Amended in Senate April 6, 2016

Senate BillNo. 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 amended, 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,begin insert county offices of education,end insert 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 tobegin insert annuallyend insert 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,begin insert county offices of education,end insert 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,begin insert county offices of education,end insert 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:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:

3(a) The goal of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
4(20 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.) is to provide greater levels of gender
5equity in schools. The results have been higher enrollment in
6colleges and universities, increased numbers of graduate degrees
7in science and mathematics, increased participation in athletics,
8and fairer treatment in cases of sexual and gender harassment.
9These benefits not only lead to higher self-esteem and enhanced
10leadership skills, but also to higher rates of graduation and greater
11levels of career success. Title IX was approved in 1972, yet
12noncompliance with its requirements is still problematic.

13(b) Title IX addresses 10 key areas: Access to Higher Education,
14Athletics, Career Education, Education for Pregnant and Parenting
15Students, Employment, Learning Environment, Mathematics and
16Science, Sexual Harassment, Standardized Testing, and
17Technology.

P3    1(c) On January 20, 2015, the Senate Judiciary Committee held
2an informational hearing entitled “Attaining Equal Opportunity
3for Girls in California’s Secondary Schools: How our Schools are
4Complying with Title IX.” During the hearing, the committee
5heard from the United States Department of Education Office for
6Civil Rights and the State Department of Education.

7(d) As demonstrated by testimony provided during the
8informational hearing, school districts are often unaware that Title
9IX requires them to do the following:

10(1) Appoint a Title IX coordinator at both the district and school
11levels who is responsible for coordinating the school and school
12district’s Title IX compliance. The coordinator should not have
13other responsibilities that create a conflict of interest with his or
14her role as coordinator.

15(2) Adopt and publish rules and procedures on how to receive,
16investigate, and respond to a complaint filed under Title IX.

17(3) Notify all pupils, parents and guardians of pupils, and school
18staff of their rights under Title IX.

19(e) A 2015 American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of
20California report found widespread unawareness among pupils
21and school administrators of the rights of pregnant and parenting
22pupils, including an extremely limited knowledge that pregnant
23pupils and those recovering from childbirth and related medical
24conditions are entitled to services available to other pupils with
25temporary medical conditions.

26(f) The ACLU report found that only 4 percent of school districts
27surveyed included “parenting” status within the list of categories
28in the nondiscrimination board policy, 25 percent of pupil survey
29respondents indicated that they had been restricted from
30participating in an extracurricular activity, such as physical
31education or a sport, due to their pregnancy status, and 13 percent
32of pupil survey respondents said that they were required by their
33school district to move to an alternative or continuation school as
34a result of their pregnancy despite the law requiring that enrollment
35in separate programs for parenting pupils be strictly voluntary.

36(g) Since Title IX was passed 44 years ago, it has been the
37subject of over 20 proposed amendments, reviews, Supreme Court
38 cases, and other political actions. It is a living, breathing law that
39benefits countless women and girls. The lack of knowledge of and
40training on Title IX harms pupils.

P4    1

SEC. 2.  

Section 221.61 is added to the Education Code, 2immediately following Section 221.6, to read:

3

221.61.  

(a) On or before July 1, 2017, public schools, private
4schools that receive federal funds and are subject to the
5requirements of Title IX, school districts,begin insert county offices of
6education,end insert
and charter schools shall post in a prominent and
7conspicuous location on their Internet Web sites all of the
8following:

9(1) The name and contact information of the Title IX coordinator
10for that public school, private school, school district,begin insert county office
11of education,end insert
or charter school, which shall include the Title IX
12coordinator’s phone number andbegin delete e-mailend deletebegin insert emailend insert address.

13(2) The rights of a pupil and the public and the responsibilities
14of the public school, private school, school district,begin insert county office
15of education,end insert
or charter school under Title IX, which shall include,
16but shall not be limited to, Internet Web links to information about
17those rights and responsibilities located on the Internet Web sites
18of the department’s Office for Equal Opportunity and the United
19States Department of Education Office of Civilbegin delete Rights.end deletebegin insert Rights,
20and the list of rights specified in Section 221.8.end insert

21(3) A description of how to file a complaint under Title IX,
22which shall include all of the following:

23(A) An explanation of the statute of limitations within which a
24complaint must be filed after an alleged incident of discrimination
25has occurred, and how a complaint may be filed beyond the statute
26of limitations.

27(B) An explanation of how the complaint will be investigated
28and how the complainant may further pursue the complaint,
29including, but not limited to, Internet Web links to this information
30on the United States Department of Education Office for Civil
31Rights’ Internet Web site.

32(C) An Internet Web link to the United States Department of
33Education Office for Civil Rights complaints form, and the contact
34information for the office, which shall include the phone number
35andbegin delete e-mailend deletebegin insert emailend insert address for the office.

36(b) On or before April 1, 2017, and annually thereafter, the
37Superintendent shall send a letter through electronic means to all
38public schools, private schools that receive federal funds and are
39subject to the requirements of Title IX, school districts,begin insert county
40offices of education,end insert
and charter schools informing them of the
P5    1requirement specified in subdivision (a) and of their responsibilities
2under Title IX.

3

SEC. 3.  

Section 48980 of the Education Code is amended to
4read:

5

48980.  

(a) At the beginning of the first semester or quarter of
6the regular school term, the governing board of each school district
7shall notify the parent or guardian of a minor pupil regarding the
8right or responsibility of the parent or guardian under Sections
935291, 46014, 48205, 48207, 48208, 49403, 49423, 49451, 49472,
10and 51938 and Chapter 2.3 (commencing with Section 32255) of
11Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1.

12(b) The notification also shall advise the parent or guardian of
13the availability of individualized instruction as prescribed by
14Section 48206.3, and of the program prescribed by Article 9
15(commencing with Section 49510) of Chapter 9.

16(c) The notification also shall advise the parents and guardians
17of all pupils attending a school within the school district of the
18schedule of minimum days and pupil-free staff development days,
19and if minimum or pupil-free staff development days are scheduled
20thereafter, the governing board of the school district shall notify
21parents and guardians of the affected pupils as early as possible,
22but not later than one month before the scheduled minimum or
23pupil-free day.

24(d) The notification also may advise the parent or guardian of
25the importance of investing for future college or university
26education for their children and of considering appropriate
27investment options, including, but not limited to, United States
28savings bonds.

29(e) The notification shall advise the parent or guardian of the
30pupil that each pupil completing grade 12 is required to
31successfully pass the high school exit examination administered
32pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 60850) of Part
3333. The notification shall include, at a minimum, the date of the
34examination and the requirements for passing the examination,
35and shall inform the parents and guardians regarding the
36consequences of not passing the examination and shall inform
37parents and guardians that passing the examination is a condition
38of graduation.

39(f) Each school district that elects to provide a fingerprinting
40program pursuant to Article 10 (commencing with Section 32390)
P6    1of Chapter 3 of Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1 shall inform parents
2or guardians of the program as specified in Section 32390.

3(g) The notification also shall include a copy of the written
4policy of the school district on sexual harassment established
5pursuant to Section 231.5, as it relates to pupils.

6(h) The notification shall advise the parent or guardian of all
7existing statutory attendance options and local attendance options
8available in the school district. This notification component shall
9include all options for meeting residency requirements for school
10attendance, programmatic options offered within the local
11attendance areas, and any special programmatic options available
12on both an interdistrict and intradistrict basis. This notification
13component also shall include a description of all options, a
14description of the procedure for application for alternative
15attendance areas or programs, an application form from the school
16district for requesting a change of attendance, and a description of
17the appeals process available, if any, for a parent or guardian denied
18a change of attendance. The notification component also shall
19include an explanation of the existing statutory attendance options,
20including, but not limited to, those available under Section 35160.5,
21Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 46600) of Part 26, and
22subdivision (b) of Section 48204. The department shall produce
23this portion of the notification and shall distribute it to all school
24districts.

25(i) It is the intent of the Legislature that the governing board of
26each school district annually review the enrollment options
27available to the pupils within its district and that the school districts
28strive to make available enrollment options that meet the diverse
29needs, potential, and interests of the pupils of California.

30(j) The notification shall advise the parent or guardian that a
31pupil shall not have his or her grade reduced or lose academic
32credit for any absence or absences excused pursuant to Section
3348205 if missed assignments and tests that can reasonably be
34provided are satisfactorily completed within a reasonable period
35of time, and shall include the full text of Section 48205.

36(k) The notification shall advise the parent or guardian of the
37availability of state funds to cover the costs of advanced placement
38examination fees pursuant to Section 52242.

P7    1(l) The notification to the parent or guardian of a minor pupil
2enrolled in any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, also shall include the
3information required pursuant to Section 51229.

4(m) If a school district elects to allow a career technical
5education course to satisfy the requirement imposed by
6subparagraph (E) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section
751225.3, the school district shall include, in the notification
8required pursuant to this section, both of the following:

9(1) Information about the high school graduation requirements
10of the school district and how each requirement satisfies or does
11not satisfy the subject matter requirements for admission to the
12California State University and the University of California.

13(2) A complete list of career technical education courses offered
14by the school district that satisfy the subject matter requirements
15for admission to the California State University and the University
16of California, and which of the specific college admission
17requirements these courses satisfy.

18(n) The notification shall include the information specified in
19paragraphs (1)begin delete throughend deletebegin insert toend insert (3), inclusive, of subdivision (a) of
20Section 221.61.

21

SEC. 4.  

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
22this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
23local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
24pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
254 of Title 2 of the Government Code.



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