State enacts new legislation
January 27, 2016
Not even the state government is immune to the “new year, new me” trend that accompanies the start of every calendar year. In 2016, California legislature is implementing laws that will radically affect the lives of its citizens, and several of them may directly impact students at Diamond Bar High School.
Driving is a dangerous activity, but the state hopes to reduce some of the risks associated with getting behind the wheel with new legislature. It is now illegal to wear headphones or earbuds while driving or while riding a bike.
Furthermore, the California Highway Patrol is now authorized to issue more “Yellow Alerts” to help drivers identify and catch hit-and-run drivers. These alerts will be placed on highway signs to give descriptions of hit-and-run cars, making it easier for passerby to identify and report such drivers.
New drivers who are eligible will be automatically licensed to vote by a new piece of legislation. However, such a process will only be implemented after a statewide database of licensed motorists is created, a move expected to be finished soon after the primary elections in June.
In the Los Angeles, Alameda, Sacramento, and Tulare counties, those who are convicted of driving under the influence are required to use Ignition Interlock Devices, which have prevented over one million cases of drunk driving in California since 2010, according to a study done by Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Another law that has been signed, to be implemented in 2017, requires all children under two years old to be rear-facing while in child safety seats, unless they are either taller than 40 inches or weigh over 40 pounds.
On-campus shootings were major topics in the news in 2015, and lawmakers are looking to prevent such incidents.
Concealed weapons are no longer allowed on college campuses in California, reducing the risk of shootings.
In addition, students will have less to fear in terms of getting sick, as they will all need to show proof of immunization before attending school in fall 2016.
A new law was passed that effectively forces parents to immunize their children, regardless of religious beliefs, and by July 1, every student will need to have been vaccinated.
Implemented last year, a law that suspends the California High School Exit Exam has taken effect and will provide state educators a chance to create a new exit exam that caters more closely to Common Core standards.
Another change aimed at affecting education requires health classes to teach students about different sexual orientations as well as methods of preventing sexual violence. However, sex education is no longer mandatory for students.
Health classes aren’t the only ones affected; future history textbooks must include sections on the deportation of over one million citizens of Mexican descent in the 1930s. A final piece of educational legislation allows community colleges to legally suspend or expel students who have been accused of sexual assault, even if those charges are off-campus.
Under a new law, cheerleading will become an interscholastic sport, meaning it will receive the same protection and recognition as other sports. Specific information about how the sport will be affected will be released in February or March and the law will be fully implemented in July, as the law is still being written by lawmakers. According to the Orange County Register, the sport may be negatively affected due to limited practice hours. Others, however, are interested to see how the new law will impact the sport.
“I think it’s exciting for the sport to be recognized and I think it’s been a long time coming because of the athleticism in the sport and the number of injuries involved,” DBHS cheer coach Whitney Prenger said.
Additionally, cheerleaders for professional sports teams are now considered employees of the team, and are thus entitled to workers benefits and minimum wage, which has been increased from $9 to $10 in the state.
Details on the new laws, many of which were signed into law near the end of 2015, were reported by the Los Angeles Times.
