School employees: dismissal or suspension: hate violence.

Existing law requires the State Board of Education, at the request of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, to take certain actions aimed at discouraging the development of discriminatory attitudes in schools and at preventing and responding to hate violence, as defined, as long as the actions do not result in a state mandate or an increase in costs to a state or local program. Existing law requires that the state board take action only if private funds are available in an amount that also covers the related department activities. Existing law defines "hate crime" in the Penal Code to mean a criminal act committed, in whole or in part, because of one or more of the following actual or perceived characteristics of the victim: disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and association with a person or group with one or more of those actual or perceived characteristics. This bill would expand the definition of "hate violence" to include these hate crimes to the extent they are not already included, and to include crimes committed based on actual or perceived gender expression or gender identity, for purposes of the State Board of Education's actions aimed at discouraging the development of discriminatory attitudes in schools and at preventing and responding to hate violence. Existing law prohibits a permanent school employee from being dismissed, except for one or more of certain enumerated causes, including, among others, immoral or unprofessional conduct. This bill would add failure to address complaints of hate violence, as redefined by the bill, to those enumerated causes. This bill would also make nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.