SECTIONS 32255-32255.6 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 32255-32255.6

32255. As used in this chapter:
(a) "Animal" means any living organism of the kingdom animalia,
beings that typically differ from plants in capacity for spontaneous
movement and rapid motor response to stimulation by a usually greater
mobility with some degree of voluntary locomotor ability and by
greater irritability commonly mediated through a more or less
centralized nervous system, beings that are characterized by a
requirement for complex organic nutrients including proteins or their
constituents that are usually digested in an internal cavity before
assimilation into the body proper, and beings that are distinguished
from typical plants by lack of chlorophyll, by an inability to
perform photosynthesis, by cells that lack cellulose walls, and by
the frequent presence of discrete complex sense organs.
(b) "Alternative education project" includes, but is not limited
to, the use of video recordings, models, films, books, and computers,
which would provide an alternate avenue for obtaining the knowledge,
information, or experience required by the course of study in
question. "Alternative education project" also includes "alternative
test."
(c) "Pupil" means a person under 18 years of age who is
matriculated in a course of instruction in an educational institution
within the scope of Section 32255.5. For the purpose of asserting
the pupil's rights and receiving any notice or response pursuant to
this chapter, "pupil" also includes the parents of the matriculated
minor.

32255.1. (a) Except as otherwise provided in Section 32255.6, any
pupil with a moral objection to dissecting or otherwise harming or
destroying animals, or any parts thereof, shall notify his or her
teacher regarding this objection, upon notification by the school of
his or her rights pursuant to Section 32255.4.
(b) If the pupil chooses to refrain from participation in an
education project involving the harmful or destructive use of
animals, and if the teacher believes that an adequate alternative
education project is possible, the teacher may work with the pupil to
develop and agree upon an alternate education project for the
purpose of providing the pupil an alternate avenue for obtaining the
knowledge, information, or experience required by the course of study
in question.
(c) The alternative education project shall require a comparable
time and effort investment by the pupil. It shall not, as a means of
penalizing the pupil, be more arduous than the original education
project.
(d) The pupil shall not be discriminated against based upon his or
her decision to exercise his or her rights pursuant to this chapter.
(e) Pupils choosing an alternative educational project shall pass
all examinations of the respective course of study in order to
receive credit for that course of study. However, if tests require
the harmful or destructive use of animals, a pupil may, similarly,
seek alternative tests pursuant to this chapter.
(f) A pupil's objection to participating in an educational project
pursuant to this section shall be substantiated by a note from his
or her parent or guardian.

32255.3. (a) A teacher's decision in determining if a pupil may
pursue an alternative educational project or be excused from the
project shall not be arbitrary or capricious.
(b) Nothing in this chapter shall prevent any pupil from pursuing
the grievance procedures in existing law.

32255.4. Each teacher teaching a course that utilizes live or dead
animals or animal parts shall also inform the pupils of their rights
pursuant to this chapter.

32255.5. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, this
chapter applies to all levels of instruction in all public schools
operating programs from kindergarten through grades 1 to 12,
inclusive.

32255.6. Classes and activities, conducted as part of a program in
agricultural education that provide instruction on the care,
management, and evaluation of domestic animals are exempt from the
provisions of this chapter.