BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1375
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Date of Hearing: June 15, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Patrick O'Donnell, Chair
SB
1375 (Jackson) - As Amended May 31, 2016
[Note: This bill has been double referred to the Assembly
Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism, and Internet
Media, and if passed will be heard by that committee as it
relates to issues under it jurisdiction.]
SENATE VOTE: 39-0
SUBJECT: Educational equity: sex equity in education: federal
Title IX notifications
SUMMARY: Requires educational institutions to post specified
information about Title IX on their websites. Specifically,
this bill:
1)Requires, by July 1, 2017, public schools, private schools
that receive federal funds and are subject to the requirements
of Title IX, school districts, county offices of education,
and charter schools to post in a prominent and conspicuous
location on their websites all of the following:
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a) the name and contact information of the Title IX
coordinator, including the coordinator's phone number and
email address
b) the rights of students and the public and the
responsibilities of the school under Title IX, including,
links that information on the websites of the California
Department of Education (CDE) Office for Equal Opportunity
and the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil
Rights (OCR)
c) a description of how to file a complaint under Title IX,
including:
i) 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
ii) an explanation of how the complaint will be
investigated and how the complainant may further pursue
the complaint, including links to this information on the
OCR website
iii) a link to the OCR complaint form, and the contact
information for the office
2)Requires, by April 1, 2017, and annually thereafter, the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to email a letter
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to all schools informing them of the requirements of the bill
and of their responsibilities under Title IX.
EXISTING LAW:
Federal law:
1) Provides that, in part, "no person in the United States
shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation
in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to
discrimination under any educational program of activity
receiving Federal financial assistance." Enforcement of
compliance is initiated upon the filing of a complaint
alleging a violation of Title IX.
2) Requires each school district and county office of
education, or a local public or private agency that
receives funding from the state or federal government, to
designate a person to serve as the Title IX compliance
coordinator to enforce compliance at the local level,
including coordinating any complaints of non-compliance.
State law:
1) Requires the CDE to post on its website, in both English
and Spanish, and at a reading level that may be
comprehended by students in high school, the information
set forth in the federal regulations implementing Title IX.
2) Establishes a list of rights which are based on the
relevant provisions of Title IX, and authorizes the CDE to
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use this list to meet the posting requirement described
above. Statutes provide that students have the right to:
a) fair and equitable treatment and the right to not
be discriminated against based on sex
b) be provided with an equitable opportunity to
participate in all academic extracurricular
activities, including athletics.
c) inquire of the athletic director of a student's
school as to the athletic opportunities offered by the
school
d) apply for athletic scholarships
e) receive equitable treatment and benefits in the
provision of a number of aspects of athletic
participation, including equipment and supplies,
scheduling of games and practices, transportation,
coaching, and locker rooms.
f) have access to a gender equity coordinator to
answer questions regarding gender equity laws
g) contact the CDE and the California
Interscholastic Federation to access information on
gender equity laws
h) file a confidential discrimination complaint with
the OCR or the CDE for discrimination or unequal
treatment on the basis of sex
i) pursue civil remedies for discrimination
j) be protected against retaliation for filing a
discrimination complaint
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3)Requires each public school that offers competitive athletics to
publicly make available, beginning with the 2015-16 school
year and annually thereafter, information specific to athletic
participation. Schools are to use a three-prong test to
determine if athletic interests of both sexes have been
accommodated. These provisions are known as the Sex Equity in
Education Act.
4)Requires each educational institution in California (K-12 and
postsecondary education) to have a written policy on sexual
harassment, and requires schools to display the policy in a
prominent location in the main administrative building or
other area of the campus or schoolsite, be provided as part of
any orientation program for new students, provided to each
faculty member, administrative staff and support staff, and
appear in any publication of the school that sets forth the
rules, regulations, procedures and standards of conduct.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
Mandate costs: One-time costs potentially in the hundreds of
thousands may be incurred to the extent schools and local
educational agencies claim reimbursement for costs to make the
Title IX information available on their websites.
(Proposition 98)
CDE cites minimal costs to develop and send the letter as
required by this bill.
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COMMENTS:
Need for the bill. According to the author's office:
"According to testimony provided by both the OCR and CDE, school
districts are often unaware that Title IX requires them to:
Appoint a Title IX coordinator at both the district and
school level who is responsible for coordinating the school
and school district's Title IX compliance, and that the
coordinator should not have other responsibilities that
create a conflict of interest with his or her role as
coordinator.
Adopt and publish rules and procedures on how to
receive, investigate, and respond to a complaint filed
under Title IX.
Notify all students, their families, and staff of their
rights under Title IX.
This lack of awareness can be seen in common day interpretations
of Title IX. Whereas many people typically correlate Title IX
with gender equity in interscholastic athletics, many are
unaware that Title IX forbids discrimination on the basis of sex
in any federally funded education program or activity. This
includes protections against gender bias, gender-based
harassment, sexual harassment, and sexual violence.
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Although the CDE states on its website that 'many school
districts now have a Title IX coordinator,' schools remain
unaware of the consequences with being noncompliant with Title
IX. This can result in the school district being held legally
responsible if it becomes aware of or does not address, either
through lack of response or lack of awareness of a complaint or
violation of Title IX.
SB 1375 can help to bridge the gap between awareness and lack of
compliance by providing a simply yet effective way of ensuring
districts uphold their responsibilities under Title IX."
Existing posting requirements. Current law requires the CDE to
post on its website the information set forth in the federal
regulations implementing Title IX. There is no requirement in
current law to post information about Title IX, or the contact
information for the Title IX coordinator, on school campuses or
on websites of school districts.
2015 OCR guidance supports putting Title IX information on
websites. In an April, 2015 "Dear Colleague" letter, the OCR
reaffirmed schools' obligation to make Title IX information
visible in the community. It stated:
"The Title IX coordinator's contact information must be widely
distributed and should be easily found on the recipient's
website and in various publications?OCR encourages recipients
to create a page on the recipient's website that includes the
name and contact information of its Title IX coordinator(s),
relevant Title IX policies and grievance procedures, and other
resources related to Title IX compliance and gender equity. A
link to this page should be prominently displayed on the
recipient's homepage." [emphasis added]
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This bill's requirements to post information on school and
district websites is consistent with the recommendations in this
recent federal guidance.
Committee amendments. Staff recommends that the bill be
amended to specify that the information required to be posted
may be posted on the school district's website if the individual
school does not maintain its own website, and that nothing in
the act shall be construed to require an educational institution
to establish a website if it does not already have one.
Prior legislation. SB 1349 (Jackson), Chapter 258, Statutes of
2014 requires public schools, including charter schools, to make
public specific information regarding pupil participation in
competitive athletics, beginning with the 2015-16 school year
and annually thereafter.
SB 429 (Jackson) of the 2015-16 Session would have required the
SPI to designate a county office of education to create an
instructional video on Title IX compliance and a Title IX
students' rights video. SB 429 was held in the Senate
Appropriations Committee.
AB 2512 (Bonilla) of the 2013-14 Session would have authorized,
beginning January 1, 2018, school districts and county offices
of education to include information relative to compliance with
Title IX gender equity in the "school climate" category of local
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control and accountability plans. AB 2512 was vetoed by the
Governor, whose message read:
I appreciate the author's concerns but believe that the
recently enacted Local Control Funding Formula should not now
be subjected to a series of amendments. The law envisions that
local communities fashion the plans that work best for them.
State intervention in this process is premature.
SB 248 (Oropeza) of the, 2009-10 Session required school
districts, the California Community Colleges (CCC), and the
California State University (CSU) to post the list of rights
afforded to students under Title IX on school districts'
websites and campuses of the CCC and CSU. SB 248 was vetoed by
Governor Schwarzenegger, whose veto message read:
I have previously signed the author's bill into law that
required the posting of existing Title IX requirements on
school campuses and on the California Department of
Education website to help promote greater student and
parental awareness of athletic equity issues in
California schools. This bill is largely duplicative and
unnecessary, and would result in costs that are imprudent
to incur at this time. Therefore, I am unable to sign
this bill.
AB 2240 (Oropeza) of the 2003-04 Session required the CDE to
post on its website the Equity in Athletics Bill of Rights and
required each school district that offered competitive or club
sports to print and post posters setting forth the Equity in
Athletics Bill of Rights. AB 2240 was vetoed by Governor
Schwarzenegger, whose veto message read:
The Federal Title IX requirements that are intended to
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ban sex discrimination in school academics and athletics
have provided a worthy benefit to improving equity in
athletics for women and men. However, establishing an
additional Equity in Athletics Bill of Rights is
generally duplicative and unnecessary. Instead, the
Legislature could approve a bill requiring the posting of
existing Title IX requirements, on school campuses and on
the California Department of Education website, to help
promote greater student and parental awareness of
athletic equity issues in California schools.
AB 2323 (Jackson) of the 2003-04 Session would have required the
CDE to develop a Gender Equity Compliance Survey for high
schools. AB 2323 was held in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center (sponsor)
American Association of University Women
Equal Rights Advocates
Equality California
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San Francisco Unified School District
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Tanya Lieberman / ED. / (916)
319-2087