Senate Bill No. 1375

Introduced by Senator Jackson

February 19, 2016

An act to amend Section 48980 of, and to add Section 221.61 to, the Education Code, relating to educational equity.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1375, as introduced, Jackson. Educational equity: sex equity in education: federal Title IX notifications.

Existing law, the Sex Equity in Education Act, states the policy of the state that elementary and secondary school classes and courses, including nonacademic and elective classes and courses, be conducted without regard to the sex of the pupil enrolled in these classes or courses. Existing federal law, known as Title IX, 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. Existing law requires the governing board of a school district, at the beginning of the first semester or quarter of each school year, to notify parents or guardians of minor pupils of specified rights and responsibilities of the parent or guardian and of specified school district policies and procedures.

This bill would require, on or before July 1, 2017, all public schools, private schools that receive federal funds and are subject to the requirements of Title IX, school districts, and charter schools to post in a prominent and conspicuous location on their Internet Web sites specified information relating to Title IX. The bill would require that same information to be included in the yearly notification sent by the governing board of a school district to parents and guardians of minor pupils. The bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to send a letter through electronic means to all public schools, private schools that receive federal funds and are subject to the requirements of Title IX, school districts, and charter schools informing them of the new requirement that would be created by this bill and of their responsibilities under Title IX. Because the bill would impose additional duties on public schools, school districts, charter schools, and governing boards of school districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

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

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

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) The goal of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
(20 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.) is to provide greater levels of gender
equity in schools. The results have been higher enrollment in
colleges and universities, increased numbers of graduate degrees
in science and mathematics, increased participation in athletics,
and fairer treatment in cases of sexual and gender harassment.
These benefits not only lead to higher self-esteem and enhanced
leadership skills, but also to higher rates of graduation and greater
levels of career success. Title IX was approved in 1972, yet
noncompliance with its requirements is still problematic.

(b) Title IX addresses 10 key areas: Access to Higher Education,
Athletics, Career Education, Education for Pregnant and Parenting
Students, Employment, Learning Environment, Mathematics and
Science, Sexual Harassment, Standardized Testing, and
Technology.

(c) On January 20, 2015, the Senate Judiciary Committee held
an informational hearing entitled “Attaining Equal Opportunity
for Girls in California’s Secondary Schools: How our Schools are
Complying with Title IX.” During the hearing, the committee
heard from the United States Department of Education Office for
Civil Rights and the State Department of Education.

(d) As demonstrated by testimony provided during the
informational hearing, school districts are often unaware that Title
IX requires them to do the following:

(1) Appoint a Title IX coordinator at both the district and school
levels who is responsible for coordinating the school and school
district’s Title IX compliance. The coordinator should not have
other responsibilities that create a conflict of interest with his or
her role as coordinator.

(2) Adopt and publish rules and procedures on how to receive,
investigate, and respond to a complaint filed under Title IX.

(3) Notify all pupils, parents and guardians of pupils, and school
staff of their rights under Title IX.

(e) A 2015 American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of
California report found widespread unawareness among pupils
and school administrators of the rights of pregnant and parenting
pupils, including an extremely limited knowledge that pregnant
pupils and those recovering from childbirth and related medical
conditions are entitled to services available to other pupils with
temporary medical conditions.

(f) The ACLU report found that only 4 percent of school districts
surveyed included “parenting” status within the list of categories
in the nondiscrimination board policy, 25 percent of pupil survey
respondents indicated that they had been restricted from
participating in an extracurricular activity, such as physical
education or a sport, due to their pregnancy status, and 13 percent
of pupil survey respondents said that they were required by their
school district to move to an alternative or continuation school as
a result of their pregnancy despite the law requiring that enrollment
in separate programs for parenting pupils be strictly voluntary.

(g) Since Title IX was passed 44 years ago, it has been the
subject of over 20 proposed amendments, reviews, Supreme Court
cases, and other political actions. It is a living, breathing law that
benefits countless women and girls. The lack of knowledge of and
training on Title IX harms pupils.

SEC. 2.  

Section 221.61 is added to the Education Code, immediately following Section 221.6, to read:

221.61.  

(a) On or before July 1, 2017, public schools, private
schools that receive federal funds and are subject to the
requirements of Title IX, school districts, and charter schools shall
post in a prominent and conspicuous location on their Internet Web
sites all of the following:

(1) The name and contact information of the Title IX coordinator
for that public school, private school, school district, or charter
school, which shall include the Title IX coordinator’s phone
number and e-mail address.

(2) The rights of a pupil and the public and the responsibilities
of the public school, private school, school district, or charter
school under Title IX, which shall include, but shall not be limited
to, Internet Web links to information about those rights and
responsibilities located on the Internet Web sites of the
department’s Office for Equal Opportunity and the United States
Department of Education Office of Civil Rights.

(3) A description of how to file a complaint under Title IX,
which shall include all of the following:

(A) An explanation of the statute of limitations within which a
complaint must be filed after an alleged incident of discrimination
has occurred, and how a complaint may be filed beyond the statute
of limitations.

(B) An explanation of how the complaint will be investigated
and how the complainant may further pursue the complaint,
including, but not limited to, Internet Web links to this information
on the United States Department of Education Office for Civil
Rights’ Internet Web site.

(C) An Internet Web link to the United States Department of
Education Office for Civil Rights complaints form, and the contact
information for the office, which shall include the phone number
and e-mail address for the office.

(b) On or before April 1, 2017, and annually thereafter, the
Superintendent shall send a letter through electronic means to all
public schools, private schools that receive federal funds and are
subject to the requirements of Title IX, school districts, and charter
schools informing them of the requirement specified in subdivision
(a) and of their responsibilities under Title IX.

SEC. 3.  

Section 48980 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

48980.  

(a) At the beginning of the first semester or quarter of
the regular school term, the governing board of each school district
shall notify the parent or guardian of a minor pupil regarding the
right or responsibility of the parent or guardian under Sections
35291, 46014, 48205, 48207, 48208, 49403, 49423, 49451, 49472,
and 51938 and Chapter 2.3 (commencing with Section 32255) of
Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1.

(b) The notification also shall advise the parent or guardian of
the availability of individualized instruction as prescribed by
Section 48206.3, and of the program prescribed by Article 9
(commencing with Section 49510) of Chapter 9.

(c) The notification also shall advise the parents and guardians
of all pupils attending a school within the school district of the
schedule of minimum days and pupil-free staff development days,
and if minimum or pupil-free staff development days are scheduled
thereafter, the governing board of the begin insert school end insert district shall notify
parents and guardians of the affected pupils as early as possible,
but not later than one month before the scheduled minimum or
pupil-free day.

(d) The notification also may advise the parent or guardian of
the importance of investing for future college or university
education for their children and of considering appropriate
investment options, including, but not limited to, United States
savings bonds.

(e) The notification shall advise the parent or guardian of the
pupil that each pupil completing grade 12 is required to
successfully pass the high school exit examination administered
pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 60850) of Part
33. The notification shall include, at a minimum, the date of the
examination and the requirements for passing the examination,
and shall inform the parents and guardians regarding the
consequences of not passing the examination and shall inform
parents and guardians that passing the examination is a condition
of graduation.

(f) Each school district that elects to provide a fingerprinting
program pursuant to Article 10 (commencing with Section 32390)
of Chapter 3 of Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1 shall inform parents
or guardians of the program as specified in Section 32390.

(g) The notification also shall include a copy of the written
policy of the school district on sexual harassment established
pursuant to Section 231.5, as it relates to pupils.

(h) The notification shall advise the parent or guardian of all
existing statutory attendance options and local attendance options
available in the school district. This notification component shall
include all options for meeting residency requirements for school
attendance, programmatic options offered within the local
attendance areas, and any special programmatic options available
on both an interdistrict and intradistrict basis. This notification
component also shall include a description of all options, a
description of the procedure for application for alternative
attendance areas or programs, an application form from the begin insert school end insert
district for requesting a change of attendance, and a description of
the appeals process available, if any, for a parent or guardian denied
a change of attendance. The notification component also shall
include an explanation of the existing statutory attendance options,
including, but not limited to, those available under Section 35160.5,
Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 46600) of Part 26, and
subdivision (b) of Section 48204. The department shall produce
this portion of the notification and shall distribute it to all school
districts.

(i) It is the intent of the Legislature that the governing board of
each school district annually review the enrollment options
available to the pupils within its district and that the begin insert school end insert districts
strive to make available enrollment options that meet the diverse
needs, potential, and interests of the pupils of California.

(j) The notification shall advise the parent or guardian that a
pupil shall not have his or her grade reduced or lose academic
credit for any absence or absences excused pursuant to Section
48205 if missed assignments and tests that can reasonably be
provided are satisfactorily completed within a reasonable period
of time, and shall include the full text of Section 48205.

(k) The notification shall advise the parent or guardian of the
availability of state funds to cover the costs of advanced placement
examination fees pursuant to Section begin delete 52244. end delete begin insert 52242. end insert

(l) The notification to the parent or guardian of a minor pupil
enrolled in any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, also shall include the
information required pursuant to Section 51229.

(m) If a school district elects to allow a career technical
education course to satisfy the requirement imposed by
subparagraph (E) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section
51225.3, the school district shall include, in the notification
required pursuant to this section, both of the following:

(1) Information about the high school graduation requirements
of the school district and how each requirement satisfies or does
not satisfy the subject matter requirements for admission to the
California State University and the University of California.

(2) A complete list of career technical education courses offered
by the school district that satisfy the subject matter requirements
for admission to the California State University and the University
of California, and which of the specific college admission
requirements these courses satisfy.

begin insert

(n) The notification shall include the information specified in
paragraphs (1) through (3), inclusive, of subdivision (a) of Section
221.61.

end insert

SEC. 4.  

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.