Assembly committee advances bill to strengthen studentsrights to opt out of animal dissection

The Assembly Education Committee on Monday voted to send AB 347, the Compassionate Learning Advancement for Science Students Act, to the Appropriations Committee as amended, advancing a proposal to strengthen studentsrights to opt out of animal dissection in California public schools.

The billsponsor, Assemblymember Kalra, told the committee AB 347 would require school districts to give students written notice about their existing right to opt out of dissection and to provide a comparable assignment that achieves the same learning outcome. Kalra also said students could request information about where a specimen was sourced and the chemicals theyd be exposed to.

Supporters said the bill clarifies a student right that is not consistently explained in classrooms, and that modern digital alternatives can deliver the same learning goals without forcing students to participate in dissection. Student witness Sienna Roth described her senior-year experience opting out, saying she was not informed of her right to decline and was urged to leave the class. "Students like me should not have to choose between their own ethics and learning STEM," Roth said.

Opponents and some teachers warned the committee the bill could impose additional planning and instructional burdens. Dr. Peter Reinthal, representing the Hands on Science Partnership, said his university laboratory experience showed most students who opted out performed worse on assessments and that dissection teaches variation among organisms in ways some alternatives do not. Cordova High School teacher Josh Krieger said anatomy and physiology courses routinely include six to seven dissections per year, together representing up to one-third of class time; he said the bill would require teachers to produce parallel assignments for extensive portions of a course.

Committee members pressed both sides on cost and access. Kalra said alternatives can be less expensive over time and pointed to lifetime software licenses as examples that could reduce recurring specimen costs. The bill keeps an existing exemption for agricultural courses.

After questions and further discussion the committee accepted amendments and voted to advance the measure out of committee. The roll call showed the required majority and the clerk recorded the bill as passing out of committee to appropriations.

AB 347 now goes to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, where funding and implementation details would be considered.

Additional details: - Exemption: Agricultural education courses remain exempt from the opt-out and alternative assignment requirement, consistent with current law. - Committee action: AB 347 was passed as amended and referred to Appropriations.

Speakers quoted in this article spoke during the AB 347 hearing and are listed in the articles speaker roster.