF CALIFORNIA

Each School District is Required to Adopt a Policy

that prohibits discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying that applies to all acts related to school activity or school attendance occurring within a school. Under Seth’s Law, the policy must specifically pro-hibit discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying based on these actual or perceived characteristics: disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation. Discrimination, harassment, intimidation or bullying directed at someone associated with a person or group with one or more of the listed actual or perceived characteristics is also prohibited. (Education Code Section 234.1(a))

Anti-Bullying Complaint Process

School districts must adopt a process for receiving and investigating complaints of discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying. The process must include a timeline to investigate and resolve complaints and an appeals process for the complainant. All complaints are to remain confidential, as appropriate, and schools are required to protect complainants from retaliation. (Education Code Section 234.1(b) & (f))

Publication of Anti-Bullying Policy and Complaint Process

School districts must publicize their anti-bullying policy and complaint process, including information about how to file a complaint, to students, parents, and the general public. The anti-bullying policy must be posted in all schools and offices, including staff lounges and student government meeting rooms. The anti-bullying policy and any complaint process forms must be translated, as appropriate. (Education Code Section 234.1(c) & (d))

Posting of Bullying Resources

School districts are required to post and annually update support resources to youth who have been subjected to school-based discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying and their families on their websites. A list of these resources must also be provided to each school within the district. (Education Code Section 234.5)

From the California Department of Education:

Sample Action Plan for Local Educational Agencies

1. Policy Revision
   
   Action Steps:
1. Review current harassment/discrimination policy
2. Add "intimidation and bullying based on the actual or perceived characteristics" to harassment/discrimination policy
3. Add "intimidation and bullying" to complaint process
4. Add language for staff taking immediate actions when safe to do so
5. Submit policy for board adoption
2. Timeline for Investigation
   
   Action Steps:
1. Work with school sites to identify a realistic timeline for investigation
2. Develop check-list for proper investigations
3. Provide language on the number of days and process to investigate a complaint to include in policy
3. Appeals Process
   
   Action Steps:
1. Revise current appeals process to include Assembly Bill 9 requirements
2. Develop or revise current forms
3. Add district staff contact for appeals of findings
4. Translate All Forms
   
   Action Steps:
1. Submit revised forms for translation
2. Identify high need languages
3. Translate all documents
4. Maintain records for costs to translate
5. Publicize Policy
   
   Action Steps:
1. Revise student handbooks to comply with AB 9
2. Revise employee handbooks to comply with AB 9
3. Place revised harassment policy, reporting process, complaint process, and appeals process on school site and district Web sites
6. Post the Policy
   
   Action Steps:
1. Identify all rooms where policy must be posted
2. Duplicate policy and laminate
3. Post policy in offices, staff lounges, pupil government rooms, and other locations as appropriate
7. Maintain Documentation of Complaints and Resolution
   
   Action Steps:
1. Electronic:

1. Develop data-base with fields
2. Identify staff to use the electronic form
3. Provide training Whoops no money or time for lay teachers. We fired the counselors... Hmmm.
1. Paper:

 .    Individual school sites must store and secure paperwork

1. Copy must be sent to the district office lead
2. Files should be maintained for a two-year period
7. Ensure Complainants are Protected from Retaliation
   
   Action Steps:
1. Discussion with students about retaliation and witness intimidation will be provided during behavior assemblies
2. Student handbooks to be revised with statements and consequences for retaliation and witness intimidation
3. Inform complainants of ways to report retaliation or intimidation
4. Follow-up contact with complainants and parents
8. Complainants’ Identities are Confidential as Appropriate
   
   Action Steps:
1. Adhere to Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
2. Investigate without using names of targets or reporters if possible
3. Attempt to witness the act (documenting time, location, and people involved)
4.  

As perfectly illustrated in the state department of education’s sample action plan above. There are no tools to make the “action steps” about action towards change. There is absolutely no behavioral consequences positive or otherwise, offered to educators by which to make the elaborate design and it’s noble end effective towards protecting  bullied kids or changing the behavior of those students prone to bullying. Nothing, Nada, a motor with a forward direction but no source of fuel. 

Further, if AB 9 came with a plethora of effective and workable behavioral solutions, there is no offering of support for the inevitable fallout from parents who sadly enable bullying behavior in their children. In fact, school administrators are pushed more now than ever before to concede to the protests and threats of litigation from many of these parents, despite the good intentions behind California AB 9.

intervene

[in-ter-veen] 

verb (used without object), in·ter·vened, in·ter·ven·ing.

 

1. to come between disputing people, groups, etc.; intercede; mediate.

2. to occur or be between two things.

3. to occur or happen between other events or periods: Nothing important intervened between     the meetings.

4. (of things) to occur incidentally so as to modify or hinder: We enjoyed the picnic until a thunderstorm intervened.

5. to interfere with force or a threat of force: to intervene in the affairs of another country.

6. Law. to interpose and become a party to a suit pending between other parties.
7. Education. to risk, life, limb, property and even retirement on a half-thought out flight of political fancy. Deviate statute to appease the well intended authors and victims of the California school bullying problem; not broached herein.

Obey or Quit-The Bullying In Education originally written and published by dianerav http://dianeravitch.net/2013/01/12/obey-or-quit/ A teacher sent me this post, which has generated lots of discussion on Facebook. She said that the discussion on this blog shows a widespread bullying of teachers by administrators, who are in turn being bullied to produce "results." Everyone is under pressure to meet demands created by politicians, economists, and statisticians who never spent a day in a school classroom after their high school graduation. Here goes: "Paul's Story" Yesterday I received an emergency phone call from an experienced teacher in a Bronx school who received his first ever "U" on an observation report. Emotionally overwrought with fear and anger, it took all I could do to calm him down and get him to figure out how he could resolve this issue and continue to teach and at the same time maintain his principles while having to deal with his principal. She, as authoritarian personality as they come, simply follows NYC DOE/Teachers College orders in FORCING her underlings to follow the lockstep TC workshop model lesson plan. Because he veered and used different materials and interacted differently with his kids than the plan permits he was given a "U". It was quite evident after seeing her 20-page write-up that there was something more here. Her discussions of the 2 pre-observation were filled with evidence of her obviously one-track mind.  Do it this way. I will not accept any of your alternatives. Her most consistent and often repeated criticism is that he did not use everything the Model presenter from TC demonstrated in the 3 short demonstrations he attended. It's as if everything that came before NYCDOE/TC's workshop version of teaching was anathema in this new pious world of top down education. By the way...it is a terrible way to teach if used as the one and only lesson plan every single day.  But that is probably why he received this "U" in the first place. You see, he is not passive. He is not one to just follow orders. He speaks up and out. He argues. He was being punished for that more than his not following the lesson plan. He expressed to me that he was ready to give up, to get out, to simply go to the rubber room, or be made into an ATR (absent teacher reserve). That is the new leadership's plan. Veterans: If you don't follow the rules you have two choices. Retire or be exiled. This way "The Big Talking Heads" of education can take in their fresh young faces and train them to be, as my friend said, Star Wars "Clones" obeying the orders of the dark side.

Labor Recruiting Firm must pay $4.5 million to exploited teachers

Firm must pay $4.5 million to exploited teachers in precedent-setting case

A jury ordered a labor recruiting firm and its owner Monday to pay $4.5 million to 350 Filipino teachers they lured to teach in Louisiana public schools and forced into exploitive contracts after arriving in the United States through the federal guest worker program.

Universal Placement International of Los Angeles and its owner and president, Lourdes Navarro, were ordered to pay the damages following a two-week trial in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles.

“The jury sent a clear message that exploitive and abusive business practices involving federal guest workers will not be tolerated,” said SPLC Legal Director Mary Bauer. “This decision puts unscrupulous recruitment agencies on notice that human beings – regardless of citizenship status – cannot be forced into contracts that require them to pay illegal fees.”

The verdict came in a federal class action lawsuit, Nunag Tanedo v. East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, brought on behalf of the teachers in August 2010. The teachers are represented by the SPLC, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the law firm of Covington & Burling LLP.

The teachers began arriving in the United States in 2007 as part of the H-1B guest-worker program administered by the U.S. Department of Labor. H-1B visas permit foreign nationals with special skills to work in the United States for up to six years. Most teachers paid the placement service about $16,000 – several times the average household income in the Philippines – to obtain their jobs.

Nearly all the teachers had to borrow money to pay the recruiting fees. Sounds like a private school loan most young Americans endure to get the chance to be a teacher. The recruiters referred the teachers to private lenders who charged 3 to 5 percent interest per month. Teachers were forced to pay these exorbitant fees because they had already made substantial investments that would not be returned. The recruiters confiscated their passports and visas until they paid.

“This groundbreaking verdict affirms the principle that all teachers working in our public schools must be treated fairly, regardless of what country they may come from,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten. “The outrageous abuses provide dramatic examples of the extreme exploitation that can occur, even here in the United States, when there is no proper oversight of the professional recruitment industry. The practices involved in this case – labor contracts signed under duress and other arrangements reminiscent of indentured servitude – are things that should have no place in 21st-century America.”

Sorry Randi, but this is the way all teachers will be treated in the near future. Please don't think that this is a foreign labor affliction. OH wait you should know that. At least the AFT and the Southern Poverty Law Center went to bat for these unfortunate folks. This aid wouldn't have occurred if the NEA or the CTA were involved. It would be a fair bet they would have denied the occurrence. Just as they ignore similar treatment to members right now within their own ranks.

In addition to paying upfront fees, the teachers were forced to sign away an additional 10 percent of the salaries they would earn during their second year of teaching. Teachers who resisted signing the contracts were threatened with being sent home and losing the thousands of dollars they had already paid. The court declared those contracts illegal and unenforceable. “We are very pleased with the verdict in this case and proud to have stood by these brave teachers as they finally obtained justice,” said Dennis Auerbach, lead attorney on the case from Covington and Burling. The theft of thousands of dollars in earnings by California school districts from unsuspecting teachers is much the same. Only difference these folks had some top notch legal help. CTA pays its attorneys a BONUS to settle a case, even at the educators expense or ultimate firing. A percentage of the difference from the super secret maximum dollars in Billable Hours. Hell, as a victim, oops client, you can't even look at the billable hours charged. Speaking of QUALITY representation, when I asked my CTA "fraud" about my Weingarten, lybarger rights as well as due process per the the CTC, I was told, "some things have to be given away to grease the wheels and get things moving!" I had no say nor was I asked.