BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Carol Liu, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 1433
AUTHOR: Gatto
AMENDED: May 23, 2014
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: June 18, 2014
URGENCY: Yes CONSULTANT:Lenin Del Castillo
SUBJECT : Student safety.
SUMMARY
This bill, an urgency measure, requires postsecondary
educational institutions to establish policies regarding
the reporting of specified crimes to local law enforcement.
BACKGROUND
Federal statutes addressing sexual assault on or around
institutions of higher education include Title IX and the
Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and
Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act).
The Clery Act requires public and private postsecondary
educational institutions that receive federal financial aid
to disclose information about crimes on and around campuses
as well as establish certain rights for victims of sexual
assault. Those rights include notification to victims of
the right to file criminal charges, available counseling
services, the results of disciplinary proceedings, and the
option for victims to change their academic schedule or
living arrangements.
The federal Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act amended
the Clery Act to, among other things, require postsecondary
institutions to offer prevention and awareness programs to
new students and employees regarding rape, domestic and
dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Programs
must include a definition of those offenses and consent
with reference to sexual offenses. Institutions are also
required to compile statistics of incidents of sexual
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assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking.
This Act also requires the Annual Security Report to
contain additional information such as prevention programs,
procedures once incidents are reported, and possible
sanctions following an institutional disciplinary
procedure.
The United States Department of Education's Office for
Civil Rights has also issued guidance regarding compliance
with Title IX specific to sexual harassment and sexual
violence. This guidance stated, among other things, that:
1) Institutions must use a preponderance of the evidence
standard (it is more likely than not that sexual
harassment or violence occurred) in order for the
grievance procedures to be consistent with Title IX
standards.
2) Institutions are not relieved of their duty under
Title IX to resolve complaints promptly and equitably
whether or not a criminal investigation is underway.
3) Institutions need to ensure their employees are
trained to know how to report harassment and how to
respond properly.
The White House announced on January 22, 2014, the
establishment of the Task Force to Protect Students from
Sexual Assault, directing the Office of the Vice President
and the White House Council on Women and Girls to lead an
interagency effort to address campus rape and sexual
assault, including coordinating federal enforcement efforts
and helping institutions meet their obligations under
federal law.
Current law requires the governing board of each community
college district, the Trustees of the California State
University, the Board of Directors of the Hastings College
of the Law, and the Regents of the University of California
to each adopt, and implement at each campus or other
facilities, a written procedure or protocols to ensure, to
the fullest extent possible, that students, faculty and
staff who are victims of sexual assault committed on
grounds maintained by the institution or affiliated student
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organizations, receive treatment and information. The
written procedures or protocols must contain at least the
following information:
1) The college policy regarding sexual assault on campus.
2) Personnel on campus who should be notified, and
procedures for notification, with the consent of the
victim.
3) Legal reporting requirements and procedures for
fulfilling them.
4) Services available to victims and personnel
responsible for providing these services.
5) A description of campus resources available to
victims, as well as appropriate off-campus services.
6) Procedures for ongoing case management, including
keeping the victim informed of the status of any
student disciplinary proceedings and helping the
victim deal with academic difficulties that may arise
because of the victimization and its impact.
7) Procedures for guaranteeing confidentiality and
appropriately handling requests for information from
the press, concerned students and parents.
8) Each victim of sexual assault should receive
information about the existence of at least the
following options:
a) Criminal prosecutions.
b) Civil prosecutions.
c) The disciplinary process through the
college.
d) The availability of mediation.
e) Alternative housing assignments.
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f) Academic assistance alternatives.
(Education Code § 67385)
Current law requires:
1) The governing board of each community college district
and the Trustees of the California State University,
and requests the Regents of the University of
California, in collaboration with campus- and
community-based victim advocacy organizations, to
provide as part of campus orientations, educational
and preventive information about sexual violence.
2) Each campus of the California Community Colleges and
the California State University, and requests each
campus of the University of California, to post sexual
violence prevention and education information on its
campus website. The information must include specific
components including how to file a complaint, and the
availability and contact information for resources for
victims.
3) Each campus of the California Community Colleges and
the California State University, and requests each
campus of the University of California, to develop
policies to encourage students to report any campus
crimes involving sexual violence. (EC § 67385.7)
ANALYSIS
This bill:
1) Requires any report made by a victim or an
employee , as specified, of a Part 1 violent crime,
sexual assault, or hate crime, as described in Penal
Code § 422.55, that is received by a campus law
enforcement agency to immediately, or as soon as
practicably possible, to be disclosed to the local law
enforcement agency with which the institution has a
written agreement without identifying the victim
unless the victim consents to being identified. If
the victim does not consent to being identified, the
alleged assailant shall not be identified in the
information disclosed to the local law enforcement
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agency.
2) Requires the governing board of each community
college district, the Trustees of the California State
University, the Regents of the University of
California, and the governing board of each private
and independent postsecondary institution, on or
before July 1, 2015, to adopt and implement written
policies and procedures to ensure that any report of a
Part 1 violent crime, sexual assault, or hate crime,
committed on or off campus, received by a campus
security authority, as specified, and made by the
victim for purposes of notifying the institution or
law enforcement, is immediately, or as soon as
practicably possible, is forwarded to the appropriate
law enforcement agency.
3) Provides that the report shall be forwarded to the
appropriate law enforcement agency without identifying
the victim, unless the victim consents to being
identified.
4) Provides that the appropriate law enforcement
agency shall be a campus law enforcement agency if one
has been established on the campus where the report
was made. If no campus law enforcement agency has
been established, the report shall be immediately, or
as soon as practicably possible, forwarded to a local
law enforcement agency.
5) Defines a Part 1 violent crime as willful homicide,
forcible rape, robbery, or aggravated assault, as
defined in the Uniform Crime Reporting Handbook of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation.
6) Defines sexual assault to include, but not be
limited to, rape, forced sodomy, forced oral
copulation, rape by a foreign object, sexual battery,
or the threat of any of these.
7) Defines hate crime as any offense as described in
Penal Code § 422.55.
8) Defines local law enforcement agency as a city of
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county law enforcement agency with operational
responsibilities for police services in the community
in which a campus is located.
9) Defines on or off campus as the campus and any
noncampus building or property, as specified.
10) Provides that this act is an urgency statute
necessary to ensure student safety by requiring the
effective reporting of Part 1 violent crimes and hate
crimes at the earliest possible time.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill . The federal Clery Act requires
colleges and universities to disclose information
about crimes that happen on or near campuses.
However, according to the author's office, "?five
campuses in the United States, including U.C.
Berkeley, the University of Southern California (USC),
and Occidental College, are the subject of a federal
lawsuit alleging violations of both the Clery Act and
Title IX, another federal law that prohibits sex
discrimination in schools and regulates sexual
harassment and sexual assault policies. Additionally,
both USC and Occidental are currently the subject of
an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education
for their handling of on-campus sexual assaults and
other violent crimes. In the case of U.C. Berkeley,
nine students have filed a complaint with the U.S.
Department of Education alleging that U.C. Berkeley
discouraged sexual assault survivors from reporting
incidents to local authorities, failed to notify the
campus community of immediate threats to their health
and safety and persistently underreported sexual
battery, sexual assault, and rape." The author's
office indicates that by alerting local law
enforcement agencies to crime trends within their
jurisdiction, surrounding communities will be better
served and protected.
2) Policy of California's public universities . The
University of California updated policies relative to
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sexual harassment and violence effective February 25,
2014. These policies include procedures for training
and education, a process for reporting incidents,
identification of on- and off-campus resources for
victims, and providing prompt and effective response
to reports of incidents.
The California State University recently updated its
policies as well, effective June 3, 2014, to reflect
the changes to the federal Campus Sexual Violence
Elimination Act and related guidance from the U.S.
Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights.
Additionally, the State Auditor will soon provide
information related to the handling of sexual
harassment and sexual violence incidents at the
state's public postsecondary institutions. As part of
this audit, the State Auditor is reviewing U.C.
Berkeley and UCLA's sexual assault policies and
procedures. The audit is expected to be released on
June 24, 2014.
3) Related legislation . SB 967 (De Leon) requires the
governing board of each community college district,
the Trustees of the California State University, the
Regents of the University of California, and the
governing board of independent postsecondary
institutions to adopt a policy concerning campus
sexual violence, domestic violence, dating violence
and stalking that includes specified components. This
bill is pending before the Assembly Judiciary
Committee.
SUPPORT
Anti-Defamation League
Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
California Federation of Teachers
California Police Chiefs Association
California School Employees Association
Community College League of California
Crime Victims United of California
Equality California
Los Angeles County Probation Officers' Union, AFSCME, Local
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685
Los Angeles Police Protective League
Riverside Sheriffs' Association
University of California Student Association
OPPOSITION
None on file.