BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



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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