Asm. Sharon Quirk-Silva

This measure would designate May 9, 2023, as National Fentanyl Awareness Day.

This measure would designate the month of September 2023 as Service Dog Appreciation Month.

Existing law generally provides for the placement of foster youth in various placement settings and governs the provision of child welfare services, which is defined to mean public social services that are directed toward the accomplishment of specified purposes, including protecting and promoting the welfare of all children, preventing the unnecessary separation of children from their families, and restoring to their families children who have been removed. Existing law grants specified rights to all minors and nonminors in foster care, including, among others, the right to receive medical, dental, vision, and mental health services, the right to be informed of these rights in an age and developmentally appropriate manner, and the right to receive a copy of these rights at specified intervals. This bill would expand these rights to include the opportunity for a child to return to their school to collect their belongings when a move or change in placement requires the child to change schools.

Under existing law, the governing board of a school district may grant leaves of absences, with or without pay, to persons employed in the classified service of the school district. Existing law establishes the California Classified School Employee Teacher Credentialing Program for the purpose of recruiting classified school employees to participate in a program designed to encourage them to enroll in teacher training programs, as defined, and to provide instructional service as teachers in the public schools. Existing law requires the commission, subject to an appropriation for these purposes in the annual Budget Act or other statute, to issue a request for proposals to all school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education in the state in order to solicit applications for funding. Existing law requires the criteria adopted by the commission for the selection of those local educational agencies to participate in the program to include, among other things, the extent to which the applicant demonstrates the capacity and willingness to accommodate the participation of classified school employees in teacher training programs conducted at institutions of higher education or a local educational agency. Existing law requires an applicant to require participants to provide information, meet requirements, and commit to accomplishing criteria, as provided. This bill would add wage replacement as one of the criteria that the commission is required to include in its selection of school districts, charter schools, or county offices of education for the program. The bill would require participating classified employees who participate in the program on or after January 1, 2024, to be entitled to a leave of absence from a participating local educational agency of up to 600 hours for the purpose of completing a student teaching requirement as required by a teacher training program. The bill would require a participating local educational agency, upon a classified employee participant's request, to provide the participant with a stipend during a leave of absence for student teaching that is equal to the participant's regular wages and would require that local educational agency to continue to pay for any benefits during the leave. The bill would require the commission to increase the individual participant award amount to cover those additional costs relating to the leave of absence, including stipend costs. The bill would require a classified employee participant, under specified circumstances, to reimburse the participating local educational agency the amount of grant funding provided to the employee for assistance and would authorize the participating local educational agency to recover that amount, as provided. The bill would make the implementation of these provisions contingent upon an appropriation in the annual Budget Act or another statute for these purposes.

This measure would declare August 2023 as Valley Fever Awareness Month.

This measure would designate the month of June 2023 as Healthy Homes Awareness Month.

This measure would recognize July 28 as World Hepatitis Day and would urge all California institutions, nonprofit organizations, health care organizations, businesses, community leaders, and residents to ensure screenings for hepatitis B and C, vaccinations for hepatitis B, and treatment become the standard of care.

This measure would designate October 23, 2023, as Aromatic L-Amino Acid Decarboxylase (AADC) Deficiency Awareness Day in the state.

This measure would recognize August 15, 2023, as India's Independence Day and urge all Californians to join in celebrating India's independence.

This measure would proclaim August 2023 as Breastfeeding Awareness Month of 2023 in California. The measure would recognize the unique benefits that breastfeeding provides, as specified, and would affirm that Californians should work to ensure that barriers to initiation and continuation of breastfeeding are removed. The measure would encourage Californians to work together to explore ways to, among other things, improve women's access to breastfeeding support services in medical, social, and employment settings.