April 24, 2023 - SAN DIEGO - Last week, Assemblymember Dr. Akliah Weber, (D- La Mesa) announced Assembly Bill 1327 to address racism in high school sports. The bill is sponsored by the California-Hawaii NAACP.

AB 1327 would require the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), in consultation with community organizations that represents the interests of ethnic groups and communities of color, to develop a standardized incident form to track racial discrimination and harassment that occurs at high school sporting games or sporting events, and annually post results on their internet website.

Racial harassment and hate violence have no place in high school sports, or anywhere else for that matter," commented Assemblymember Akilah Weber, M.D. (D-San Diego). "AB 1327 will increase reporting of these racially-charged incidents and provide data to the public about when and where these incidents occur These incidents have unfortunately occurred throughout this State and we as Californians need to do better The conversation on how to approach that starts now with this legislation."

"Students of color should feel safe while playing the sport they feel so passionately about," said NAACP California-Hawaii State Conference President Rick L. Callender. "Unfortunately, this is not what we've been seeing. We are calling for more accountability from the California Interscholastic Federation, schools, and staff who play such a crucial role in protecting students of color from blatant racism. It's time to recommit to our kids' safety and AB 1327 is a step towards that."

AB 327 will also require the CIF to report to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature and the Governor on its evaluation and accountability activities undertaken every three years or at the request of the Legislature.
Source: Assemblymember Akliah Weber, M D