Amended in Assembly June 1, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 23, 2015

Amended in Assembly March 26, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 967

Introduced by Assembly Member Williams

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Low, McCarty, and Rendon)

February 26, 2015

An act to add Section 67386.5 to the Education Code, relating to postsecondary education.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 967, as amended, Williams. Postsecondary education: sexual assault cases.

Existing law establishes the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, and independent institutions of higher education as the segments of postsecondary education in this state.

Existing law requires the governing board of each community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, the Regents of the University of California, if they adopt a specified resolution, and the Board of Directors of the Hastings College of the Law to adopt, and implement at each of their respective campuses 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 at or upon the grounds of, or upon off-campus grounds or facilities maintained by, the institution, receive treatment and information.

This bill would require, in order to receive state funds for student financial assistance, 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 independent postsecondary institution to adopt and carry out a uniform process, applicable to each campus of the institution, for disciplinary proceedings relating to any claims of sexual assault.

The bill would additionally require, begin insert until December 31, 2021, end insert in order to receive state funds for student financial assistance, 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 independent postsecondary institution to report, begin delete on an annual basis, end delete begin insert on or before April 1, 2017, and on an annual basis thereafter, end insert specified data relating to cases of alleged sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.

The bill would also require that the information reported pursuant to these provisions to be reported in a manner that provides appropriate protections for the privacy of individuals involved, including, but not necessarily limited to, protection of the confidentiality of the alleged victim and of the alleged perpetrator.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 67386.5 is added to the Education Code,
to read:

67386.5.  

(a) Notwithstanding Section 67400, in order to
receive state funds for student financial assistance, 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 independent
postsecondary institution shall adopt and carry out a uniform
process, applicable to each campus of the institution, for
disciplinary proceedings relating to any claims of sexual assault.
At a minimum, the policies shall conform to both of the following:

(1) The institution shall not carry out a different disciplinary
process on the same campus for a matter of sexual violence, or
alter the uniform process based on the status or characteristics of
a student who will be involved in that disciplinary proceeding,
including characteristics such as a student’s membership on an
athletic team, a student’s academic major, or any other
characteristic or status of a student.

(2) The institution shall develop and implement a minimum
standard of discipline of at least two years suspension, up to
expulsion, for students found responsible for each of the following:
rape, forced sodomy, forced oral copulation, and rape by a foreign
object. These minimum standards shall provide for specific forms
of discipline, to include expulsion, suspension, loss of financial
aid or scholarships, loss of activity privileges, and removal from
student housing.

(b)  begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert Notwithstanding Section 67400, in order to receive state
funds for student financial assistance, 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 independent postsecondary institution
shall report begin insert on or before April 1, 2017, and annually thereafter, end insert
all of the begin delete following on an annual basis: end delete begin insert following information for
the prior calendar year: end insert

begin delete

(1)

end delete

begin insert (A) end insert  The number of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating
violence, and stalking complaints that were received by the
institution.

begin delete

(2)

end delete

begin insert (B) end insert  The number of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating
violence, and stalking complaints that were investigated by the
institution.

begin delete

(3)

end delete

begin insert (C) end insert  The number of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating
violence, and stalking complaints that were not investigated by
the institution.

begin delete

(4)

end delete

begin insert (D) end insert  The number of investigations conducted pursuant to
begin delete paragraph (2) end delete begin insert subparagraph (B) end insert in which the respondents were
found responsible at the disciplinary proceedings of the institution.

begin delete

(5)

end delete

begin insert (E) end insert  The number of investigations conducted pursuant to
begin delete paragraph (2) end delete begin insert subparagraph (B) end insert in which the respondents were
not found responsible at the disciplinary proceedings of the
institution.

begin delete

(6)

end delete

begin insert (F) end insert  The number of disciplinary sanctions imposed on
respondents who were found responsible as determined pursuant
to begin delete paragraph (4), end delete begin insert subparagraph (D) end insert disaggregated by the type of
discipline imposed in, at minimum, the following categories:

begin delete

(A)

end delete

begin insert (i) end insert  Expulsion.

begin delete

(B)

end delete

begin insert (ii) end insert  Suspension of at least two years.

begin delete

(C)

end delete

begin insert (iii) end insert  Suspension of fewer than two years.

begin delete

(D)

end delete

begin insert (iv) end insert  Probation.

begin insert

(2) This subdivision shall remain in effect only until December
31, 2021.

end insert

(c) For purposes of this section, “sexual assault, domestic
violence, dating violence, and stalking” refer to all of the categories
of misconduct in the institution’s policy adopted pursuant to
Section 67386.

(d) The information reported pursuant to this section shall be
reported in a manner that provides appropriate protections for the
privacy of individuals involved, including, but not necessarily
limited to, protection of the confidentiality of the alleged victim
and of the alleged perpetrator.