BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1654|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 1654
Author: Santiago (D)
Amended: 5/27/16 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 9-0, 6/15/16
AYES: Liu, Block, Hancock, Huff, Leyva, Mendoza, Monning, Pan,
Vidak
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 80-0, 6/1/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Student safety: crime reporting
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill expands existing audit requirements regarding
the reporting of crime statistics by California postsecondary
education institutions by requiring the State Auditor to include
an evaluation of institutions' compliance with state law
governing crime reporting and the development and implementation
of student safety policies and procedures.
ANALYSIS: Existing federal law requires, under the federal
colleges and universities, as a condition of federal student aid
program participation, to publish annual campus security
reports, maintain crime logs, provide timely warnings of crimes
that present a public safety risk, and maintain ongoing crime
statistics. (Federal law citation, Title IX and the Clery Act)
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Existing state law requires, beginning no later than January 1,
2004, the State Auditor to audit at least six colleges every
three years regarding to evaluate the accuracy of their
statistics and procedures for complying with the Clery Act's
crime statistics reporting requirements. The State Auditor is
required to report the audit results to the respective Chairs of
the Assembly Committee on Higher Education and the Senate
Committee on Education. (Education Code § 67382)
This bill:
1)Expands audit requirements relative to the reporting of crime
statistics by California postsecondary education institutions.
It:
a) Requires the audit include an evaluation of
institutions' compliant with state law governing crime
reporting.
b) Requires the audit include an evaluation of the
institutions' development and implementation of student
safety policies and procedures.
2)Deletes the requirement that the California Postsecondary
Education Commission post links to institutional Web sites
that include criminal statistics information.
3)Makes other technical changes.
Comments
1)Need for the bill. According to the author, "The State
Auditor recently reviewed six California postsecondary
institutions, finding that none were in full compliance with
federal laws (the Clery and Reauthorization Acts) that require
disclosure of campus crime statistics and campus security
policies. The Auditor also surveyed 79 campuses, determining
most provide security policies and crime statistics online but
some lack notification of availability.
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"Inaccurate and/or incomplete reporting of crime statistics by
postsecondary institutions can provide an inadequate
representation of campus safety to students, parents, and
employees. Furthermore, various complex provisions have been
recently added to the state Education Code in regards to
campus safety and sexual assault, and it is unknown how well
postsecondary institutions are complying with these new laws."
2)Related state audit. In July 2015, the Bureau of State Audits
(BSA) issued a report, California's Postsecondary Educational
Institutions: More Guidance Is Needed to Increase Compliance
with Federal Crime Reporting Requirements. The BSA visited six
institutions to determine whether their annual security
reports issued in 2014 contained all required security
policies and accurate crime statistics for 2013. These
included Fresno City College, San Francisco State University,
Shasta College, Stanford University, University of California
at San Diego, and University of Redlands. They also surveyed
79 of the 573 campuses that reported no Clery Act crimes for
2013 to determine whether their institutions' procedures for
compiling and distributing the statistics were sufficient.
The BSA found that none of the six institutions were in full
compliance with the Clery Act requirements. In addition, of
the 79 campuses surveyed, while most indicated that they have
sufficient processes in place to help ensure that they report
accurate crime statistics, the BSA felt that some institutions
needed to strengthen their practices for notifying students
and employees of the availability of their annual security
reports.
Among other things, the Auditor recommended the institutions
correctly report all applicable crimes and disclose the
required campus security policies by reviewing and adhering to
applicable guidance related to the Clery Act, creating written
procedures that clearly describe the review process for
reporting, and ensuring that they include all crimes in their
daily crime log.
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FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified7/22/16)
California State Student Association
Crime Victims United of California
OPPOSITION: (Verified7/22/16)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 80-0, 6/1/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto,
Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper,
Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim,
Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis,
Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte,
O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,
Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting,
Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
Prepared by: Kathleen Chavira / ED. / (916) 651-4105
8/3/16 18:36:22
**** END ****
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