BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2512
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Date of Hearing: April 9, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
AB 2512 (Bonilla) - As Introduced: February 21, 2014
SUBJECT : Pupil rights: gender equity: after school athletic
programs
SUMMARY : Adds compliance with the federal Title IX gender
equity requirements to the Academic Performance Index (API),
authorizes school districts and county offices of education to
include compliance with Title IX in the "school climate"
component of their Local Control and Accountability Plans
(LCAPs) beginning in 2018, and makes a technical correction to
existing law.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Title IX. Title IX provides that "No person in the United
States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from
participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to
discrimination under any educational program or activity
receiving Federal financial assistance." The law applies to
educational institutions that receive any federal funds and
prohibits discrimination in all educational programs and
activities, not just athletics. Athletic programs are considered
educational programs and activities.
The Women's Sports Foundation provides the following information
regarding compliance:
"Title IX compliance is assessed via a total program
comparison. In other words, the entire men's and
women's programs are to be compared, not just one
men's team to the women's team in the same sport. This
is intended to emphasize that Title IX does not
require the creation of mirror image programs. Males
and females can participate in different sports
according to their respective interests and abilities.
With regard to Title IX's participation requirements,
AB 2512
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a school can meet the standard via three independent
tests. The first test is a mathematical safe harbor.
If the school offers athletic participation
opportunities (number of individual athlete
participation slots, not numbers of teams)
proportional to the numbers of males and females in
the general student body, the school meets the
participation standard. If the school does not meet
this mathematical test, it may be deemed in compliance
if it can (1) demonstrate consistent expansion of
opportunities for the underrepresented gender over
time or (2) show that the athletic program fully met
the interests and abilities of the underrepresented
gender."
Every education agency is required to designate a person to
serve as the Title IX compliance coordinator. The role of the
coordinator is to enforce compliance at the local level. This
includes coordinating any complaints of noncompliance received.
Academic Performance Index (API). The API is a single number,
ranging from 200 to 1,000 that measures the performance of a
school, a school district, or a pupil group on statewide
assessments. The API measures performance across multiple
content areas. It is used for both state and federal
accountability systems to measure changes in performance from
year to year as well as to compare the performance of schools,
districts, and pupil groups to other schools, districts, and
pupil groups. Beginning in 2014-15, the API will incorporate
the results of new assessments that are based on the Common Core
State Standards.
Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP). The LCAP is a new
requirement, which was adopted as part of the Local Control
Funding Formula (LCFF). The LCAP is the mechanism for achieving
accountability within the framework of the LCFF. It must
address annual achievement goals for all pupils, including
specified subgroups, and eight state priorities, one of which is
"school climate," as measured by suspension rates, expulsion
rates, and other local measures, such as surveys. All school
districts and county offices of education are required to adopt
their initial LCAPs by July 1, 2014 using a template adopted by
the State Board of Education.
This bill adds compliance with Title IX to the API and
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authorizes school districts and county offices of education to
include Title IX compliance in their measure of "school climate"
for purposes of the LCAP. The API is an output measure, which
is designed to measure achievement on statewide assessments, as
opposed to an input measure, which is designed to measure
compliance with specified requirements. Since compliance with
Title IX is an input and not an output, including Title IX
compliance in the API is inconsistent with the purpose and
construction of the API. In addition, reducing Title IX
compliance to a single number within a larger single number
would convey little, if anything about which of the three
compliance tests have been met or the nature of the
noncompliance, if that is the case. Therefore, staff recommends
that the bill be amended to strike this requirement.
This bill also authorizes school districts and county offices of
education to include Title IX compliance in their measures of
school climate for purposes of the LCAP. Accordingly, school
districts and county offices of education already have the
authority to include Title IX compliance in their measure of
school climate if they choose. However, according to the
author's office, this bill is needed to encourage districts and
county offices of education "to consider Title IX requirements
as another factor to create a positive climate."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California National Organization for Women
California School Boards Association
California Women's Law Center
Center for Nutrition and Activity, CSU-Chico
Consumers Attorneys of California
Equal Rights Advocates
Women's Sports Foundation
Opposition
None received
Analysis Prepared by : Rick Pratt / ED. / (916) 319-2087