Amended in Senate August 7, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1549

Introduced by Assembly Member Rendon

January 27, 2014

An act to begin delete amend Section 66281.5 of end delete begin insert add and repeal Section 66281.6 of end insert the Education Code, relating to postsecondary education.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1549, as amended, Rendon. Postsecondary education: begin delete Equity in Higher Education Act. end delete begin insert sexual assault: audits. end insert

Existing law, known as the Donahoe Higher Education Act, sets forth, among other things, the missions and functions of California’s public and independent segments of higher education and their respective institutions of higher education. Provisions of the act apply to the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California, by appropriate resolution, act to make a provision applicable.

A portion of the Donahoe Higher Education Act known as the Equity in Higher Education Act begin delete requires, among other things, that end delete begin insert requires end insert each postsecondary institution in the begin delete state have a written policy on sexual harassment and display a copy of that policy in a prominent location, as defined, in the main administrative building or other areas of the campus or schoolsite. end delete begin insert state, prior to receipt of any state financial assistance or student financial aid, to provide assurance that each program or activity conducted by the institution will be conducted in compliance with state laws prohibiting discrimination based on sex. end insert

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Title IX of the federal Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) prohibits discrimination based on sex, including sexual harassment, rape, and sexual assault, in an educational institution’s programs or activities.

end insert

This bill would begin delete add to the Equity in Higher Education Act a provision requiring that the written policy on sexual harassment also be displayed in a prominent location on the official Internet Web site of each postsecondary educational institution. end delete begin insert require the California State Auditor, beginning January 1, 2015, and every 3 years thereafter, until January 1, 2025, to audit 2 institutions selected by the California State Auditor from each segment of public postsecondary education, including the University of California, to determine if their practices are consistent with Title IX, its implementing regulations, and federal guidance on Title IX related to sexual harassment and assault. The bill would require a public institution, including a campus of the University of California, found to have practices that are inconsistent with those federal requirements and guidance to transfer funds from that institution’s administrative budget to the institution’s Title IX compliance office to provide additional resources to that office, in an amount determined by the governing board of the institution, and would require the California State Auditor, within one year of the audit, to report to the Legislature on those transfers of funds. end insert

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

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

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following: end insert

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(a) Compliance with Title IX of the federal Education
Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.) by
postsecondary educational institutions has become a national
issue, with many college and university campuses in the news for
not reporting, or not assisting, victims of sexual harassment and
assault in violation of Title IX.

end insert begin insert

(b) Sexual harassment and assault can have a devastating effect
on victims that can be compounded when a college or university
is unresponsive to reported sexual harassment or assault claims
or fails to accommodate victims of sexual harassment or assault.

end insert begin insert

(c) Findings of a recent audit performed by the California State
Auditor provide further evidence that something has to be done to
ensure that colleges and universities comply with the requirements
of Title IX related to sexual harassment and assault.

end insert begin insert

(d) This act is necessary to ensure the health and safety of
students who choose to attend California’s world renowned public
postsecondary educational institutions.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 66281.6 is added to the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert , to
read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 66281.6. end insert   

(a) (1) Beginning January 1, 2015, and every three
years thereafter, the California State Auditor shall audit the
programs and activities of public postsecondary institutions,
including the campuses of the University of California, to determine
if the public institution’s practices are consistent with Title IX of
the federal Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1681
et seq.), its implementing regulations, and federal guidance on
Title IX related to sexual harassment or assault.

(2) The audit shall be conducted at two institutions selected by
the California State Auditor from each of the three public
postsecondary education segments.

(b) (1) Notwithstanding Section 67400, if a public
postsecondary institution, including a campus of the University of
California, is found to have practices inconsistent with Title IX,
its implementing regulations, and federal guidance on Title IX
pursuant to subdivision (a), the governing board of the
postsecondary institution shall transfer funds from its
administrative budget to the institution’s Title IX compliance office
to provide more resources for that office.

(2) The amount transferred pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be
at the discretion of the governing board of the institution.

(c) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code,
the California State Auditor, within one year of the audit performed
pursuant to subdivision (a), shall, pursuant to Section 9795 of the
Government Code, report to the Legislature on any transfer of
funds made pursuant to subdivision (b) as a result of the findings
made in the audit.

(d) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2025,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
is enacted before January 1, 2025, deletes or extends that date.

end insert

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SECTION 1.  

Section 66281.5 of the Education Code is
amended to read:

66281.5.  

(a) It is the policy of the State of California, pursuant
to Section 66251, that all persons, regardless of their sex, should
enjoy freedom from discrimination of any kind in the
postsecondary educational institution of the state. The purpose of
this section is to provide notification of the prohibition against
sexual harassment as a form of sexual discrimination and to provide
notification of available remedies.

(b) Each postsecondary educational institution in the State of
California shall have a written policy on sexual harassment. It is
the intent of the Legislature that each educational institution in
this state include this policy in its regular policy statement rather
than distribute an additional written document.

(c) The postsecondary educational institution’s written policy
on sexual harassment shall include information on where to obtain
the specific rules and procedures for reporting charges of sexual
harassment and for pursuing available remedies.

(d) A copy of the postsecondary educational institution’s written
policy on sexual harassment shall be displayed in a prominent
location in the main administrative building or other area of the
campus or schoolsite and on the official Internet Web site of the
institution. “Prominent location” means that location, or those
locations, in the main administrative building or other area, and
on the official Internet Web site of the institution, where notices
regarding the institution’s rules, regulations, procedures, and
standards of conduct are posted.

(e) A copy of the postsecondary educational institution’s written
policy on sexual harassment, as it pertains to students, shall be
provided as part of any orientation program conducted for new
students at the beginning of each quarter, semester, or summer
session, as applicable.

(f) A copy of the postsecondary educational institution’s written
policy on sexual harassment shall be provided for each faculty
member, all members of the administrative staff, and all members
of the support staff at the beginning of the first quarter or semester
of the school year, or at the time that there is a new employee
hired.

(g) A copy of the postsecondary educational institution’s written
policy on sexual harassment shall appear in any publication of the
institution that sets forth the comprehensive rules, regulations,
procedures, and standards of conduct for the institution.

end delete