Postsecondary education: sexual harassment, harassment, intimidation, and bullying policies: student training.

A phased implementation structure was added. The new definitions in Section 66262.5 now take effect on August 1, 2027 rather than immediately upon the bill's effective date. A transitional provision (Section 1) amends the existing 66262.5 to provide interim definitions of sexual harassment, sexual violence, sexual battery, and sexual exploitation that become inoperative on August 1, 2027 and are repealed as of January 1, 2028.

A transitional definition of sexual harassment was added that cross-references Section 212.5 (rather than providing a standalone definition) and uses the term 'consent' instead of 'affirmative consent' in several places, creating a lower threshold during the bridge period before the full definitions take effect.

The following definitions were removed from the permanent Section 66262.5: 'cyber sexual bullying,' 'cyber stalking,' 'doxing,' 'electronic act,' 'technology-facilitated sexual harassment,' and 'written consent.' These terms no longer appear in the new version of the section, suggesting they may have been moved to another provision or the approach to covering technology-facilitated harassment was restructured.

The bill's structure changed from repealing and re-adding Section 66262.5 to amending it (for the transitional period) and then adding a new version. This creates a two-phase approach where existing law is temporarily modified before being replaced by the full set of new definitions on August 1, 2027.

The legislative counsel's digest was substantially shortened. The old digest contained detailed numbered paragraphs explaining the bill's provisions regarding posting educational information on campus websites and annual student training requirements. The new digest removes these explanations and adds the phrase 'commencing August 1, 2027' to indicate the delayed effective date of the definitions.

Fixed duplicated subdivision letters in Section 66262.5 definitions. The old version had overlapping letters (e.g., both (i) and (j) for sexual battery, both (j) and (k) for sexual conduct). The new version uses clean sequential letters: (j) sexual battery, (k) sexual conduct, (l) sexual exploitation, (m) sexual harassment, (n) sexual violence, (o) technology-facilitated sexual harassment, (p) written consent.

Fixed a cross-reference in the sexual violence definition from 'subdivision (i). (j)' to 'subdivision (j)', correcting the reference to the sexual battery definition.

Renumbered sections throughout the bill, adding placeholder section numbers (SEC. 6., SEC. 7., SEC. 8.) and reassigning existing section numbers to correct the sequence.

The legislative counsel's digest was updated but introduced a typo: 'to add Sections 66286 and 66293.5 Section 66286 to' duplicates 'Section 66286' where the old version correctly read 'to add Sections 66286 and 66293.5 to'.

Section 66286 is no longer added. This section would have required community college districts, CSU, UC, and independent postsecondary institutions to update their sexual harassment policies to include: a prohibition on public disclosure of non-consensual digitized sexually explicit material, a policy declaring such disclosure as sexual exploitation subject to discipline, a list of organizations (including Cyber Civil Rights Legal Project, Take It Down, StopNCII.org, Revenge Porn Helpline, and South West Grid for Learning) to assist with removal from digital platforms, information on federal and state rights, contact info for legal firms, and campus resources for victims.

The amendment to Section 66302 is removed. This section would have required community college districts, CSU Trustees, and UC Regents to adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying and include them in student conduct rules, and to provide educational information about those topics during campus orientations.

The repeal of Section 66302.5 is removed from the bill.

The state-mandated local program language was softened from a definitive statement ('By imposing new duties on community college districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program') to a conditional one ('To the extent that the bill would impose new duties on community college districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program'), reflecting the removal of the most burdensome policy-update requirement.

A new definition of 'sextortion' was added: a threat to use sexual or intimate images or videos, however obtained, to compel another person to produce sexual or intimate images or videos, engage in sexual acts, or provide anything of value.

The definition of 'technology-facilitated sexual harassment' now explicitly includes sextortion alongside cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, and doxing.

The UCLA Center for the Study of Women research mandate was narrowed from studying 'students' quality of life at public postsecondary educational institutions' to more specifically studying 'the prevention of, and adjudication of reports of, sexual harassment, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment at postsecondary educational institutions.' The broad 'quality of life' framing was removed.

The first research topic was changed from a 'comprehensive statewide study of a student's quality of life, specifically focusing on campus climate, campus safety, and a student's interaction with the institution's grievance procedures' to a 'comprehensive study of a student's sense of safety on campus and interactions with campus resources that serve survivors.'

Annual student training now must include contact information for a Title IX coordinator or similar position, and statistics on the prevalence of sexual harassment and sexual violence including differing rates based on race, sexual orientation, disability, gender, and gender identity.

A new paragraph (4) requires that beginning September 1, 2026, the annual student training shall cover additional topics (the specific topics are in the truncated portion of the diff).

Assembly Member Pellerin was added as a coauthor alongside Assembly Member Fong.

Section 66293.5 was deleted in its entirety. This section had directed the UCLA Center for the Study of Women to conduct research on campus safety, the prevalence of digitized sexually explicit materials, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment at postsecondary institutions, funded upon appropriation in the annual Budget Act.

All sections following the deleted Section 66293.5 were renumbered (old Sections 6 through 10 became Sections 5 through 9), with no changes to their substantive content.

The legislative counsel's digest was revised to clarify that independent institutions of higher education, private postsecondary educational institutions, and UC campuses are 'requested' (not required) to post educational information on their websites, while community colleges and CSU campuses are required to do so.

New Section 66281.9 requires independent institutions of higher education receiving state financial assistance to require job applicants for academic, athletic, or administrative positions to disclose any final administrative or judicial decision from the past seven years finding sexual harassment, sign release forms authorizing background checks with previous employers, and permits institutions to use those releases to obtain information about substantiated misconduct allegations.

New subdivision (c) in Section 66286.5 requires postsecondary institutions to provide specific supportive measures to students who file complaints alleging sexual harassment or sexual exploitation involving digitized sexually explicit material, and clarifies that the $1,000 financial assistance does not prevent institutions from providing other forms of support.

The bill now amends additional Education Code sections (66281.9, 87604.5, 89521, and 92612.1) beyond the original two sections (66302 and 67385.7), broadening the bill's reach across more areas of postsecondary education law.

Consent protections were broadened from 'the depicted individual's written consent' to 'the depicted individual or individuals' written consent' in multiple provisions, extending protection to cases where multiple people appear in digitized sexually explicit material.

A new definition for 'electronic act' was added (subdivision (h) of Section 66262.5), covering messages, social media posts, burn pages, credible impersonation, false profiles, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, providing a broader legal basis for addressing online conduct.

The definition of 'sexual harassment' in Section 66262.5 was restructured from a simple cross-reference to Section 212.5 into a detailed standalone definition with four specific conditions (A through D) and an explicit non-exhaustive list including sexual exploitation, sexual violence, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment (including cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, and doxing).

The research grant provision was expanded to explicitly include 'technology-facilitated sexual harassment' as a subject for which grants may be awarded to universities, institutes, and organizations for prevention and adjudication research.

Section 66286.5 was entirely deleted. This section would have required community college districts, CSU, and UC to provide up to $1,000 per student in financial assistance to help victims of digitized sexually explicit material identify and remove the material, beginning September 1, 2027 upon appropriation.

The definition of sexual exploitation in subdivision (k)(6) was changed from requiring 'written consent of the depicted individual or individuals' to requiring 'the distinct and separate written consent of the depicted individual or individuals for each such act.' This means a single blanket consent is no longer sufficient; each instance of creation, generation, or distribution requires its own separate written consent.

The definition of 'technology-facilitated sexual harassment' was significantly simplified. The old version contained its own independent criteria (submission as a condition of employment, impact on academic performance, etc.) mirroring the general sexual harassment definition. The new version simply defines it as 'sexual harassment that occurs on, or is facilitated by, digital platforms or digital technologies,' making it a subset of the broader sexual harassment definition rather than a standalone category with its own elements.

Section 66286 now includes a new requirement (C) that institutional sexual harassment policies must include a list of organizations to assist students and employees with the removal of digitized sexually explicit material from digital platforms. This extends coverage beyond students to employees as well.

The scope of research grants from the UCLA Center for the Study of Women was expanded to cover technology-facilitated sexual harassment 'at postsecondary educational institutions' in addition to 'on campus,' broadening where the conduct can occur and still qualify for research funding.