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SB-1010 Drowning prevention.(2023-2024)



Current Version: 02/01/24 - Introduced

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SB1010:v99#DOCUMENT


CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 1010

Introduced by Senator Ashby

February 01, 2024

An act to amend Section 51140 of, and to add Sections 51141, 51142, and 51143 to, the Education Code, to add Section 116036 to the Health and Safety Code, and to amend Section 2 of Chapter 370 of the Statutes of 2023, relating to public schools.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 1010, as introduced, Ashby. Drowning prevention.
Existing law, the Neng Thao Drowning Prevention Safety Act, authorizes specified organizations to provide informational materials, in electronic or hardcopy form, to a public school regarding specified topics relating to drowning prevention. Existing law authorizes, beginning with the 2024–25 school year, upon receipt of the informational materials, a public school to provide the informational materials to parents, legal guardians, or caregivers of pupils at the time the pupil enrolls at the school and at the beginning of each school year.
This bill would revise and recast various provisions of the Neng Thao Drowning Prevention Safety Act to, among other things, prohibit the distribution of these informational materials from taking place later than the end of the first week of May in the year of distribution. The bill would authorize an authorized school official, as defined, to consider specified factors when selecting which drowning or injury prevention organization, as defined, to work with. In order to provide informational materials to a public school, the bill would require a drowning or injury prevention organization to, among other requirements, provide written evidence to an authorized school official demonstrating that the informational materials provided by the drowning or injury prevention organization align with the drowning, drowning prevention, water safety, and swim skills lesson access information of at least one expert organization, as defined. The bill would also deem swim instruction provided by certain qualified and certified persons, and open to children of all ages, an essential public health service, as provided.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 51140 of the Education Code is amended to read:

51140.
 (a) (1) A local, state, or national drowning or injury prevention organization affiliated with one or more drowning prevention organizations may provide informational materials, in electronic or hardcopy form, to a public school serving pupils in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, regarding the following topics:
(A) The role that water safety education courses and swimming lessons play in drowning prevention and saving lives.
(B) Local water safety and swimming skills programs in the county and communities served by the public school, including free or reduced-price programs, and how to access information about age-appropriate public or private water safety courses and swimming skills programs that result in a certificate indicating successful completion.
(C) Contact information of the organization to receive further water safety education information.
(2) The informational materials shall not be used to solicit funding or donations for the organization.
(b) Beginning with the 2024–25 school year, upon receipt of the informational materials described in subdivision (a), a public school may is authorized to provide the informational materials to parents, legal guardians, or caregivers of pupils at the time the pupil enrolls at the public school and at the beginning of each school year. year, or at a period of time agreed to between the authorized school official and the drowning or injury prevention organization. In no event shall the distribution of these informational materials take place later than the end of the first week of May in the year of distribution.
(c) Upon request by a public school, an organization described in subdivision (a) a drowning or injury prevention organization electing to provide materials shall provide the informational materials in the three most commonly spoken languages associated with the population attending the school. public school, as identified by the California School Dashboard.

(d)For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1)“Public school” means a school operated by a school district, county office of education, or a charter school.

(2)“Water safety” means age-appropriate education intended to promote safety in, on, and around bodies of water, including residential and public pools and spas, home water sources such as bathtubs, and open bodies of water such as lakes, rivers, canals, and the ocean, and to reduce the risk of injury or drowning.

SEC. 2.

 Section 51141 is added to the Education Code, to read:

51141.
 (a) In order to provide informational materials to a public school pursuant to this article, a drowning or injury prevention organization shall do all of the following:
(1) Correspond with the superintendent of the school district and the principal or vice principal of the public school to request to work with the public school.
(2) Provide written evidence to an authorized school official demonstrating that the informational materials provided by the drowning or injury prevention organization align with the drowning, drowning prevention, water safety, and swim skills lesson access information of at least one expert organization.
(3) Only approach an authorized school official with written evidence or informational materials during regular business hours, or at a time outside of regular business hours specified by the authorized school official.
(4) Show proof to an authorized school official that the drowning or injury prevention organization has reached out to other drowning or injury prevention organizations in the communities served by the public school to offer to collaborate on the informational materials; however, the drowning or injury prevention organization is not required to list every possible organization working on drowning or injury prevention in the communities served by the public school.
(5) If the informational materials are printed materials, provide informational materials that, for each language indicated pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 51140, are no larger than a legal-sized paper printed on both sides flat or are in a folded pamphlet format.
(6) Provide the informational materials at no cost to the public school.
(b) An authorized school official that engages with a drowning or injury prevention organization pursuant to this article shall not be responsible for confirming the drowning or injury prevention organization’s compliance with paragraph (2) or (4) of subdivision (a).

SEC. 3.

 Section 51142 is added to the Education Code, to read:

51142.
 (a) If an authorized school official is approached by multiple drowning or injury prevention organizations to distribute informational materials pursuant to this article, an authorized school official may consider both of the following factors when selecting which drowning or injury prevention organization to work with:
(1) Which drowning or injury prevention organization provides informational materials that are the best for the public school’s parent population and the families served by the public school.
(2) Which drowning or injury prevention organization can distribute informational materials in a manner that eases the public school’s role in distributing the informational materials, including, among other things, whether the proposed informational materials would be in a printed or electronic format.
(b) Nothing in this article obligates an authorized school official to work with any or more than one drowning or injury prevention organization per school year. Once an authorized school official selects their informational materials pursuant to this article for a given year, other drowning or injury prevention organizations shall not have a right to contest the informational materials provided during that year and may submit their materials the following year for the authorized school official’s consideration.

SEC. 4.

 Section 51143 is added to the Education Code, to read:

51143.
 For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:
(a) “Authorized school official” means the superintendent of a school district or the principal or vice principal of a public school serving pupils in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
(b) “Drowning or injury prevention organization” means a local, state, or national drowning or injury prevention organization affiliated with one or more drowning prevention organizations listed in subdivision (c).
(c) “Expert organization” means any one or more of the following:
(1) The United States Coast Guard.
(2) The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission.
(3) The United States Lifesaving Association.
(4) The National Drowning Prevention Alliance.
(5) The American Academy of Pediatrics.
(6) The USA Swimming Foundation.
(7) Safe Kids Worldwide.
(8) The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance.
(9) Stop Drowning Now.
(10) The Drowning Prevention Foundation.
(11) The ZAC Foundation.
(12) The Jasper Ray Foundation.
(13) The Prevent Drowning Foundation of San Diego.
(14) California Water Safety Coalition.
(d) “Public school” means a school operated by a school district, county office of education, or a charter school.
(e) “Water safety” means age-appropriate education intended to promote safety in, on, and around bodies of water, including residential and public pools and spas, home water sources such as bathtubs, and open bodies of water such as lakes, rivers, canals, and the ocean, and to reduce the risk of injury or drowning.

SEC. 5.

 Section 116036 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

116036.
 (a) The Legislature finds and declares that drowning is the leading cause of death for California children who are 4 years of age and younger, the second leading cause of death for children 5 to 14 years of age, inclusive, and the third leading cause of death for teenagers and youth who are 15 to 24 years of age, inclusive.
(b) Swim instruction provided by persons qualified and certified pursuant to Section 116033, and open to children of all ages, is an essential public health service.

SEC. 6.

 Section 2 of Chapter 370 of the Statutes of 2023 is amended to read:

Sec. 2.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Drowning is a leading cause of death and hospitalizations for California children 1 to 4 years of age, inclusive, and one of the leading causes of death and hospitalizations for California’s teens and youth under 19 years of age. the second leading cause of death for children 5 to 14 years of age, inclusive, and the third leading cause of death for teens and youth 15 to 24 years of age, inclusive.
(b) Drowning can be prevented by increasing the knowledge of parents, caregivers, and pupils regarding water safety and competency in swimming skills. National and international research shows that water safety and swimming skills are more than 80 88 percent effective in preventing drowning.

(c)Drowning prevention classes, including swim lessons with certified instructors, have been declared essential services addressing an important public health concern by the Secretary of California Health and Human Services and the State Department of Public Health.

(c) A critical step in the statewide strategic plan to make drowning a rare and survivable event is to increase access to swim lessons toward the goal of making everyone in California a swimmer and knowledgeable about drowning, drowning prevention, and water safety.
(d) Pairing California schools with the state’s many local, state, and national swim lesson programs and drowning prevention organizations provides a cost-effective means of reaching all California parents, caregivers, and children with lifesaving drowning prevention and water safety knowledge.
(e) Because of the impact that swim skills have on drowning prevention, drowning prevention classes, including swim lessons with certified instructors, have been declared essential public health services by the Secretary of California Health and Human Services and the State Department of Public Health.