BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 1538
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|Author: |Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism, |
| |and Internet Media |
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|Version: |March 26, 2015 Hearing |
| |Date: June 10, 2015 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: | No |
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|Consultant:|Lynn Lorber |
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Subject: Educational equity: sex equity in education: federal
Title IX
SUMMARY
This bill moves the Athletes' Bill of Rights provisions in the
Education Code to the Sex Equity in Education Act provisions of
the Education Code.
BACKGROUND
Current federal law provides that, in part, "no person in the
United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from
participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to
discrimination under any educational program of activity
receiving Federal financial assistance." (Title IX of the
Education Amendments of 1972 to the 1964 Civil Rights Act)
Existing state law:
1)Prohibits discrimination based on sex in all aspects of
educational opportunities, not just athletics, but also
includes academics and extracurricular activities. Each
public school that offers competitive athletics is required to
publicly make available, beginning with the 2015-16 school
year and annually thereafter, information specific to athletic
participation. Schools are to use a three-prong test to
determine if athletic interests of both sexes have been
accommodated. These provisions are known as the Sex Equity in
AB 1538 (Committee on A., E., S., T., & I. M.)
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Education Act. (Education Code § 221.5-231.5)
2)Requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to post
on its website, in both English and Spanish, and at a reading
level that may be comprehended by students in high school, the
information set forth in the federal regulations implementing
Title IX. A list of rights is listed in statute, and
authorizes the CDE to use this list to meet the posting
requirement. These provisions are known as the Athletes' Bill
of Rights. (EC § 270-271)
ANALYSIS
This bill moves the Athletes' Bill of Rights provisions in the
Education Code to the Sex Equity in Education Act provisions of
the Education Code.
STAFF COMMENTS
1)Need for the bill. According to the author, "One of the problems
with implementation of existing gender equity laws identified
in a recent Senate Judiciary informational hearing entitled
Attaining Equal Opportunity for Girls in California Secondary
Schools: How Our Schools are Complying with Title IX, is the
confusing statutory framework. Currently, the Education Code
has two different sections that harbor language pertaining to
gender equity in education which are similar in intent and
purpose, but are separated by hundreds of pages in their
placement in the Education Code. To further complicate
matters, there is no cross reference in either section to the
other."
2)Simple renumbering. This bill makes no changes to policy. This
bill renumbers provisions of the Athletes' Bill of Rights,
thereby placing it within provisions of the Sex Equity in
Education Act.
3)Fiscal impact. This bill is keyed as non-fiscal.
SUPPORT
AB 1538 (Committee on A., E., S., T., & I. M.)
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Equal Rights Advocates
OPPOSITION
None received.
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