BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 340
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Date of Hearing: April 28, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Jose Medina, Chair
AB 340
(Weber) - As Amended April 13, 2015
SUBJECT: Postsecondary education: campus climate: report
SUMMARY: Requires the California Community Colleges (CCC) Board
of Governors (BOG) and the California State University (CSU)
Trustees, and encourages the University of California (UC)
Regents, to each generate a report, as specified, pertaining
campus climate. Specifically, this bill:
1)Defines "campus climate" to mean a measure of an individual's
experience within a learning environment, specifically on the
current attitudes, practices, policies, and behaviors of
campus life that impact the success and retention of all
members of a campus community.
2)Requires the CCC BOG and the CSU Trustees, and encourages the
UC Regents, to generate a report once every biennium of the
legislative session, beginning with the 2017-2018 Regular
Session.
3)Specifies that the report shall include, but not be limited
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to, all of the following as to the respective segment:
a) The amount spent on campus climate efforts;
b) New and recent administrative efforts intended to affect
campus climate;
c) Campus developments on all of the following as they may
impact campus climate: i) Gender, ii) Race, iii)
Ethnicity, iv) National origin, v) Religion, vi) Sexual
orientation, vii) Disability, and viii) Gender identity;
and,
d) Data, including, but not limited to, both of the
following: i) Student demographic data, and ii) Crime
data, including, but not limited to, the data required to
be kept and disclosed in accordance with the Jeanne Clery
Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime
Statistics Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1092(f)) and other hate
crime statistics.
4)Requires the CCC BOG and the CSU Trustees, and encourages the
UC Regents, to each post the respective segment's report on
its Internet Web site; and, to send said report to the
Governor, the Attorney General, and the appropriate policy
committees of the Legislature.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Declares it a goal of public higher education that educational
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equity be achieved through educational environments in which
each person, regardless of race, gender, gender identity,
gender expression, sexual orientation, age, disability or
economic circumstances has a reasonable change to fully
develop his or her potential (Education Code Section 66010.2).
2)Provides that it is the policy of the State of California to
afford all persons, regardless of disability, gender, gender
identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity,
religion, sexual orientation, or any other basis that is
contained in the prohibition of hate crimes set forth in
subdivision (a) of Section 422.6 of the Penal Code, equal
rights and opportunities in the postsecondary institutions of
the state (Education Code Section 66251).
3)Provides that all students have the right to participate fully
in the educational process, free from discrimination and
harassment and that California's postsecondary educational
institutions have an affirmative obligation to combat racism,
sexism, and other forms of bias, and a responsibility to
provide equal educational opportunity; and declares the
Legislature's intent that each postsecondary educational
institution undertake educational activities to counter
discriminatory incidents on school grounds and, within
constitutional bounds, to minimize and eliminate a hostile
environment on school grounds that impairs the access of
students to equal educational opportunities (EC Section
66252).
4)Requests the UC Regents, CSU Trustees, and the governing board
of each community college district to adopt and publish
policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying to be
included within the rules and regulations governing student
behavior within their respective segments of public
postsecondary education (EC Section 66302).
5)The federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy
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and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act) requires colleges
and universities, as a condition of federal student aid
program participation, to publish annual campus security
reports, maintain crime logs, provide timely warnings of
crimes that present a public safety risk, and maintain ongoing
crime statistics.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: Background. Incidents in recent years at the UC and
CSU - targeting students of color, and the Lesbian, Gay,
Bi-sexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community, investigations of
racial and ethnic discrimination, and how sexual assaults and
violence have been handled - have greatly highlighted and
brought more attention to the need for the UC and CSU to address
climate challenges.
State response. Out of concern regarding recent campus climate
issues at various campuses of higher education, in the past few
years there have been several oversight hearings convened by
this committee to look at campus climate issues. Additionally,
in the 2013-14 Legislative Session, the Speaker of the Assembly
created the Assembly Select Committee on Campus Climate; which
convened several hearings in 2014 with the goal of continuing to
strengthen overall campus climate for our postsecondary
institutions of higher learning. This measure is a result of
the Assembly Select Committee on Campus Climate Report of
October 2014.
Segment responses. The UC seeks to create and nurture an
atmosphere of respect and inclusion for all; in March 2014 the
UC (after a two-year system wide survey), released its campus
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climate study. The study found many things, including, but not
limited to the following: 1) 79% of all respondents were
comfortable or very comfortable with the campus climate at UC,
while 7% were uncomfortable or very uncomfortable; 2) more than
half of all respondents thought that the overall campus climate
was very respectful or respectful of various races/ethnicities
at UC; and, 3) more work must be done to address issues faced by
certain groups - underrepresented minority respondents were less
comfortable with the overall climate and workplace climate than
were white respondents and other people of color and transgender
respondents were less comfortable with the overall climate at
their campus than were men and women respondents.
To note: 1) many UC campuses have hired staff focused on campus
climate issues; 2) many programs are offered to reduce the
impact of unconscious bias in hiring and promotions, and to
identify and remove institutional barriers to inclusion an
career development; 3) resource and student service centers have
been established at many campuses for certain populations (such
as undocumented students, veteran students, and LGBT students);
4) anti-hate initiatives exist at many UC campuses that seek to
educate students; and 5) many UC campuses have student-led and
cultural activities.
The CSU is committed to maintaining an inclusive community that
values diversity and fosters tolerance and mutual respect. It
is CSU policy to provide equal opportunity for all persons
regardless of race, religious creed, color, national origin,
ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical
condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender,
gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, and
veteran status.
The CSU has policies in place to help ensure that their students
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and faculty are protected; campuses must implement preventative
education programs and make available victim resources,
including comprehensive victim services. Information regarding
these programs must be included in: 1) orientation programs for
new students, faculty and staff; 2) training for students who
serve as advisors in residence halls; and, 3) training for
student athletes and coaches.
Additionally, on a campus by campus basis, the CSU has created
an advisory body of non-CSU experts to advise and opine to the
CSU how to strengthen and enforce existing polices, as well as
advise if there is a need to create more policies that will
allow the CSU to maintain its policy of protection for all.
Purpose of this measure. This measure is a result of the work
of the Assembly Select Committee on Campus Climate. The author
states, "In 2014, the select committee sought to examine public
safety protocols and practices of California's higher education
institutions while exploring solutions to encourage campus
safety and promote healthier campus climates. The select
committee's mission was to ensure that the state's college
campuses are safe and welcoming environments for all students.
As a result, the select committee held three hearings throughout
California to examine policies and practices at campuses within
a specific region. The fourth hearing was held at the State
Capitol where recommendations were considered by the members of
the select committee."
The author contends that, existing law does not specifically
address campus climate and higher education. This measure would
be the appropriate next step in creating some type of oversight
of campus climate. The author states, "By requiring a report on
recent developments on campus climate, the three segments of
higher education would keep key policymakers informed about new
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and ongoing endeavors and developments in regards to campus
climate. It would also offer a level of oversight to ensure
that progress is being made at California's public higher
education institutions as they work to meet the needs of a
changing demographic."
Policy consideration. As presently drafted, this measure
requires the CCC BOG and the CSU Trustees, and requests the UC
Regents, to include data in their respective campus climate
reports as to the dollar amount that was spent on campus climate
efforts. Committee staff understands that this requirement may
be problematic for the segments to comply with because they
currently do not collect or track budget data on campus climate
in a way that would be meaningful to fulfill said reporting
requirement. It is unclear whether or not some of the existing
resources used for campus climate might have to be diverted in
order to adequately track and monitor the amount spent for
campus climate.
Moving forward, the author may wish to consider deleting the
requirement to report on the amount spent on campus climate
efforts.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Association of African-American Superintendents and
Administrators
California Conference of the National Association for the
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Advancement of Colored People
One individual
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960