Assemblymember O’Donnell’s Year of Educational Policy Legislation

Sacramento, CA

Over the past year, as Sacramento rolled out new legislation, Long Beach’s own Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell representing the 70th California Assembly District which includes a large swath of Long Beach, San Pedro, Signal Hill, and Catalina Island introduced and passed his own legislative educational policies throughout the year.

Here is a breakdown:

AB 1741 September, 2016 – Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell (D-Long Beach) along with Freddie Rodriguez (D-Pomona) successfully brought AB 1741 to passage. This bill takes the Long Beach College Promise Program statewide which incentivizes partnerships between local school systems and higher educational institutions to increase student’s success in higher education.

AB 2246 September, 2016 – Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell (D-Long Beach) in April introduced legislation to combat Suicide among Children and Young Adults. This bill was signed into law by Governor Brown in September and provides teachers and school staff with tools to help students in crisis.

Patrick O’Donnell said, “AB 2246 will better equip California’s teachers to support the needs of at-risk kids,” said Assemblymember O’Donnell. “With parents, teachers and schools partnering to identify the early warning signs of suicidal depression, students will be far more likely to get the counseling necessary to prevent a tragedy.”

AB 2656 September, 2016 – In September, Governor Brown signed Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell’s bill ensuring foster youth can attain their educational and economic goals by waiving the high school proficiency exam fee (GED) for students currently or formerly within the foster system.

AB 2815 September, 2016 – To ensure students attend and stay in school, Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell (D-Long Beach) introduced AB 2815 to expand the role of district and county attendance supervisors so they can effectively address the root causes of chronic absenteeism by allowing attendance supervisors to utilize early intervention tactics.

Last month, Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell was renamed Chair of the Assembly Education Committee by Speaker Anthony Rendon. On appointment, O’Donnell issued the following statement:

“As a classroom teacher, I come to Sacramento to give students a voice in the Legislature. The opportunity to continue as Chair of the Assembly Education Committee is not just an honor; it is a responsibility that, for me, is deeply personal. The policies made by Sacramento have very real and powerful implications for the lives of my students, fellow teachers and even my own children. I look forward to building on our progress to ensure California students have access to safe, high-quality learning environments in which they are able to thrive.”

For more information on Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell, click here