California Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 2845, a bill intended to combat bullying and discrimination in California public schools, into law. AB 2845, otherwise known as the Safe Place to Learn Act, was authored by California Assembly Member Das Williams, to address the growing epidemic of bullying and discrimination against Sikh, Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian students in California classrooms.
“This is a landmark bill for California that will curb bullying and discrimination in the classroom,” said Harjit Kaur, Community Development Manager for the Sikh Coalition. “AB 2845 ensures the right of every child to practice his/her faith freely in public schools.”
AB 2845 provides teachers, staff, and administrators with school and community resources to help prevent, identify, and remedy bullying and discrimination in the classroom.
The Sikh Coalition, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-California, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations-California all collaborated in helping draft and promulgate this bill. We are grateful to the hundreds of community members who signed our petition asking lawmakers to pass this important legislation.
“We look forward to implementing this bill and engaging with communities and schools across California to address bullying and discrimination in the classroom,” said Harjit Kaur.