BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 186
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Date of Hearing: June 23, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Jose Medina, Chair
SB
186 (Jackson) - As Amended April 16, 2015
SENATE VOTE: 35-0
SUBJECT: Community college districts: removal, suspension, or
expulsion.
SUMMARY: Authorizes a California Community College District
(CCD) to remove, suspend, or expel a student for sexual assault,
as specified. Specifically, this bill:
1)Authorizes a CCD to remove, suspend or expel a student for
specified sexual assault conduct that is unrelated to college
activity or attendance.
2)Provides that the statutes prohibiting a student from being
removed, suspended, or expelled unless the conduct for which
the student is being disciplined is related to college
activity or college attendance are not intended to limit the
ability of a CCD to take appropriate action in compliance with
federal law.
3)Expands the definition of "good cause" for which a CCD may
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suspend or expel a student to include both of the following:
a) Sexual assault, defined as actual or attempted sexual
contact with another person without that person's consent,
regardless of the victim's affiliation with the CCD,
including, but not limited to, any of the following:
i) Intentional touching of another person's intimate
parts without that person's consent or other intentional
sexual contact with another person without that person's
consent.
ii) Coercing, forcing, or attempting to coerce or force
a person to touch another person's intimate parts without
that person's consent.
iii) Rape, which includes penetration, no matter how
slight, without the person's consent, of either of the
following:
(1) The vagina or anus of a person by any body
part of another person or by an object.
(2) The mouth of a person by a sex organ of
another person.
b) Sexual exploitation, defined as a person taking sexual
advantage of another person for the benefit of anyone other
than that person without that person's consent, regardless
of the victim's affiliation with the CCD, including, but
not limited to, any of the following:
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i) Prostituting another person.
ii) Recording images, including video or photograph, or
audio of another person's sexual activity, intimate body
parts, or nakedness without that person's consent.
iii) Distributing images, including video or photograph,
or audio of another person's sexual activity, intimate
body parts, or nakedness, if the individual distributing
the images or audio knows or should have known that the
person depicted in the images or audio did not consent to
the disclosure and objected to the disclosure.
iv) Viewing another person's sexual activity, intimate
body parts, or nakedness in a place where that person
would have a reasonable expectation of privacy, without
that person's consent, and for the purpose of arousing or
gratifying sexual desire.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires the public higher education segments to adopt
specific rules governing student behavior with applicable
penalties for violations of the rules, and procedures by which
students are informed of rules. (Education Code Section 66300)
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
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violence/harassment occurred. (EDC Section 67386)
3)Authorizes a CCC, the president of a CCC, or the president's
designee, or an instructor to suspend a student for good
cause, as defined; authorizes the governing board to expel a
student for good cause when other means of correction fail to
bring about proper conduct, or when the presence of the
student causes a continuing danger to the physical safety of
the student or others; requires the suspension or expulsion of
a student to be accompanied by a hearing as provided; and,
authorizes a CCD to require a student whom the district has a
protective order against to apply for reinstatement.
(Education Code Section 76030)
4)Prohibits the removal suspension or expulsion of a community
college student unless the conduct resulting in the
disciplinary action is related to college activity or college
attendance. (Education Code Section 76034)
5)Authorizes a governing board of a CCD to deny enrollment,
permit enrollment, or permit conditional enrollment to a
student who has been expelled or is being considered for
expulsion from another CCD within the preceding five years for
specified offenses, following a hearing and appeal process.
(Education Code Section 76038)
6)Requires, under federal Title IX (20 U.S.C. sections
1681-1688), public and private postsecondary educational
institutions that participate in the federal financial aid
program to establish certain rights for victims of sexual
assault.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS: Background. On November 12, 2014, the author
participated in a roundtable at UC Santa Barbara (UCSB), hosted
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by the Assembly Higher Education Committee, to review UCSB's
handling of sexual assault complaints. Roundtable attendees
included representatives of UCSB and Santa Barbara Community
College (SBCC). According to testimony provided by SBCC
representatives, current law (EDC Section 76034) has been
interpreted to prohibit a CCD from taking action to suspend or
expel a student found to have violated a campus misconduct
policy, even in cases of rape, unless the misconduct occurred on
the college campus.
CCC Chancellor's Office opinion. In 2007, the CCC Chancellor's
Office issued Legal Opinion L 07-07 to provide guidance to CCDs
regarding the authority to discipline a student. The opinion
notes that EDC Section 76034 imposes a significant limitation on
the ability of a CCD to impose discipline for conduct even if
that conduct is criminal in nature. However, it goes on to state
that in 1966 the Attorney General indicated that this language
in a predecessor statute "should not be interpreted to mean that
school districts could only impose discipline for conduct that
actually occurred at school and during school hours. Instead,
the Attorney General determined that if a district could
identify a link between the conduct and school activities or
attendance, then conduct that occurred away from school could be
considered for disciplinary purposes." The opinion notes that
if a student commits a crime that has nothing to do with a
college activity or with college attendance, the college will be
hard-pressed to suspend or expel for that conduct.
UC and CSU Policies. There is no similar statutory restriction
on the University of California (UC) extension of its
jurisdiction over issues of student conduct beyond the campus.
The UC reports that its campuses have exercised this discretion
in the interpretation and application of student conduct code
expectations and discipline when it determines that the conduct
endangers the campus community. According to the California
State University (CSU), Title V regulations specifically state
that conduct that threatens the safety or security of the campus
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community, or substantially disrupts the functions or operation
of the University is within this jurisdiction whether it occurs
on or off campus.
Purpose of this bill. According to the author, this bill would
align CCC authority with that of UC and CSU by allowing CCCs to
hold students accountable for sexual assaults or sexual
exploitation whether on or off campus, and regardless of the
victim's affiliation with the college.
Related legislation. AB 969 (Williams), pending in the Senate,
would authorize a CCD to take specified action to remove,
suspend, expel, or deny access to a student found responsible
for specified activities. Should SB 186 and AB 969 both move
forward to the Governor, conflicts between the two bills would
need to be addressed. Committee staff understands conversations
between the authors regarding the different approaches taken in
these bills are ongoing.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
SB 186
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California Coalition Against Sexual Assault
California Federation of Teachers
Los Angeles Community College District
Opposition
None on File
Analysis Prepared by:Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960