Bill Text: CA SB1287 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Public postsecondary education: Equity in Higher Education Act: prohibition on violence, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-2)

Status: (Passed) 2024-09-28 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 892, Statutes of 2024. [SB1287 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB1287-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Senate  April 29, 2024

Amended  IN  Senate  March 20, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 1287

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Introduced by Senator Glazer
(Coauthors: Senators Becker, Limón, Min, Rubio, Smallwood-Cuevas, and Wiener)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Addis, Bauer-Kahan, Berman, Friedman, and Gabriel)

February 15, 2024

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An act to add Section 66270.7 to the Education Code, relating to public postsecondary education.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 1287, as amended, Glazer. Public postsecondary education: Equity in Higher Education Act: prohibition on violence, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination.

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. A provision of the act applies to the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California, by appropriate resolution, act to make the provision applicable.

A portion of the Donahoe Higher Education Act, known as the Equity in Higher Education Act, provides, among other things, that 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.

This bill would state that it is the policy of the public segments of postsecondary education to prevent and eliminate violence, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination that undermine certain objectives. The bill would require the Trustees of the California State University and the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges to, among other things, (1) adopt policies within campus-based student codes of conduct that prohibit engaging in violence, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination that are intended to, and are reasonably understood by the victims or hearers to, interfere discrimination, as specified, interfering with rights established pursuant to the United States Constitution or the California Constitution or otherwise interfere interfering with the free exchange of ideas, ideas or the educational mission of the segment, or call calling for or support genocide, (2) maintain and enforce reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions for public protests and demonstrations on campuses, as provided, and (3) restrictions, (3) clearly set forth the portions of a campus that are public fora, limited public fora, or nonpublic fora, and the meaning of each designation, and (4) develop mandatory training programs to educate students on when and where protests and gatherings may be held, as specified, and on how to exchange views in an atmosphere of mutual respect and civility. The bill would require the trustees and the board of governors to submit a report, on or before January 2, 2025, and annually thereafter, to the Legislature on the implementation and administration of the bill. The bill would request the University of California to comply with these provisions. The bill would make its provisions severable. To the extent that the bill would impose new duties on community college districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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 the statutory provisions noted above.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

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Bill Text

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

SECTION 1.

 (a) As used in this section, the following definitions apply:

(1)“Campus” means a campus of the University of California, the California State University, or the California Community Colleges.

(1) “Calling for genocide” means only those acts, verbal or otherwise, that are both intended to, and reasonably understood as, calling for genocide.

(2) “Genocide” means conduct set forth in Article II of the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention), whether that conduct is committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, protected groups specified in the Genocide Convention or protected groups specified in Section 51 of the Civil Code.

(3) “Intimidation” has the same meaning as “intimidate” in subdivision (c) of Section 423.1 of the Penal Code.

(4) “Institution” means a campus of the California Community Colleges, the California State University, or the University of California.

(2)

(5) “Segment” means the University of California, the California State University, or the California Community Colleges.

(b) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) Free speech, academic freedom, and the free exchange of views among students and faculty are all critical to the educational missions of the segments.

(2) It is also critical to the educational missions of the segments that speech and the exchange of ideas take place in a constructive environment of mutual respect for diversity of backgrounds, ideas, and viewpoints in order to do all of the following:

(A) Maximize the exchange of views.

(B) Achieve the goals of excellence in research, teaching, and learning.

(C) Achieve the goal of developing lifelong citizenship skills.

(3) The educational missions and goals of the segments are severely disrupted by actions that constitute violence, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination in violation of federal or state law, segment rules, or campus institution codes of conduct.

(4) The values of free speech, the free exchange of ideas, and the opportunities to all who wish to express their views on campus at an institution are important values and provide critical contributions to the educational missions of the segments.

(5) A constructive environment of mutual respect is just as important to furthering free speech as it is to furthering the educational missions of the segments.

(6) The values of free speech, the free exchange of ideas, and the opportunities to all who wish to express their views on campus at an institution are impaired by actions that constitute violence, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination in violation of federal or state law, segment rules, or campus institution codes of conduct.

(7) Violence, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination based on a person’s identity, ideas, or viewpoints violate the rights of the victims and impair both the educational missions of the segments and the values of free speech.

(8) Violence, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination may violate federal and state antidiscrimination laws applicable to the segments, including Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000d, 2000d et seq.) and Section 66270 of the Education Code, and frustrate the efforts of the segments to comply with these laws and ensure that the victims have the opportunity to participate fully and equally in their chosen campus institution experience.

(9) Violence, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination in the sheltered environment of a residential campus institution impair the educational missions of the segment, undermine the value of antidiscrimination embodied in federal and state civil rights laws, and diminish, in the aggregate, the exercise of free speech by intimidating members of the campus institution’s community who become reluctant to express their views.

(10) In numerous instances, participants in campus institution activities have engaged done all of the following:

(A) Engaged in violence, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination that were intended, and were reasonably understood by the victims or hearers, to do either, or both, of the following: discrimination.

(A)Interfere with

(B) Interfered, through force, threat of force, or intimidation, with rights established under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and Section 2 of Article I of the California Constitution, or otherwise interfere interfered with the free exchange of ideas. ideas or the educational mission of the segment.

(B)Call for or support genocide, as that term is defined by the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention), whether that genocide is aimed at protected groups specified in the Genocide Convention, or aimed at protected groups specified in Section 51 of the Civil Code.

(C) Called for genocide.

(11) The violence, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination activities described in paragraph (10) have impaired the educational missions of the segments, undermined federal and state antidiscrimination laws, interfered with the exercise of rights established under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and Section 2 of Article I of the California Constitution, and interfered with the free exchange of ideas by members of campus institution communities.

SEC. 2.

 Section 66270.7 is added to the Education Code, to read:

66270.7.

 (a) As used in this section, “institution” the following definitions apply:

(1) “Calling for genocide” means only those acts, verbal or otherwise, that are both intended to, and reasonably understood as, calling for genocide.

(2) “Genocide” means conduct set forth in Article II of the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention), whether that conduct is committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, protected groups specified in the Genocide Convention or protected groups specified in Section 51 of the Civil Code.

(3) “Institution” means a campus of the California Community Colleges, the California State University, or the University of California.

(4) “Intimidation” has the same meaning as “intimidate” in subdivision (c) of Section 423.1 of the Penal Code.

(5) “Segment” means the University of California, the California State University, or the California Community Colleges.

(b) In order to prevent violence, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination that impairs the educational missions of the public segments of postsecondary education, segments, violates federal and state antidiscrimination laws, and interferes with the free exercise of rights established under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and Section 2 of Article I of the California Constitution, and interferes with the free exchange of ideas by members of institution communities, it is the policy of the public segments of postsecondary education to segments to prevent and eliminate violence, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination that undermine these objectives.

(c) The Trustees of the California State University and the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges shall do all of the following:

(1) Adopt and enforce policies, in institution-based student codes of conduct, that prohibit violence, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination that are intended to, and are reasonably understood by the victims or hearers, to do either of the following: all of the following:

(A)Interfere with

(A) Engaging in violence, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination in violation of state or federal antidiscrimination laws or other relevant laws.

(B) Interfering, through force, threat of force, or intimidation, with the free exercise of rights established under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or Section 2 of Article I of the California Constitution. Constitution, or otherwise interfering with the free exchange of ideas or the educational mission of the segment.

(B)Call for or support genocide.

(C) Calling for genocide.

(2) Maintain and enforce reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions, including advance authorization provisions, for public protests and demonstrations at institutions. restrictions.

(3) Clearly set forth the institution’s time, place, and manner restrictions, and any advance permitting requirements adopted by the institution.

(4) Clearly set forth the portions of the institution that are public fora, limited public fora, or nonpublic fora, and the meaning of each designation.

(3)

(5) Develop mandatory training programs to educate students on how to exchange views in an atmosphere of mutual respect and civility. both of the following:

(A) When and where protests and gatherings may be held, including the difference between public fora, limited public fora, nonpublic fora, and private property, consistent with the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and Section 2 of Article I of the California Constitution.

(B) How to exchange views in an atmosphere of mutual respect and civility.

(4)

(6) Require, as a condition of admission and continued matriculation enrollment at an institution, each student attending the institution, and each new applicant in their application for admission to the institution, to acknowledge their obligation to comply with this section and the institution’s student code of conduct.

(d) Each institution, the Trustees of the California State University, and the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges shall ensure that any policy adopted or enforced pursuant to this section, as applicable, is consistent with the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, Section 2 of Article I of the California Constitution, and Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000d et seq.).

(d)

(e) (1) On or before January 2, 2025, and annually thereafter, the Trustees of the California State University and the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges shall submit a report to the Legislature on the implementation and administration of this section. This report shall include information on institution code of conduct violations relating to incidents described in subdivision (c).

(2) A report submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

(e)

(f) The University of California is requested to comply with this section.

(g) This section is intended to be interpreted consistent with the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and Section 2 of Article I of the California Constitution.

(f)

(h) The provisions of this section are severable. If any provision of this section or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.

SEC. 3.

 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.