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HR-28 (2015-2016)

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HR28:v98#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  May 02, 2016

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2015–2016 REGULAR SESSION

House Resolution
No. 28

Introduced by Assembly Members Dababneh and Calderon
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Hadley, Harper, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Quirk, Rendon, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, and Wood)

July 15, 2015

Relative to humane education.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


HR 28, as amended, Dababneh.
WHEREAS, Sections 233.5 (part of the Hate Violence Prevention Act) and 60042 of the Education Code require instruction in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to promote and encourage kindness to pets and humane treatment of animals; and
WHEREAS, The States of Florida, Illinois, Maine, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin have adopted humane education laws similar to California’s; and
WHEREAS, Numerous academic studies have established a correlation between animal cruelty during childhood and interpersonal violence in adulthood; and
WHEREAS, Law enforcement agencies in major cities such as Houston, Chicago, and Los Angeles have acknowledged this correlation and formed special enforcement units to combat animal cruelty; and
WHEREAS, Humane education, such as that involving wildlife, the animals’ place in the overall environment, and the negative impacts humans can have on them, including death and extinction, can disrupt the cycle of animal and human abuse by decreasing a child’s potential to be abusive or neglectful toward animals and, consequently, to promote prosocial behavior toward humans; and
WHEREAS, Humane education programs seek to prevent violence by teaching empathy, compassion, and respect for all living beings and help children develop into caring, responsible citizens; and
WHEREAS, Reputable nonprofit organizations are working to implement humane education programs through in-classroom presentations, teacher training, and the provision of relevant resources, and these organizations could assist California schools in complying with the Education Code’s humane education provisions without burdening school budgets; and
WHEREAS, The experiences of these nonprofit organizations, as well as other teachers or organizations that have conducted pilot humane education efforts, provide evidence that student knowledge and positive perceptions of animals is not as commonplace as it should be; and
WHEREAS, Deficiencies in children’s understanding of the role animals have in the economy of nature and in people’s lives contribute to a proliferation in the number of wild and domestic animals that are suffering from cruelty, abandonment, high animal shelter euthanasia rates, and, in extreme circumstances, extinction; and
WHEREAS, Schools and school districts are undertaking steps to rectify these deficiencies by promoting humane education and implementing it in classrooms; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, That compliance with Education Code provisions should include educating students on the principles of kindness and respect for animals and observance of laws, regulations, and policies pertaining to the humane treatment of animals, including wildlife and its environment; and be it further
Resolved, That actions such as implementing statewide or districtwide “humane education days” and involving nonprofit organizations in humane education activities with local faculty and school administrators be considered for inclusion in compliance efforts; and be it further
Resolved, That the Superintendent of Public Instruction be encouraged to ensure the incorporation of humane education in the core curriculum; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the State Senate, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the State Board of Education, the State Department of Education, and the author for appropriate distribution.