(Sacramento) - There’s no place for hate on a school campus. With that sentiment in mind, Assembly Member Mike Eng has authored Assembly Bill 2762.  It's been nicknamed “Larry’s Law” in memory of 14-year-old Larry King of Oxnard, a gay 8th grader, who was murdered in his classroom by his classmate. Police believe it was a hate crime. The goal of Assembly Member Eng's bill, AB 2762 is to make sure all children in California schools are safe and free from hate, intimidation, harassment, and violence by ensuring that school personnel are equipped with the necessary prevention and educational tools.  More details on the proposed law are available in this Assembly Web Report.

Summary

AB 2762 seeks to provide all children in California with a school environment that is safe and free from hate, intimidation, harassment, and violence by ensuring that our school personnel are equipped with the necessary prevention and educational tools.

The Proposal

Specifically, AB 2762 would accomplish this by: (1) establishing uniform, statewide reporting protocols for all school personnel when made aware that a student has been threatened; and (2) creates the Diversity Education Pilot Program, which provide 5 schools with a grant of $25,000 each for the purposes of training teachers on issues of diversity and inter-group relations; improving school crisis intervention plans; and increasing family and community involvement.

Take Action

• Background Information on AB 2762 (PDF)
• Downloadable Support Letter for AB 2762 (PDF)

Background

On February 12, 2008, Larry King, a gay eighth-grader of E.O. Green Junior High School in Oxnard, was shot twice in the head and murdered in his class room by another student.  His perceived sexual orientation is believed to have been a factor in the case.  Some students at the Oxnard junior high school had seen King teased by students in the weeks before the shooting for being gay and wearing feminine accessories.  The anti-gay taunts and slurs that King endured from his male peers apparently had been constant.

Over the past few years, California has experienced an alarming increase in bias-motivated incidents in public schools.  Studies of school safety conducted by the California Department of Education reveal that students who were gay, or perceived to be gay, were five times more likely to report being threatened or injured with a weapon.  In addition, according to a 2007 GenderPAC report, 90% of youth and young adults targeted in fatal assaults because of their gender identity and expression were males who looked or acted femininely.

Although the Oxnard school district has programs in place to deal with bullying, it just wasn’t enough to prevent the King tragedy from occurring.  AB 2762 takes the next step by requiring all school personnel to report to the principal or superintendent all known threats of harm that have been made to a student on our school campuses.  The principal or superintendent would then be charged with the responsibility of immediately assessing, investigating and resolving the matter before anything tragic occurs.  Such actions include meeting with the students involved, discussing this issue with their parents, and/or involving local law enforcement. 

However, all prevention programs are most effective when accompanied by an educational component.  It is for that reason that AB 2762 also provides for the Diversity Education Pilot Program, which authorizes the California Department of Education to grant 5 awards to California schools with a history of inter-group tensions.  These resources are to be used on in areas, such as: integrating culturally relevant elements and strategies in the core curricula that foster respect for differences; establishing community partnership programs to combat harassment and prejudice; and helping with the adoption and implementation of a written anti-harassment and anti-hate policy that is in full compliance with applicable laws.

As California grows more diverse, inter-group tensions will continue to rise in many communities and inevitably affect public schools, as it is apparent.  Hate and bias must be addressed by our public education system in order to preserve a safe learning environment.  This bill takes a big step toward that goal by placing an emphasis on diversity and human relations in the school curriculum and ensuring that school officials are equipped to take appropriate actions in helping mediate problems before they manifest themselves into acts of hate and violence.