The Senate today gave final approval to SB 161, a bill by Senator Nell Soto (D – Pomona) to create a clearinghouse for informing California youth of their existing rights.

While the Senate had previously voted to approve Soto’s bill, today’s vote was necessary because the measure was recently amended in the Assembly.

Soto’s bill would establish the “Youth Access to Information Act” and require the California Department of Education to prepare, by July 1, 2006, a statement of pupil rights in both English and Spanish. That statement, which would be posted on the department’s website, would be required to include the following declarations:

• “You have the right to consent to medical care related to the prevention or treatment of pregnancy”;

• “If you may have come into contact with an infectious, contagious, or communicable disease, you have the right to consent to medical care related to the diagnosis or treatment of that disease if you are 12 years of age or older”;

• “You may consent to medical care related to the diagnosis and treatment of an alleged sexual assault and the collection of medical evidence with regard to the alleged assault”;

• “You may consent to medical care and counseling relating to the diagnosis and treatment of a drug or alcohol-related problem if you are 12 years of age or older”;

• “You may consent to mental health treatment or counseling on an outpatient basis if you are 12 years of age or older”;

• “You have the inalienable right to attend classes on school campuses that are safe, secure, and peaceful”;

• “You have the right to be free from discrimination on the basis of sex, ethnic group identification, race, national origin, religion, color, mental or physical disability, or any actual or perceived characteristic that is contained in the statutory definition of hate crimes”;

• “You have the right to surrender you newborn child to a hospital or a fire station within 72 hours of giving birth without being asked any questions”;

• “You have the right to change your mind about giving your baby up for adoption, and to rescind the adoption, within 30 days of relinquishing your child to the Department of Social Services or to a licensed adoption agency”;

• “You have the right to be read Miranda warnings prior to any interrogation if you are taken into custody.”

SB 161 would also require the CDE to notify school districts as to the availability of the information and to encourage school districts to include a link to the CDE web page on district web sites. The measure would allow districts to display the statement at school facilities.

Data released in 2003 revealed that the 32nd Senate District, which Soto represents in the Legislature, had the fourth highest teen pregnancy rate in California.  In an effort to mitigate this problem, Soto created the 32nd Senatorial District Teen Pregnancy Prevention Consortium, comprised of stakeholders, community members and youth.          

The Consortium has been meeting for the past two years, analyzing and researching the core reasons for teen pregnancy.  The group concluded that many of the barriers youth face come from a lack of knowledge about resources available to them. 

“Our youth are not aware of many of the laws that are pertinent to their lives which would allow them to become more responsible citizens,” Soto says. “While not establishing any new rights for youth, my bill will help arm young people with increased awareness of the rights they already have. SB 161 is by no means intended to undermine parents' responsibilities or interfere with their involvement in their children's lives.  Rather, it is my belief that the “Youth Access Information Act” will facilitate a more functional relationship between students, their parents and their schools.”