| Dear Neighbor: Summer is officially over, and the change in season brings with it positive changes for Californians. Most notably, I have brought about reform to California's accountability system for public schools with my SB 1458 signed by the Governor last week. This measure improves the Academic Performance Index (API) by relying less on standardized bubble test scores and more on other important factors such as graduation rates, and student readiness for higher education, technical training, and entering into a globally competitive job market. Test scores alone are not a complete indicator of the success or failure of our students, and SB 1458 will lead to fundamental changes in what we teach and how we measure school accomplishment. Other key legislation I authored which has been signed into law includes: - SB 1052 and SB 1053 which will dramatically decrease the cost of textbooks for many college students. These bills establish development of open source digital textbooks for 50 lower division courses which college students can access electronically for free, or for a modest cost of $20 per printed textbook.
- SB 1070 is the very best kind of economic and workforce development, giving high school and community college students more opportunities to pursue career-oriented education. By increasing partnerships between high schools, colleges and emerging technologies and industries, California has the opportunity to invest in developing the workforce needed for high-growth and emerging economic sectors such as healthcare, biotechnology, information technology and clean energy.
- SB 1186 is a strong bipartisan effort to improve full and equal access for the disabled while protecting California businesses. The bill bans the abusive practice by some attorneys of issuing "demand for money" letters to businesses with alleged minor access violations and prevents the "stacking" of multiple claims for the same alleged violation to increase monetary awards. Before now, it was often cheaper and quicker for business owners to settle out of court than to remove disabled access obstacles. This law now provides more incentives to fix the violations and enhance accessibility.
- SB 1193 takes California a step forward in the fight to end human trafficking. Establishments including bars, strip clubs, truck stops, and bus and rail stations will be required to post specified notices at their facilities with two anonymous telephone tip lines for human trafficking victims seeking help or for members of the public who suspect human trafficking activity. For victims who don't know where to turn, this information about individual rights and who to call for help provides a lifeline for exploited workers and children to escape this form of modern slavery.
I look forward to sharing more updates on bills and community events with you in the months to come. In this e-newsletter, please read about: Sincerely, Darrell Steinberg, Senate President pro Tempore
6th Senate District |
