Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2000 16:38:50 -0700 From: Jean Richter Subject: 7/12/2000 P.E.R.S.O.N. Project news 1. VT: Political action committee forming to oppose safe schools 2. OR: More on anti-gay OCA schools initiative 3. CA: Update on schools-related legislation =================================================================== 1. VT: Political action committee forming to oppose safe schools Rutland Herald, July 11, 2000 Box 668, Rutland, VT, 05702 (Fax 802-775-2423)( http://rutlandherald.nybor.com/ ) (Online Mailer: http://rutlandherald.nybor.com/News/Opinion/Letters/ ) Sheltra: Keep gay-rights education out of schools By ROBERT F. SMITH Herald Correspondent BELLOWS FALLS -- Rep. Nancy Sheltra, R-Derby, one of the most outspoken opponents to Vermont's new civil unions law, said Monday information favorable toward homosexuality should not be taught in Vermont schools. [Deleted article. filemanager@qrd.org] Reply-To: listserver@channelq.com Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2000 22:02:38 -0700 From: "Channel Q" To: lgbt-politics@egroups.com, queerpolitics@abacus.oxy.edu Subject: New PAC Aims to Defeat Supporters of Vermont Civil Union Law Conservative News, 10 July, 2000 http://www.cnsnews.com/ New PAC Aims to Defeat Supporters of Vermont Civil Union Law By Jerry Miller CNS Correspondent (CNSNews.com) - A Vermont state representative has formed a political action committee, which she hopes will lead to the defeat of House and Senate Judiciary Committee members who supported the recently enacted civil union legislation. [Deleted article. filemanager@qrd.org] ================================================================================ 2. OR: More on anti-gay OCA schools initiative Associated Press, July 12, 2000 Anti-Gay Rights Questioned in Ore. PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- To the puzzlement of educators, gay rights opponents are pushing an initiative that would prohibit Oregon schools from "encouraging, promoting or sanctioning'' homosexuality. [Deleted article. filemanager@qrd.org] ================================================================================= 3. CA: Update on schools-related legislation To: lesbigayLIST From: "McBride, Laurie" Mailing-List: list lesbigayCApolitics@egroups.com; contact lesbigayCApolitics-owner@egroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list lesbigayCApolitics@egroups.com List-Unsubscribe: Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2000 09:59:52 -0700 Reply-To: lesbigayCApolitics-owner@egroups.com Subject: [lesbigayCApolitics] Capitol Briefs: 7/12/00: What's happening??? Capitol Briefs & other musings of the culture wars >From Sacramento // Wednesday, July 12, 2000 Pretty slim pickings heading into the final stretch... The state legislature just went into "summer recess"... won't be back until August 7th... and session ENDS on August 31st... and take out a week in the middle (August 14-17) for the Democratic Convention held this year in Los Angeles... So the final weeks of legislative business will be harried and long, with hundreds of bills trying to make it through the last legislative hurdles. Once session closes on August 31st, the Governor will have until September 30th to sign or veto bills that get to his desk. Here's an update on lgbt bills this session... (the list of current hate crimes bills will follow in a separate post)... LESBIAN / GAY / BISEXUAL / TRANSGENDERED LEGISLATION 2000 [non-schools-related legislation omitted] NON-DISCRIMINATION PROTECTIONS (1 signed, 1 still relevant, 1 irrelevant, 2 dead) SB 1366 (Senators Monteith and Mountjoy) amd 3/23/00 Would create a specialty license plate honoring the Boy Scouts, depicting the official Boy Scout logo and the words "Scouting Teaches Values." (Proceeds to the boy scouts, which presumably would not include gay scouts.) Opposed by CAPE. STATUS: FAILED PASSAGE SB 1804 (Senator Ray Haynes, R-Riverside) Would exempt in the prohibition of unlawful employment practices, under the Fair Employment and Housing Act, the transfer of a student into or out of a classroom by a school district or a county office of education at the request of a student's parent or guardian. STATUS: never heard in its first committee; dead for this session Here's the rest of the news on bills this session... HATE CRIMES (5 bills still moving, 5 down and out) AB 1785 (Assemblymember Antonio Villaraigosa, D-Los Angeles) amd 5/26/00 Would require school districts and county offices of education to add hate motivated incidents and hate crimes to standard school crime reports. The Governor asked for amendments that would require all new teachers to have training in cross-cultural issues and conflict resolution, and allow schools to use school safety program funding on hate-prevention programs. These are recommendations from the Governor's Hate Crimes Prevention Task Force (and add to likelihood that the Governor will sign the bill). NOTE: This bill has now been targeted by the rabid right because it promotes tolerance for the lgbt "lifestyles". Testimony against the bill In the Senate Education centered ENTIRELY on sexual orientation. A good bit of it focused on it as stealth legislation for pedophiles, which forced an amendment stating that "sexual orientation doesn't include pedophilia". Yuck. STATUS: Passed Assembly floor 41-26; PASSED Senate Education Cmte 10-2; pending Senate Appropriations Committee AB 1906 (Assemblymember John Longville, D-San Bernardino) amd 4/25/00 Would remove the funding restriction in the Education Code's Hate Violence Prevention Act. The Hate violence Prevention Act requires the State board of Education, at the request of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, to adopt policies and establish guidelines relating to prevention hate violence in the public schools (K-12). However, the funding restriction prohibits the use of state monies for same. STATUS: Passed Assembly Floor 45-24; PASSED Senate Education Cmte 11-3; pending in Senate Appropriations Committee AB 1931 (Assemblymember Jack Scott, D-Los Angeles) amd 6/28/00 Would provide $150,000 for regional training of school staff in the identification of hate violence. Would allocate and additional $2 million to provide competitive grants to school districts for educational educational programs focused on overcoming prejudice, countering hatred, and fostering ethnic sensitivity, including programs conducted by the Museum of Tolerance. The latter programs would be both for students and teachers. STATUS: Passed Assembly floor 55-20; PASSED Senate Education Cmte 11-0; pending in Senate Appropriations Committee SB 1326 (Senator Tom Hayden, D-Los Angeles) amd 6/27/00 Would require the Department of Education to review public school curriculums, K-12, on the extent of existing material focused on human relations, conflict resolution and cultural/societal diversity; would mandate hate crimes reporting K-12 and colleges and universities. STATUS: Passed Senate floor 25-10; PASSED Assembly Education Cmte 10-4; pending Assembly Appropriations Committee SB 1734 (Senator Kevin Murray, D-Los Angeles) Would declare legislative intent to enact laws to deter hate-motivated behavior; train teachers, school administrators, and law enforcement personnel regarding hate groups and hate-motivated behavior; improve tolerance and diversity curriculum for students in the lower elementary grades; and encourage community partnerships to minimize the influence of hate groups. STATUS: never heard in committee; dead for this session News Digest & Comments by Laurie McBride Lesbian and Gay Community Liaison for Assemblyman Antonio Villaraigosa California State Assembly State Capitol, Room 319 Sacramento, CA 95814 916 319 2470 laurie.mcbride@asm.ca.gov # # # ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Experience MSN... Get 1 FREE* month of unlimited Internet access! http://click.egroups.com/1/6323/8/_/471485/_/963420847/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ============================================================================== Jean Richter -- richter@eecs.berkeley.edu The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project (Public Education Regarding Sexual Orientation Nationally) These messages are archived by state on our information-loaded free web site: http://www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/