BILL NUMBER: SB 195 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 13, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Senator Florez
FEBRUARY 23, 2009
An act to amend Section 66290 of the Education Code, relating to
postsecondary education.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 195, as amended, Florez. Equity in Higher Education Act.
Existing
(1) Existing law, the Equity in
Higher Education Act, provides that it is the policy of the state to
afford all persons, regardless of disability, gender, nationality,
race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or other specified
bases, equal rights and opportunities in the postsecondary
institutions of the state. The act requires a postsecondary
educational institution, as defined, prior to the receipt of any
state financial assistance or state student financial aid, to provide
assurance to the agency administering the funds that each program or
activity conducted by the institution will be conducted in
compliance with the act and all other applicable provisions of state
law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex. The act permits a
postsecondary educational institution to provide a single assurance,
not more than one page in length and signed by an appropriate
responsible official of the institution, for all programs and
activities conducted by the institution.
This bill would additionally require a postsecondary educational
institution to provide assurance that each program and activity
conducted by the institution will be conducted in compliance with
applicable provisions of federal law prohibiting discrimination on
the basis of sex. The bill would require a postsecondary
educational institution to provide a single assurance, as specified,
for the assurance provided by the postsecondary
educational institution to be signed by specified officers of
the institution, would require the assurance to apply to
all programs and activities, including, but not limited to, academic
and athletic programs , and would delete the one-page limit on
the assurance . The bill would require that assurance to
include specified information, including information regarding
compliance with the act. The bill would require that information
to be available for public inspection, upon request. The bill
would provide for a civil penalty for a violation of these
provisions for a false declaration of specified
matters required by these provisions . Because
this bill would impose new requirements on community college
districts under the act, it would constitute a state-mandated local
program.
(2) 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: no yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 66290 of the Education Code is amended to read:
66290. (a) Prior to receipt of any state financial assistance or
state student financial aid, a postsecondary educational institution
shall provide assurance to the agency administering the funds, in the
manner required by the funding agency, that each program or activity
conducted by the postsecondary educational institution will be
conducted in compliance with this chapter and all other applicable
provisions of state law and federal law prohibiting discrimination on
the basis of sex. A single assurance, not more than one
page in length and signed by an appropriate responsible official of
the postsecondary educational institution, shall be
which shall be signed by the Title IX compliance officer of the
applicable campus or location of the postsecondary educational
instituti on, if any, and the chief administrative
official of the postsecondary educational institution, shall be
provided for all the programs and activities conducted by a
postsecondary educational institution, including, but not limited to,
academic and athletic programs. The assurance shall include, at a
minimum, all of the following information:
(1) Information regarding compliance with this chapter for each
campus or location of the postsecondary educational institution.
(2) The annual number of complaints of prohibited discrimination
filed pursuant to Section 66292.3 66292.3,
including the number of written complaints received by each campus or
location of the postsecondary educational institution .
(3) The annual number of civil actions filed against the
institution pursuant to Section 66292.4.
(3)
(4) A description of any public information
or awareness campaigns against discrimination, as described in
Section 66270, provided by the postsecondary educational institution.
(b) The information described in paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive,
of subdivision (a), as it pertains to a campus or a location of the
postsecondary educational institution, shall be available for public
inspection at that campus or location, upon request.
(b)
(c) A person identified in paragraph (1) of
subdivision (d) who declares as true any material matter
required by this section that he or she knows or reasonably
should have known to be false shall be subject to a civil
penalty not exceeding fifty thousand dollars ($50,000). The civil
penalty provided for in this subdivision shall be exclusively
assessed and recovered by the Attorney General in a civil action
brought in the name of the people of the State of California in any
court of competent jurisdiction.
(d) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Chief administrative official" means one of the following,
as applicable:
(A) The President of the University of California.
(B) The Chancellor of the California State University.
(C) The president of a campus of the California Community
Colleges.
(D) The president or highest ranking official of the private
postsecondary educational institution.
(2) "Title IX compliance officer" means the employee designated
by the postsecondary educational institution to coordinate compliance
with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. Sec.
1681 et seq.) pursuant to the federal regulations implementing that
law.
SEC. 2. 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.