BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 967|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 967
Author: Williams (D), et al.
Amended: 7/14/15 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 8-0, 7/8/15
AYES: Liu, Runner, Block, Hancock, Leyva, Monning, Pan, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Mendoza
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 6-1, 8/27/15
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza
NOES: Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 71-4, 6/3/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Postsecondary education: sexual assault cases
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill requires, as a condition of receiving state
funds for student financial assistance, that the governing
boards of each community college district, the California State
University (CSU) Trustees, the University of California (UC)
Regents, and the governing board of each independent
postsecondary institution adopt and carry out a uniform process
for disciplinary proceedings relating to any claims of sexual
assault, as specified, and that they annually report specified
information relative to sexual assault, dating violence, and
stalking complaints, investigations, and outcomes, as specified.
ANALYSIS:
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Existing federal law:
1)Establishes the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security
Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act) which
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.
2)Requires institutions, under the Clery Act to collect,
classify and count crime statistics, publish an Annual
Security Report with crime statistics and security policies,
and report crime statistics to the United States Department of
Education. The Clery Act requires reporting of crimes in
seven major categories, some with significant sub-categories
and conditions, including crimes involving forcible and
non-forcible sex offenses.
3)Amends the Clery Act (with the 2013 reauthorization of the
federal Violence Against Women Act, which includes the Campus
Sexual Violence Elimination Act) to, among other things,
require institutions to compile statistics of incidents of
sexual 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 final
rule implementing changes to the Clery Act was issued in
October 2014, and is effective July 1, 2015.
Existing state law:
1)Requires the governing board of each community college
district, the CSU Trustees, the UC Regents, 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, including the affirmative consent standard.
(Education Code § 67386)
2)Requires the governing board of each community college
district, the CSU Trustees, the Board of Directors of the
Hastings College of the Law, and the UC Regents to each adopt
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and implement at each campus or other facilities, a written
procedure or protocol 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. (EC § 67385)
3)Requires each campus of the California Community Colleges
(CCC) and the CSU, and requests each campus of the UC, to post
sexual violence prevention and education information on its
campus website. The information must include specific
components including dating violence, rape, sexual assault,
domestic violence and stalking crimes, how to file a
complaint, and the availability and contact information for
resources for victims. (EC § 67385.7)
4)Requires each campus of the CCC and the CSU, and requests each
campus of the UC, to develop policies to encourage students to
report any campus crimes involving sexual violence. (EC §
67385.7)
This bill:
1)Requires, in order to receive state funds for student financial
assistance, the governing boards of each community college
district, the CSU Trustees, the UC Regents, and the governing
board of each independent postsecondary institution to:
a) Adopt and carry out a uniform process, applicable
to each campus of the institution for disciplinary
proceedings relating to any claims of sexual assault.
b) Report by April 1, 2017, and annually thereafter
until December 31, 2021:
i) The number of sexual assault, domestic
violence, dating violence, and stalking complaints
received, investigated, and not investigated by the
institution.
ii) The number of investigations conducted in which
respondents were found responsible, and not responsible,
at institutional disciplinary proceedings.
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iii) The number of disciplinary sanctions imposed on
respondents disaggregated by type of discipline in, at
minimum, the categories of expulsion, suspension of at
least two years, suspension of fewer than two years, and
probation.
2)Requires the uniform process policies adopted, at minimum:
a) Refrain from carrying out different disciplinary
processes on the same campus, or alter the uniform process
based on student characteristics or status, or membership
on an athletic team, or the student's academic major.
b) Develop and implement a minimum standard of
discipline of at least two years of suspension, up to
expulsion, for students found responsible for specified
acts.
c) 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)Clarifies that sexual assault, domestic violence, dating
violence, and stalking refer to all categories of misconduct
in the institution's sexual assault policies adopted pursuant
to specified state law.
4)Requires that reporting required by this bill occur in a manner
that provides appropriate privacy protections for the alleged
victim and the alleged perpetrator.
Comments
1)Need for the bill. According to the author, there need to be
severe outcomes to
truly act as a deterrent and address rape culture on a campus.
The author opines that universities must at least consider
suspension for a minimum of two years if an individual is
found guilty of sexual assault. In addition, the author is
concerned that there is very little accountability for the
outcome of adjudication proceedings for campus sexual assault
cases.
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This bill provides clear and consistent direction to
universities on handling rulings on campus sexual assault
cases through the campus adjudication system by requiring a
two-year suspension for students found responsible for rape,
forced sodomy, forced oral copulation, and rape by a foreign
object. It also provides for specified reporting on the number
of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and
stalking complaints received, investigated, and not
investigated by the institution, and the outcomes of
disciplinary proceedings and investigations.
2)National Guidelines. The Association of Student Conduct
Administrators (ASCA) is a national membership association
that, among other things, facilitates best practices of
student conduct administration and conflict resolution on
college and university campuses. ASCA notes that, given the
spectrum of sexual misconduct, there must also be a spectrum
of sanctions available, and recommends that sanctioning
guidelines rather than absolute sanctions be used for two main
reasons:
1) the circumstances of every case are unique and 2) mandatory
sanctions may deter reporting of incidents and/or lead
decision-makers to reach an inappropriate decision about
responsibility in order to avoid a certain sanction. ACSA also
suggests that sanctions should be relative and appropriate for
the violation.
In its "2014 White Paper: Student Conduct Administration &
Title IX: Gold Standard Practices for Resolution of
Allegations of Sexual Misconduct on College Campuses" ASCA
acknowledges that while the "one size fits all" concept is
challenging for campuses, there are guiding principles that
should underlie all student conduct policies and procedures
and recommended practices required of universities in
responding to allegations of sexual misconduct.
ASCA notes that the goals, restrictions, and outcomes of law
enforcement investigations and campus conduct investigations
are different, and notes in its white paper that, unlike the
courts which use a "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard to
determine if someone committed a crime, the student
adjudication process uses a "preponderance of evidence"
standard, to determine if a student "more likely than not"
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violated institutional policies. Law enforcement investigates
to determine whether or not a crime occurred. Campus conduct
officials investigate to determine whether or not a policy was
violated including whether a hostile environment was created
by such conduct. ASCA notes that finding a student "guilty" of
"rape" or any other criminal offense through a campus conduct
process, could result in an appeal in the courts for failing
to meet legal standards and/or due process rights of the
accused, potentially jeopardizing the ability for colleges to
respond promptly to separate a student from the campus
community when needed. ASCA cites a specific example in which
an appellate court reversed an institution's finding of
assault and battery because the university's violation was
predicated on the behavior being unlawful. That case was
remanded back to the university to vacate the violation and
remove the penalties that were imposed.
3)Related UC activity. In June 2014, President Napolitano formed
the President's Task Force on Preventing and Responding to
Sexual Violence and Sexual Assault (Task Force). Thus far,
the Task Force has produced two reports, the first in
September 2014 outlined recommendations accepted by President
Napolitano and reported to the Board of Regents, and the
second in January 2015, provided an update on the
recommendations that were implemented and discussed the next
steps to implement the remaining recommendations during 2015.
Two of the four remaining recommendations that the Task Force
is working to implement are consistent with the provisions of
this bill. These include the following:
a) Recommendation 2: Adopt systemwide, standard
investigation and adjudication standards.
b) Recommendation 7: Initiate/develop a systemwide standard
data collection system.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, the CCC
Chancellor's Office anticipates a cost of $3,000 per community
college district ($216,000 statewide costs) to establish new
policies and report required data. If determined to be a
reimbursable state mandate, these costs could create pressure to
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increase the community college mandate block grant. The CSU
anticipates costs of around $100,000 attributable to the
reporting requirements and the UC indicates costs to be minor
and absorbable.
SUPPORT: (Verified8/28/15)
California Coalition Against Sexual Assault
California Federation of Teachers
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/28/15)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 71-4, 6/3/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau,
Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly,
Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto,
Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Hadley, Roger
Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine,
Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,
Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,
Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,
Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Ting, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NOES: Beth Gaines, Grove, Jones, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Brough, Gallagher, Harper, Mathis, Thurmond
Prepared by:Kathleen Chavira / ED. / (916) 651-4105
8/31/15 11:43:33
**** END ****
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