BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 967
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Date of Hearing: April 21, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Jose Medina, Chair
AB 967
Williams - As Amended March 26, 2015
SUBJECT: Postsecondary education: sexual assault cases
SUMMARY: Establishes minimum disciplinary standards and
reporting requirements for sexual assault complaints received by
California Community College districts (CCD), California State
University (CSU), the University of California (UC) and
independent postsecondary educational institutions.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires, in order to receive state funds for student
financial assistance, the governing board of a CCD, the
Trustees of the CSU, the Regents of the UC, and the governing
board of each independent postsecondary institution to adopt
and carry out a uniform process, applicable to each campus,
for disciplinary proceedings related to claims of sexual
assault.
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2)Requires the policies to conform to the following:
a) 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.
b) 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: rape,
forced sodomy, forced oral copulation, rape by a foreign
object, sexual battery, threat of sexual assault, and any
other forms of sexual assault.
c) Requires minimum standards to 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.
3)Requires, in order to receive state funds for student
financial assistance, the governing board of a CCD, the
Trustees of the CSU, the Regents of the UC, and the governing
board of each independent postsecondary institution to report
all of the following on an annual basis:
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a) The number of sexual assault cases that were
investigated by the institution;
b) The number of sexual assault cases that were referred
for a disciplinary proceeding at the institution;
c) The number of sexual assault cases that were referred to
local or state law enforcement;
d) The number of alleged perpetrators who were found
responsible at the disciplinary proceedings of the
institution;
e) The number of alleged perpetrators who were found not
responsible at the disciplinary proceedings of the
institution;
f) A description of and the number of final sanctions
imposed by the institution for each offense perpetrated;
and,
g) The number of disciplinary proceedings at the
institution that closed without resolution.
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4)Defines "sexual assault" to include, but not be limited to,
rape, forced sodomy, forced oral copulation, rape by a foreign
object, sexual battery, or a threat of sexual assault
involving a student, whether on or off campus.
5)Requires the information to be reported in a manner that
provides appropriate protections for the privacy of those
involved, including, but not necessarily limited to,
protection of the confidentiality of the alleged victim and of
the alleged perpetrator.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires the governing board of public, private, and
independent postsecondary educational institution that
receives public funds for student financial assistance to
compile records of crimes on campus, make crime records
available upon request, and to disclose a reported Part 1
violent crime, sexual assault, or hate crime, to the local law
enforcement agency where the campus is located. (Education
Code Section 67380, 67383)
2)Requires, under the Kristen Smart Campus Safety Act, UC
Regents, CSU Trustees, CCD governing boards, and independent
colleges that meet specified conditions to enter into specific
written agreements with local law enforcement agencies
regarding the coordination and responsibilities for
investigating Part 1 violent crimes which occur on campus.
(EDC Section 67381)
3)Requires public postsecondary educational institutions to each
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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 organizations, receive
treatment and information. The written procedures or
protocols must contain specified information. (EDC Section
67385.)
4)Requires public postsecondary educational institutions, and
requests UC, in collaboration with campus- and community-based
victim advocacy organizations, to provide as part of campus
orientations, educational and preventive information about
sexual violence and to develop policies to encourage students
to report any campus crimes involving sexual violence. (EDC
Section 67385.7.)
5)Requires public and independent postsecondary institutions, as
a condition of receipt of student aid funds, to adopt a policy
concerning campus sexual violence, domestic violence, dating
violence, and stalking that includes specified components and
standards, including an "affirmative consent" standard for
determining whether consent was given by both parties to
sexual activity. Establishes a preponderance of evidence as
the evidentiary standard for determining if sexual
violence/harassment occurred. (EDC Section 67386)
6)Requires, under the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus
Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act),
public and private postsecondary educational institutions that
participate in the federal financial aid program to disclose
information about crimes on and around campuses. (20 U.S.C.
section 1092(f))
7)Requires, under federal Title IX (20 U.S.C. sections
1681-1688), public and private postsecondary educational
institutions that participate in the federal financial aid
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program to establish certain rights for victims of sexual
assault, including:
a) Institutions are responsible for immediately and
effectively responding to any sexual harassment or violence
that creates a hostile environment. The institution must
eliminate the harassment or violence, prevent its
recurrence, and address its effects. Regardless of whether
a student chooses to file a complaint with the institution,
the institution is responsible for investigating and taking
appropriate steps to resolve the situation. A criminal
investigation does not relieve the school of its duty under
Title IX.
b) Institutions must have and distribute policies against
sex discrimination; the policy must state that inquiries
concerning Title IX may be referred to the institution's
Title IX coordinator or to the Office of Civil Rights
(OCR).
c) Institutions must have a designated Title IX coordinator
and notify students and employees of the name and contact
information for the Title IX coordinator. The coordinator
is responsible for overseeing all complaints of sex
discrimination, which include harassment and assault, and
identifying and addressing patterns or systemic problems.
d) Institutions are required to have and make known the
procedures for students to file complaints of sex
discrimination, and procedures must provide for prompt and
equitable resolution of sex discrimination complaints. All
complainants must have the right to present his or her
case, including the right to a full investigation, to
present witnesses and evidence, and to an appeal process
(available to both parties).
e) Establishes a preponderance of the evidence standard
(more likely than not) when determining if sexual
harassment or violence occurred.
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f) Provides complainants the right to be notified of the
outcome of the complaint, including the sanction.
Complainants cannot be required to abide by a nondisclosure
agreement.
g) Authorizes grievance procedures to include voluntary
informal methods (such as mediation) for resolving some
types of sexual harassment complaints. However, mediation
is not appropriate in cases involving allegations of sexual
assault.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: Background. College students who are victims of
sexual assault are entitled to the protections and services
provided to victims of the general population (law enforcement
investigations, rape crisis center services, district attorney
criminal prosecutions, etc.) and to the protections and services
required to be provided by colleges and universities under state
and federal laws (see: Existing Law). In recent years, there
has been an increasing public awareness of sexual violence
occurring on and near college campuses. State and federal
governments have responded through laws and regulations that
seek to strengthen partnerships between colleges and local law
enforcement agencies (criminal investigations) and to improve
campus handling of sexual assault complaints (Title IX
responsibilities).
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Committee oversight. On June 30, 2014, the Assembly Higher
Education Committee held a joint oversight hearing to review
compliance with federal sexual harassment laws at California's
public universities. There was overwhelming consensus that
campuses can and should do more to protect and respond to sexual
assault. At that time, the author (and former-committee chair)
committed to monitor campus progress and, if necessary,
introduce follow-up legislation. This past fall, the author
organized three roundtable discussions: in September at UC
Berkeley, in October at UC Santa Barbara, and in December at
UCLA. Among the comments presented by roundtable participants
and the public was a strong sentiment that campuses were not
doing enough to ensure meaningful penalties for students found
in violation of sexual misconduct policies. In addition, when
data regarding disciplinary outcomes was presented by the
institutions to the author and committee members, many members
noted that data showed very few sanctions being imposed on
students found in violation of sexual misconduct.
Purpose of this bill. According to the author, "the state of
California has an obligation to provide a safe and secure
learning environment at our college and university campuses.
Students, families, and the general public need assurance that
colleges and universities take campus sexual assault seriously.
The Washington Post obtained data from approximately 100
institutions surveyed in 2012 and 2013; in regards to campus
sanctions in sexual assault cases they discovered that out of
478 sanctions for sexual assault, only 12% resulted in expulsion
and 28% resulted in suspensions."
The author believes that in order to address rape culture on
college campuses, there needs to be meaningful sanctions that
truly serve as a deterrent. This bill is intended to provide
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clear and consistent direction to colleges and universities on
imposing sanctions for sexual assault, and will require
reporting of adjudication outcome data to ensure compliance with
these standards.
Issues to consider.
1)Minimum sanctions. This bill requires institutions to impose
minimum standards of discipline of at least two years
suspension, up to expulsion, for students found responsible
for any of the following:
a) Rape
b) Forced sodomy
c) Forced oral copulation
d) Rape by a foreign object
e) Sexual battery
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f) Threat of sexual assault, and
g) Any other forms of sexual assault.
In the past year, a handful of institutions, including Amherst
College, Duke University and Vassar College, have put more
emphasis on expulsion as a penalty. Most institutional
policies stop short of making expulsion mandatory. Duke's
policy refers to expulsion in cases of sexual misconduct as
the "preferred sanction." In 2014, Dartmouth College announced
a policy making expulsion the mandatory punishment for
students who commit certain kinds of sexual assault (rape).
The author and committee may wish to consider narrowing the
violations under which an assailant would face these minimum
disciplinary standards. Specifically, the author and
committee may wish to consider removing "sexual battery,
threat of sexual assault, and any other form of sexual
assault" from this list. Removing these violations from this
list would not preclude a campus from imposing a suspension or
expulsion, but would provide a campus with flexibility in
issuing discipline based on the circumstances of the
violation.
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2)Reporting requirements. To ensure disciplinary reporting
requirements are consistent with other laws governing campus
handling of sexual assault cases, the author and committee may
wish to consider the following amendments:
(b) 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 all of the following on
an annual basis:
(1) The number of sexual assault cases that were investigated
by the institution.
(2) The number of sexual assault cases that were referred for
a disciplinary proceeding at the institution.
(3) The number of sexual assault cases that were referred to
local or state law enforcement.
(4) The number of alleged perpetrators who were found
responsible at the disciplinary proceedings of the
institution.
(5) The number of alleged perpetrators who were found not
responsible at the disciplinary proceedings of the
institution.
(6) A description of and the number of final sanctions imposed
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by the institution for each offense perpetrated.
(7) The number of disciplinary proceedings at the institution
that closed without resolution.
(1) The number of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating
violence and stalking complaints received by the institution;
(2) The number of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating
violence and stalking complaints investigated by the
institution;
(3) The number of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating
violence and stalking complaints that were not investigated by
the institution;
(4) The number of investigations, conducted pursuant to (2),
in which the respondent was held responsible;
(5) The number of investigations, conducted pursuant to (2),
in which the evidence was found insufficient to hold the
respondent responsible;
(6) The number of cases pursuant to (3) in which discipline
was imposed, disaggregated by the type of discipline imposed
in, at minimum, the following categories:
(i) Expulsion
(ii) Suspension of two years or longer
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(iii) Suspension of fewer than two years
(iv) Probation
3)Definition of sexual assault. In conforming to the
aforementioned reporting requirements, the definition of
"sexual assault" as contained in this bill is no longer
necessary. The author and committee may wish to consider the
following amendment:
(c) For purposes of this section, "sexual assault" includes,
but is not limited to, rape, forced sodomy, forced oral
copulation, rape by a foreign object, sexual battery, or a
threat of sexual assault involving a student, whether on or
off campus . "sexual assault, domestic violence, dating
violence, and stalking" includes all categories of misconduct
in the institution's policy adopted pursuant to section 67386.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Federation of Teachers
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National Association of Social Workers - California Chapter
California Coalition Against Sexual Assault
Opposition
None on File
Analysis Prepared by:Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960