BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 967
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
967 (Williams)
As Amended July 14, 2015
Majority vote
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |71-4 |(June 3, 2015) |SENATE: |37-1 |(September 8, |
| | | | | |2015) |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Original Committee Reference: HIGHER ED.
SUMMARY: Requires the establishment of consistent disciplinary
standards and reporting 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.
AB 967
Page 2
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 consistent
standard of discipline for students found responsible for
sexual assault.
c) Establishes Legislative intent that the standards of
discipline developed and implemented by institutions be
fair, objective, and consistent, and, for the most
egregious violations of the institution's sexual assault
policies, provide for a minimum suspension of at least two
years up to, and including, expulsion.
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,
by October 1, 2017, and each year thereafter, all of the
following from the prior calendar year:
a) The number of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating
violence, and stalking complaints that were received by the
institution.
b) The number of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating
violence, and stalking complaints that were investigated by
AB 967
Page 3
the institution.
c) The number of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating
violence, and stalking complaints that were not
investigated by the institution.
d) The number of investigations conducted pursuant to 2)
above, in which the respondents were found responsible at
the disciplinary proceedings of the institution.
e) The number of investigations conducted pursuant to 2)
above, in which the respondents were not found responsible
at the disciplinary proceedings of the institution.
f) The number of disciplinary sanctions imposed on
respondents who were found responsible, disaggregated by
the type of discipline imposed in, at minimum, the
categories of expulsion, suspension of at least two years,
suspension of fewer than two years, and probation.
g) The number of cases that were closed for other reasons.
4)Requires the aforementioned report to be posted on the
institution's Internet Web site in a manner easily accessible
to students.
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; and, sunsets the aforementioned
reporting requirements on December 31, 2021.
The Senate amendments remove provisions that would have
AB 967
Page 4
established minimum disciplinary standards of suspension and
expulsion for specified sexual assault and instead require the
establishment of consistent disciplinary standards, and make
other clarifying changes.
EXISTING LAW:
1)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.
(Education Code (EDC) Section 67381)
2)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)
3)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 United
States Code (U.S.C.) Section 1092(f))
4)Requires, under federal Title IX (20 U.S.C. Sections 1681 to
1688), public and private postsecondary educational
institutions that participate in the federal financial aid
program to establish certain rights for victims of sexual
assault.
AB 967
Page 5
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, anticipating average costs of around $3,000 per
community college district, statewide potential reimbursable
state mandated costs would be $216,000 (General Fund-Proposition
98 (1988)) annually. The CSU anticipates costs of around
$100,000 attributable to the reporting requirements. (General
Fund). Any costs to UC will be minor and absorbable.
COMMENTS: 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
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.
Analysis Prepared by:
Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960 FN:
0001862
AB 967
Page 6