BILL NUMBER: AB 2079 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 28, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 12, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 25, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Torlakson and Davis
FEBRUARY 18, 2010
An act to add Section 67365 to the Education Code, relating to
student athletes.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2079, as amended, Torlakson. Student athletes: recruiting.
Existing law prohibits any person from giving, offering,
promising, or attempting to give any money or any other thing of
value to any particular student athlete or member of the immediate
family of the student athlete for purposes of inducing or encouraging
the student athlete's application, enrollment, or attendance at a
public or private institution of postsecondary education in order to
have the athlete participate in intercollegiate sporting events,
contests, exhibitions, or programs at that institution, except in
accordance with the bylaws of the National Collegiate Athletic
Association, as specified.
This bill would define, for purposes of its provisions, a "student
athlete" as an individual who resides in California and who attends
an elementary, junior high, high school, or postsecondary educational
institution, and who participates in any interscholastic athletic
program in California, including an individual who receives
scholarship funds for his or her athletic participation and an
individual who does not receive scholarship funds for his or her
athletic participation. The bill, commencing January
July 1, 2011, would require any intercollegiate
athletic program from a postsecondary educational institution in the
State of California or outside the State of California, within one
week of personal in-pe rson
contact with a student athlete or his or her family members
, to provide in writing to the student athlete a disclosure
letter or, in the case of a student athlete who has not yet entered
grade 11, to direct the student athlete to a disclosure letter that
is posted on the institution's Internet Web site, that describes,
among other things, the athletic program's policies concerning
athletic scholarship issuance, renewal, and cancellation, medical
expenses, and academic requirements. The bill would require the
athletic program to post this disclosure letter on its Internet Web
site. The bill would require , commencing July 1, 2011,
that any written scholarship offer be made within one week of a
verbal offer, and would require that this written offer be
accompanied by specified information relating to the terms and
conditions of the offer.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 67365 is added to the Education Code, to read:
67365. (a) For purposes of this section, the following
definitions shall apply:
(1) "Athletic program" means any intercollegiate athletic program
from a postsecondary educational institution in the State of
California or outside the State of California that solicits student
athletes to apply, enroll, or attend the postsecondary educational
institution in order to have the student athlete participate in
intercollegiate sporting events, contests, exhibitions, or programs
at that institution.
(2) "Student athlete" means an individual who resides in
California and who attends an elementary, junior high, high school,
or postsecondary educational institution, and who participates in any
interscholastic athletic program in California, including an
individual who receives scholarship funds for his or her athletic
participation and an individual who does not receive scholarship
funds for his or her athletic participation.
(3) "Personal contact" means any direct
in-person , individualized contact made by a collegiate
athletic recruiter for purposes of athletic recruiting with a student
athlete or his or her family members, including, but not
limited to, telephone calls, personalized mail, in-person contact, or
e-mail. members.
(b) (1) Commencing January July 1,
2011, within one week of any personal contact with a student athlete
for purposes of recruiting the student athlete for a collegiate
interscholastic athletic program, the collegiate athletic recruiter
shall provide in writing to the student athlete a disclosure letter
or, in the case of a student athlete who has not yet entered grade
11, shall direct the student athlete to a disclosure letter that is
posted on the institution's Internet Web site. The disclosure letter
shall be in substantially the following form:
Disclosure Letter
I. Athletic Scholarship Information (shall not exceed 250 words)
(A) The most recent cost of attendance expenses as published by
the postsecondary educational institution's financial aid offices for
the academic year and for the summer year (amounts listed
separately).
(B) The sum of expenses identified in paragraph (A) that are
prohibited from inclusion in a full grant-in-aid athletic scholarship
pursuant to the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA)
rules and regulations.
(C) The policy of the postsecondary educational institution's
athletic program as to whether student athletes will receive athletic
scholarships for summer school, and, if so, whether these
scholarships are proportional to athletic scholarships received
during the regular academic school year.
(D) The average monthly full grant-in-aid athletic scholarship
payment received by student athletes who live on-campus and
off-campus, respectively, during the regular academic year and summer
school session.
II. Athletic Scholarship Renewals (shall not exceed 250 words)
(A) The NCAA's policy on scholarship duration.
(B) The policy of the postsecondary educational institution's
athletic program concerning the renewal or nonrenewal of an athletic
scholarship, including circumstances in which a student athlete in
good standing suffers a temporary or permanent sports-related injury,
there is a coaching change, or a student athlete's athletic
performance is deemed to be below expectations.
III. Athletically Related Medical Expenses (shall not exceed 500
words)
(A) The NCAA's policy on whether athletic programs are mandated to
pay for athletically related medical expenses.
(B) The policy of the postsecondary educational institution's
athletic program on whether it will pay for student athletes'
athletically related medical expenses, including deductibles, copays,
coinsurance, and whether the program will pay for athletically
related medical expenses that exceed any maximum insurance coverage
limits.
(C) The policy of the institution's athletic program concerning
who is required to pay for any required athletically related
insurance premiums for student athletes who do not have such
insurance.
(D) The duration of time the postsecondary educational institution'
s athletic program continues to pay for athletically related medical
expenses after a student athlete's athletic eligibility expires.
(E) Whether or not an athletic program's medical policy covers
expenses associated with attaining a second medical opinion for an
athletically related injury from a medical physician that is not
associated with the athletic program, and whether the athletic
program provides coverage for services received by such a physician.
IV. Athletic Release (shall not exceed 250 words)
(A) The NCAA policy on whether an athletic program may refuse to
grant an athletic release to a student athlete who wishes to transfer
to another postsecondary educational institution.
(B) The policy of the postsecondary educational institution's
athletic program concerning whether it may use any power to refuse to
grant an athletic release for a student athlete who wishes to
transfer to another postsecondary educational institution.
(2) Commencing January July 1, 2011,
each interscholastic athletic program that recruits any student
athlete shall prominently post the disclosure letter described in
paragraph (1) on its official athletic Internet Web site.
(3) Changes to any athletic program policy included in a
Disclosure Letter shall be sent in writing to all student athletes,
as well as any athletes currently enrolled in the institution who
were recruited from the State of California.
(c) Commencing January July 1, 2011,
any scholarship offer made to a student athlete shall be made in
writing within one week of a verbal offer. If the written offer is
sent more than one year in advance of the earliest date a student
athlete is authorized, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the
NCAA, to sign an agreement with an institution's athletic program,
the athletic program shall send a subsequent letter stating whether
or not the offer is still valid no later than five months prior to
the earliest signing period. The initial written offer and, if
applicable, subsequent letter shall include at least all of the
following information:
(1) The disclosure letter described in subdivision (b).
(2) Whether or not the athletic scholarship offer will expire and
all terms of any such expiration.
(3) Whether or not the athletic program will guarantee that the
student athlete's acceptance of the offer prior to any expiration
will be honored.
(4) A description of the institution's policy for awarding
financial aid for summer school.
(5) Whether or not the student athlete will be guaranteed
admission and full athletic participation at an institution if a
specific academic level is achieved during the remainder of the
student athlete's high school career, and a description of any such
academic level.
(6) The terms and the amount of any death benefit provided by the
postsecondary educational institution in case of a sports-related
death.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a
postsecondary educational institution to revise athletic scholarship
contracts entered into prior to the effective date of this bill.