New State Law Impacts Calaveras High School
Sacramento, CA — Governor Jerry Brown has signed legislation that bans the use of the name “Redskins” for high school sports teams and mascots.
The new rule will take effect in 2017. Calaveras High School is one of four schools in the state that still uses the term Redskins. The legislation was authored by Democratic Assemblyman Luis Alejo of Watsonville. He argued that the term dates back to a period where bounty hunters were rewarded for killing Native Americans, and that it is not appropriate for schools to use the name.
Neither of the two Mother Lode lawmakers took a stance on the legislation. State records show that when the Assembly took up versions of the bill on May 4th and September 10th, District Five Assemblyman Frank Bigelow did not cast votes. It passed on May 4th by a margin 60-9 and the revised version on September 10th by a count of 60-10. In the Senate, District 8 Republican Tom Berryhill also failed to cast a ballot when it went up for vote on September 8th, and it was approved 25-10.
Republican Kristin Olsen, who previously represented the Mother Lode prior to redistricting, voted in opposition to the new ban.
The Associated Press reports that Governor Brown rejected separate legislation on Sunday that bans naming parks, schools and other public property after Confederate leaders.
