Some CA Families Turning To Terramation For Loved Ones

Here are the morning’s top stories on Tuesday, August 27, 2024…

• If you’ve had a loved one pass away, what comes next includes a lot of logistical hurdles: planning a funeral, reading a will, and deciding what to do with their body. There’s traditional burial, there’s cremation, and recently a new method has taken off. It’s called terramation. Basically, human composting.
• Public school teachers in California are required to call the police if a student assaults or threatens them. This week, state lawmakers will vote on a bill that could change that.
• California lawmakers have passed first-in-the-nation legislation that would require public universities to hire undocumented students who are not eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or  DACA.

Dying Harms The Planet. So CA Legalized Human Composting

There’s a burgeoning industry that offers “terramation.” Just like cremation is a euphemism for body incineration, terramation simply means composting human remains. The big selling point: It’s a natural process that creates almost no pollution.

California legalized this process, but that law doesn’t go into effect until 2027 to give state agencies the time to research and prepare for this new industry. 

A company called Earth Funeral just opened a new facility in Las Vegas. Its co-founder and CEO Tom Harries explains their simple, four-step process: Step one is gently washing your body and wrapping it in a biodegradable shroud. Step two is placing the body on a bed of organic mulch, wood chip, and wildflower. Step three is optimizing temperature, moisture, and oxygen levels that creates the perfect conditions for microbes to break the body down. And step four is you’re left with nutrient-rich soil.

When Should Police Be Involved At School? A CA Bill Would Let Teachers Make The Call

Under California law, school staff are required to make a police report if a student assaults them — and can be prosecuted if they don’t. But a new bill would change that.

The bill would give teachers more leeway to decide when they report students to law enforcement. While opponents of the bill say giving teachers the choice not to report could be a risk to campus safety, supporters say forcing teachers to report can also put student safety at risk. That’s because research shows students of color and students with disabilities make up a disproportionate amount of school arrests in California. 

A 2021 study by the ACLU of Southern California found that students with disabilities make up 26% of school arrests, despite being 11% of total enrollment. According to a 2024 report by the California Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board, students of color are handcuffed by police at a disproportionate rate — 20% of Black students compared to 9% of white students.

Legislation Would Allow Public Universities To Hire Undocumented Students

California lawmakers have sent a bill to Governor Gavin Newsom that could have a big impact for undocumented students. The legislation would allow public colleges and universities to hire undocumented students for on-campus jobs.

Assemblymember David Alvarez of Chula Vista introduced AB 2586, known as the Opportunity for All Act, which would give these students a way to legally earn an income on campus. He said it’s a way to provide equal access to on-campus jobs that addresses the fact that the previous path for a work visa, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, has been mostly closed since 2017. Without that federal program, undocumented students can’t legally work most jobs, including those on-campus.