BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1653
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 6, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
1653 (Weber) - As Introduced January 13, 2016
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY:
The bill requires the governing boards of the California
Community Colleges (CCC), the California State University (CSU),
and every private postsecondary institution, and encourages the
University of California (UC) Regents, to report on the campus
climate at their respective systems and post these report on
their respective websites. Specifically, this bill:
AB 1653
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1)Defines campus climate as a measure of an individual's
experience within the learning environment, specifically
focusing on the current attitudes, practices, policies, and
behaviors of campus life that impact the success and retention
of all members of a campus community.
2)Requires the reports to include: administrative efforts to
effect campus climate and to reduce student food insecurity
and student homelessness; recent campus program developments
impacting campus climate with respect to gender, race,
ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation,
disability, and gender identity; student demographic data; and
crime data, as specified.
3)Stipulates that the Board of Governors of the CCC shall
request, but not require, community colleges to provide the
information specified in (2), and that the board's report
shall be based on the data made available by the districts.
4)Requires the reports to be submitted once every biennium
session of the Legislature, beginning in 2017-18, to the
Governor, the Attorney General (AG), and the Legislature, and
to be posted on the segments' websites.
5)Requires the AG to provide guidance to the respective
governing boards regarding compliance with the federal Jeanne
Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime
Statistics Act (Clery Act) and the federal Violence Against
Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA Reauthorization).
6)Requires the CSU Trustees and community college district
governing boards, if spending funds for activities related to
campus climate, to adopt and publish policies on harassment ,
AB 1653
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intimidation, and bullying for inclusion in rules governing
student behavior, and requests the UC Regents to follow this
requirement.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)The AG could incur GF costs up to almost $1 million annually
for up to three attorney positions and two support positions,
and related travel costs, for evaluating legal
responsibilities and advising higher education institutions on
compliance with the federal laws.
2)UC and CSU indicate that they can absorb any cost associated
with this bill, as it is generally consistent with their
existing efforts in this regard.
3)Costs to the CCC Chancellor's Office would also be minor and
absorbable. Costs to community college districts on campus
climate activities to adopt and publish the appropriate
policies would average about $2,000 per district. These costs
would not be state reimbursable.
COMMENTS:
1)Background and Purpose. Out of concern regarding recent campus
climate issues at various campuses of higher education, the
Assembly Higher Education Committee has convened several
oversight hearings to look at campus climate issues. In 2014,
the Assembly Select Committee on Campus Climate convened
several hearings examining how to strengthen overall campus
climate at the state's postsecondary educational institutions
of higher learning.
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In addition to the above, in a July 2015 report, the State
Auditor recommended that the Legislature should require the
DOJ to provide guidance regarding compliance with the
requirements of the Clery Act and the VAWA Reauthorization.
The auditor contemplated that the AG could conduct periodic
reviews of a selection of institutions' crime statistics and
annual security reports for federal compliance and provide
necessary feedback, establish a help desk for institutions to
call when they have compliance questions, compile a
comprehensive list converting crimes defined in California's
law to Clery Act reportable crimes, and develop and
disseminate training materials and conduct trainings at the
institutions' request.
The author states, "By requiring a report on recent
developments on campus climate, the three segments of higher
education would keep key policymakers informed about new and
ongoing endeavors and developments in regards to campus
climate. This bill would also allow the general public
(students, community organizations, staff, and faculty) to
have additional information to help navigate and find
information as well as resources to succeed in higher
education."
2)Related Legislation. AB 1654 (Santiago), also on today's
committee agenda, requires the DOJ to provide guidance to and
develop model protocols for the state's public and private
higher education institutions and the systemwide offices of
UC, CSU, and the CCC regarding the state's student safety
laws.
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3)Prior Legislation. AB 340 (Weber) of 2015, which was
substantially similar to this bill, was vetoed by the
Governor, who argued that the biennial reporting mandate on
the higher education segments was unnecessary.
Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)
319-2081