A California bill that would ban body shaming in state schools may advance after a hearing April 26 by the Assembly’s Education Committee.
Assembly Bill 10—which defines body shaming as “the action or practice of mocking or stigmatizing a person by making critical comments or observations about the shape, size, or appearance of the person’s body”—would require school districts to develop and adopt policies addressing such by the 2025–26 school year.
It was the first piece of legislation introduced by Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) after he was sworn into office Dec. 6.
While districts must have policies about how to address bullying, they are not currently required to have resources to address body shaming, “which is not always characterized by bullying,” Lowenthal said in an analysis of the bill….