Amended in Assembly August 15, 2016

Amended in Assembly August 4, 2016

Amended in Assembly June 29, 2016

Amended in Assembly June 23, 2016

Amended in Assembly June 13, 2016

Amended in Senate May 4, 2016

Amended in Senate April 11, 2016

Amended in Senate March 28, 2016

Senate Bill No. 1146

Introduced by Senator Lara

February 18, 2016

An act to add Sections begin delete 66290.1 and 66290.2 end delete begin insert 66290.1, 66290.2, and 66290.3 end insert to the Education Code, begin delete and to add Section 11135.5 to the Government Code, end delete relating to discrimination.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1146, as amended, Lara. Discrimination: postsecondary education.

The Equity in Higher Education Act, among other things, prohibits a person from being subjected to discrimination on the basis of specified attributes, including sex, in any program or activity conducted by a postsecondary educational institution that receives, or benefits from, state financial assistance or enrolls students who receive state student financial aid. Existing federal law, known as Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, prohibits a person, on the basis of sex, from being excluded from participation in, being denied the benefits of, or being subject to discrimination under, any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. Both the federal and state laws do not apply to an educational institution that is controlled by a religious organization if the application would not be consistent with the religious tenets of that organization. Title IX provides a private right of action for violation of its provisions by a public postsecondary educational institution.

This bill would require an institution that claims an exemption from either the Equity in Higher Education Act or Title IX to make specified disclosures to the institution’s current and prospective students, faculty members, and employees, and to the Student Aid Commission, concerning the institution’s claim for the exemption. The bill would require the commission to collect the information it receives and post and maintain a list on the commission’s Internet Web site of all institutions claiming the exemption and their respective bases for claiming the exemption. begin insert The bill would require the institution to submit a quarterly report to the commission that contains a detailed explanation of the reason for each student suspension or expulsion that occurred during the preceding quarter and whether the student was a Cal Grant recipient. end insert

begin delete

Existing law provides that no person in the state shall, on the basis of race, national origin, ethnic group identification, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, color, genetic information, or disability, be unlawfully denied full and equal access to the benefits of, or be unlawfully subjected to discrimination under, any program or activity that is conducted, operated, administered, or funded by the state.

end delete begin delete

This bill would, except as provided, specify that a postsecondary educational institution that is controlled by a religious organization and that receives financial assistance from the state or enrolls students who receive state financial assistance is subject to that prohibition and violation of that prohibition may be enforced by a private right of action.

end delete

This bill would make its provisions severable.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 66290.1 is added to the Education Code,
to read:

66290.1.  

(a) Each postsecondary educational institution in this
state that claims an exemption pursuant to Section 901(a)(3) of
the federal Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20
U.S.C. Sec. 1681(a)(3)) or Section 66271 shall disclose to current
and prospective students, faculty members, and employees the
basis for claiming the exemption and the scope of the allowable
activities provided by the exemption.

(b) The disclosure required in subdivision (a) shall be made in
all of the following ways:

(1) The disclosure shall be displayed in a prominent location of
the campus or school site. “Prominent location” means that
location, or those locations, in the main administrative building or
other area where notices regarding the institution’s rules,
regulations, procedures, and standards of conduct are posted.

(2) The disclosure shall be included in written materials sent to
prospective students seeking admission to the institution.

(3) The disclosure shall be provided as part of orientation
programs conducted for new students at the beginning of each
quarter, semester, or summer session, as applicable.

(4) The disclosure shall be provided to each faculty member,
member of the administrative staff, and member of the support
staff at the beginning of the first quarter or semester of each school
year. The disclosure shall be provided to each new employee upon
his or her hire.

(5) The disclosure shall be included in any publication of the
institution that sets forth the comprehensive rules, regulations,
procedures, and standards of conduct for the institution.

SEC. 2.  

Section 66290.2 is added to the Education Code, to
read:

66290.2.  

(a) Each postsecondary educational institution in this
state that claims an exemption pursuant to Section 901(a)(3) of
the federal Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20
U.S.C. Sec. 1681(a)(3)) or Section 66271 shall submit to the
Student Aid Commission copies of all materials submitted to, and
received from, a state or federal agency concerning the granting
of the exemption.

(b) The Student Aid Commission shall collect the information
received pursuant to subdivision (a) and post and maintain a list
on the commission’s Internet Web site of the institutions that have
claimed the exemption with their respective bases for claiming the
exemption.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 66290.3 is added to the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert , to
read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 66290.3. end insert   

Each postsecondary educational institution in this
state that claims an exemption pursuant to Section 901(a)(3) of
the federal Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20
U.S.C. Sec. 1681(a)(3)) or Section 66271 shall submit a quarterly
report to the Student Aid Commission that includes both of the
following:

(a) A detailed explanation of the reason for each student
suspension or expulsion that occurred during the preceding
quarter, including on explanation of the policy the student violated
and whether that policy is authorized under the exemption.

(b) Whether the student was a Cal Grant recipient.

end insert

begin delete

SEC. 3.  

Section 11135.5 is added to the Government Code, to
read:

11135.5.  

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, a postsecondary
educational institution that is controlled by a religious organization
and that receives financial assistance from the state or enrolls
students who receive state financial assistance is subject to Section
11135, and violation of that section may be enforced by a private
right of action as described in Section 11139.

(b) This section shall not prohibit an institution, as described in
subdivision (a), from doing any of the following:

(1) Providing housing or restroom accommodations reserved
for either male or female students if students are afforded housing
or restroom accommodations consistent with their gender identity.

(2) Providing separate housing accommodations reserved
primarily for married students or for students with minor
dependents who reside with them if “married” includes both
married opposite-sex and married same-sex couples.

(3) Enforcing rules of moral conduct and establishing housing
policies in accordance with these rules of moral conduct if the
rules are uniformly applicable to all students regardless of the
student’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

(4) Enforcing religious practices if these practices are uniformly
applicable to all students regardless of the student’s sexual
orientation or gender identity.

(5) Admitting only students of one sex if the institution
traditionally and continually from its establishment had that policy.

(c) This section does not apply to an institution described in
subdivision (a) if the purpose of the institution is to prepare
students to become ministers of the religion or to enter upon some
other vocation of the religion and the application of this section
would not be consistent with the religious tenets of the
organization.

(d) This section does not prevent an institution described in
subdivision (a) from prohibiting the use of the institution’s real
property for any purpose that is not consistent with the religious
tenets of the organization.

(e) Except for the provisions of Sections 11135 and 11139 and
this section, this article does not apply to an institution described
in subdivision (a).

end delete

SEC. 4.  

The provisions of this act are severable. If any
provision of this act or its application is held invalid, that invalidity
shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given
effect without the invalid provision or application.