Public postsecondary education: sex discrimination complaints: advocates and coordinators.

Existing federal law, known as Title IX, prohibits a person, on the basis of sex, from being excluded from participation in, being denied the benefits of, or being subject to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. A portion of the Donahoe Higher Education Act known as the Equity in Higher Education Act declares, among other things, that no person shall be subjected to discrimination on the basis of, among other things, sex, in any program or activity conducted by any postsecondary educational institution that receives or benefits from state financial assistance or enrolls students who receive state financial aid. Provisions of the Donahoe Higher Education Act apply to the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California act, by resolution, to make them applicable. This bill would require, on or before July 1, 2026, a public postsecondary educational institution, defined as any campus of the California Community Colleges, the California State University, or the University of California, in order to comply with the above-described provision of the Equity in Higher Education Act, to establish and designate at least one person to fulfill the positions of confidential student advocate, confidential staff and faculty advocate, and confidential respondent services coordinator to assist students, faculty, or staff who have filed a complaint of sex discrimination, experienced sex discrimination, or are accused of sex discrimination, as provided. The bill would require those positions to, among other things, be independent from the Title IX office, receive specified training, and subject to permission from the student, faculty, or staff, provide, among other things, information about where the student, faculty, or staff can access campus resources, as provided. By imposing 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.