Education bills signed by governor promote literacy, nutrition, safety
California State University San Marcos File photo by Chris Stone Times of San Diego Gov Gavin Newsom has signed several bills that will affect schools including one that boosts literacy programs and another that eases admission to California State University The governor continued to work his way Friday through bills passed by the Legislature as the Monday deadline looms for measure to be signed The learning bills include efforts to improve youngsters diets and to protect students from anti-semitism and serial sex abusers The bills signed into law by Newsom include AB Establishes a new Office of Civil Rights along with an Antisemitism Prevention Coordinator to develop training guidance and enforcement strategies for K schools The provision from Assemblymembers Rick Chavez Zbur D-Hollywood and Dawn Addis D-Morro Bay also requires districts to investigate and take action when content that is deemed discriminatory is used in classrooms or professional rise The governor signed the bill Tuesday along with a companion bill that passed the state Senate see below AB Identifies ingredients uncovered in ultraprocessed foods while seeking to eliminate the items from school meals over the next years The ingredients include artificial flavors and colors thickeners and emulsifiers certain sweeteners along with any foods that have high levels of saturated fat sodium or sugar The bill by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel D-Encino was signed Wednesday AB The bill from Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas D-Salinas offers educators and school leaders access to tools training and information to help students become better readers Elementary school teachers now will received training in evidence-based reading instruction or the science of reading The State Board of Schooling also must embrace compatible instructional materials for use in elementary and middle schools The effort follows Newsom s commitment of million in the - budget for literacy programs SB Complements AB by creating four statewide Discrimination Prevention Coordinators focused on religious racial ethnic gender and LGBTQ discrimination to provide materials and training to prevent and address bias and discrimination in schools State Sen Akilah Weber Pierson D-San Diego shared authorship of the bill with three colleagues including Assemblymember Chris Ward also a San Diego Democrat SB Allows for direct-admission policies for students whose eligible to attend a CSU campus If their grades and coursework qualify them for CSU admission they will receive a letter signed by the chancellor telling them they ve been accepted at a list of campuses with enrollment limit The governor signed the bill from state Sen Christopher Cabaldon D-West Sacramento on Monday SB The law requires the creation of a database to track teachers under inspection for sexual abuse and training for teachers coaches and other school staff on how to prevent and description suspected misconduct Schools also must create policies that outline what constitutes appropriate behavior State Sen Sasha Ren e P rez D-Pasadena communicated the bill s signing in a Tuesday news release CalMatters a nonpartisan and nonprofit news organization and EdSource contributed to this analysis
