Legislators are on Spring Recess MARCH 31 - APRIL 10.
During Spring Recess, most legislators will be back in their local district offices starting on Friday March 31st. This is the perfect time to meet them and engage in their local community events. If your Assembly member is on the Assembly Health (regarding AB 659) or Assembly Education (regarding AB 1078) committee, then your activism is crucial! Contact your rep to find our about local events you can attend. Make an appointment at their local office. Or call their local office to register your opposition. The reps in this committee have the power to vote down AB659. If you know of any upcoming events please email us here.
Oppose AB 659 - HPV Cancer Prevention Act (Aguiar-Curry)
Assembly Bill 659, also known as the HPV vaccine mandate bill has been amended. It removed the mandate for 8th graders, but now will add Human Papillomavirus (HPV) to the described list of diseases for which immunization documentation is required for all students, ages 18-26, enrolled in Community College, UC and Cal State Universties. Only a medical exemption will be available to opt out, Click on image to take action.
AB 659 has been amended to move the mandate from 8th grade to college entry.
The amendments bring 2 new issues to light:
1. The bill language deceives families into thinking they are *expected* to receive the HPV vaccine upon 6th grade enrollment. It imposes an undue burden onto schools to mislead parents about the real vaccine requirements.
2. This bill doesn’t align with CSU’s recent drop of vaccine requirements for enrollment. Adding an additional barrier for education will not help enrollment rates rise.
Kindly ask the assembly health committee to abstain on AB659 until all the mandates are removed from the bill and there is no misleading information for parents.
Keep scheduling meetings and developing a relationship with your reps and their staff. This is a long game and the best thing we can do is continue to show up and cultivate a relationship with them.
If you have a student in college, activate your schools public policy department and ask them to send in a letter of opposition.
OPPOSE AB-1078 -- removes local authority over school districts. Instructional materials
Local school boards will lose their authority over curriculum, remove parents input and give all the power to the California Board of Education. Click on image to take action.