BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION Senator Carol Liu, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Bill No: AB 1653 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Author: |Weber | |-----------+-----------------------------------------------------| |Version: |May 31, 2016 Hearing | | |Date: June 22, 2016 | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Urgency: |No |Fiscal: | Yes | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Consultant:|Olgalilia Ramirez | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Postsecondary education: campus climate NOTE: This bill has been referred to the Committees on Education and Business Professions and Economic Development. A "do pass" motion should include referral to the Committee on Business Professions and Economic Development. SUMMARY This bill requires the California Community Colleges (CCC) Board of Governors (BOG) and the California State University (CSU) Trustees, the governing body of each private postsecondary educational institution in the state and encourages each University of California (UC) campus, to each generate a report, as specified, pertaining campus climate. BACKGROUND Existing law: 1) Declares it a shared goal of public education and independent institutions of higher education to achieve educational equity not only through a diverse and representative student body and faculty, but also through educational environments in which each person, regardless of race, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, disability or economic circumstances AB 1653 (Weber) Page 2 of ? has a reasonable change to fully develop his or her potential. (Education Code § 66010.2) 2) Provides that it is the policy of the State of California to afford all persons, regardless of disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other basis that is contained in the prohibition of hate crimes, as specified, equal rights and opportunities in the postsecondary institutions of the state. (EC § 66251) 3) Declares that, consistent with specified federal law provisions, all students have the right to participate fully in the educational process, free from discrimination and harassment and that California's postsecondary educational institutions have an affirmative obligation to combat racism, sexism, and other forms of bias, and a responsibility to provide equal educational opportunity. It also declares the Legislature's intent that each postsecondary educational institution undertake educational activities to counter discriminatory incidents on school grounds and, within constitutional bounds, to minimize and eliminate a hostile environment on school grounds that impair the access of students to equal educational opportunities. (EC § 66252) 4) Requests the UC Regents, CSU Trustees, and the governing board of each community college district to adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying to be included within the rules and regulations governing student behavior within their respective segments of public postsecondary education. (EC § 66302) 5) Requires, through the federal law, colleges and universities, as a condition of federal student aid program participation, to publish annual campus security reports, maintain crime logs, provide timely warnings of crimes that present a public safety risk, and maintain ongoing crime statistics. (20 United States Code § 1092(f)) 6) Requires, beginning no later than January 1, 2004, the AB 1653 (Weber) Page 3 of ? State Auditor to audit at least six colleges every three years regarding to evaluate the accuracy of their statistics and procedures for complying with the Clery Act's crime statistics reporting requirements. The State Auditor is required to report the audit results to the respective Chairs of the Assembly Committee on Higher Education and the Senate Committee on Education. (EC § 67382) ANALYSIS This bill: 1) Requires the California Community Colleges (CCC) Board of Governors (BOG) and the California State University (CSU) Trustees, the governing body of each private postsecondary educational institution in the state and encourages each University of California (UC) campus, to generate a report once every biennium of the legislative session, beginning with the 2017-2018 Regular Session that include, but is not limited to the following elements: a) New and recent administrative efforts intended to affect campus climate, reduce food insecurity and student homelessness. b) Recent campus program developments related to gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and gender identity that impact campus climate. 1) Requires the CCC BOG and the CSU Trustees, the governing body of each private postsecondary educational institution in the state and encourages UC campuses, to: a) Each post the report on their respective Internet Web sites. b) Send the report to the Governor, the Attorney General, and the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature. AB 1653 (Weber) Page 4 of ? c) Create, review every two years thereafter, and, as necessary, update protocols, policies, and procedures regarding compliance with the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery) and federal the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWR). 3) Requires California Community Colleges Board of Governors to request, but not require, specified campus climate information from community college districts and base its report on data available from participating community college districts. 4) Defines "campus climate" to mean a measure of an individual's experience within a learning environment, specifically on the current attitudes, practices, policies, and behaviors of campus life that impact the success and retention of all members of a campus community. 5) Deletes the request that the California State University (CSU) Trustees and each community college district governing board adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying as part of their rules and regulations governing student behavior and instead, requires such action if the governing body expends funds to support activities related to campus climate, as defined. 6) Requests the University of California (UC) Regent adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying to be included within their rules and regulations governing student behavior. 10) Establishes if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, the state will reimburse applicable entities. STAFF COMMENTS 1) Source of the bill. This bill is a result of the efforts of the Assembly Select Committee on Campus Climate. According to the author, "The select committee sought to examine public safety protocols and practices of California's higher education institutions while exploring AB 1653 (Weber) Page 5 of ? solutions to encourage campus safety and promote healthier campus climates. The select committee's mission was to ensure that the state's college campuses are safe and welcoming environments for all students." The author contends that, existing law does not specifically address campus climate and that this measure would be the appropriate next step in creating some type of oversight of campus climate. According to the author, the UC recently conducted a systemwide campus climate survey which revealed that every campus handles related situations differently. As California's higher education systems continue to grow and become increasingly diverse, students need to feel safe on campus and knowledgeable about campus procedures, policies, and services. 2) Assembly Select Committee on Campus Climate. Created by former Speaker John Perez in 2014, the select committee was a result of a number of incidents such as a 2013 case involving an African-American student who experienced on-campus racial bullying at San Jose State. The committee held four hearings throughout the state and heard from systemwide representatives, university administrators, faculty, university staff, students, community organizations and policy experts. The committee issued a report with its recommendations in October 2014. Among other things, the committee recommended that the University of California (UC), California State University (CSU) and California Community College (CCC) provide an annual report to the Legislature on recent challenges and developments in regards to campus climate. In 2015 the select committee held two follow-up hearings. The first hearing, in collaboration with the Joint Legislative Audit Committee and the Assembly Higher Education Committee, focused on sexual assaults and sexual violence on college campuses. The second hearing provided insight into student food insecurity as well as student homelessness issues. This bill implements the 2014 report recommendations and information from the 2015 hearings with the intent that there be a certain level of oversight and that the Legislature be kept informed of any major changes at California colleges and universities. 3) Related state audit. In July 2015, the Bureau of State Audits (BSA) issued a report, California's Postsecondary AB 1653 (Weber) Page 6 of ? Educational Institutions: More Guidance Is Needed to Increase Compliance with Federal Crime Reporting Requirements. The BSA visited six institutions to determine whether their annual security reports issued in 2014 contained all required security policies and accurate crime statistics for 2013. These included Fresno City College, San Francisco State University, Shasta College, Stanford University, University of California at San Diego, and University of Redlands. They also surveyed 79 of the 573 campuses that reported no Clery Act crimes for 2013 to determine whether their institutions' procedures for compiling and distributing the statistics were sufficient. The BSA found that none of the six institutions were in full compliance with the Clery Act requirements. In addition, of the 79 campuses surveyed, while most indicated that they have sufficient processes in place to help ensure that they report accurate crime statistics, the BSA felt that some institutions needed to strengthen their practices for notifying students and employees of the availability of their annual security reports. Among other things, the Auditor recommended the institutions correctly report all applicable crimes and disclose the required campus security policies by reviewing and adhering to applicable guidance related to the Clery Act, creating written procedures that clearly describe the review process for reporting, and ensuring that they include all crimes in their daily crime log. This bill would require institutions to create and review policies, and procedures regarding compliance with the federal Clery Act and federal the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act. 4) Technical Amendment. This bill is intended to capture private non-profit higher education institutions, as written the bill inadvertently references Education Code (EC) section 94858 related to private for-profit institutions. Consistent with the author's request staff recommends that the bill be amended to reference the appropriate EC section (66010(b)) for private nonpublic higher education institutions rather than EC section 94858 as currently referenced in the bill. AB 1653 (Weber) Page 7 of ? 5) Related and prior legislation. AB 1654 (Santiago, 2016), expands existing audit requirements regarding the reporting of crime statistics by California postsecondary education institutions by requiring the State Auditor to include an evaluation of institutions' compliance with state law governing crime reporting and the development and implementation of student safety policies and procedures. AB 1654 was heard and approved by this Committee with a vote of 9-0. AB 340 (Weber, 2015) similar to this bill, would have required California State University and California Community College and encouraged University of California to report on campus climate efforts and submit the report to the Governor, the Office of the Attorney General, and the appropriate policy committees of the California Legislature. AB 340 was vetoed by the Governor whose veto message read: "While I understand the desire to create a more vibrant, intellectually serious and inclusive campus environment at UC, CSU and the community colleges, each of their governing boards has already taken steps aimed at achieving these important goals. I believe the leaders of these institutions are committed to providing updates on current and future developments. Codifying a biennial report, as provided in this bill, is not necessary." SUPPORT California Faculty Association (CFA) California State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People California State Student Association (CSSA) National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter United Black Student Unions of California AB 1653 (Weber) Page 8 of ? OPPOSITION None received. -- END --