AB 2212: Postsecondary education: sexual harassment, harassment, intimidation, and bullying policies: student training.
- Session Year: 2025-2026
- House: Assembly
- Latest Version Date: 2026-09-20
Current Status:
Passed
(2026-09-20: Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 388, Statutes of 2026.)
Introduced
In Committee
Awaiting First Chamber Vote
Passed First Chamber
In Committee
Awaiting Second Chamber Vote
Passed Second Chamber
Enacted
What does this bill do?
This bill broadens how sexual harassment and sexual exploitation are defined for California postsecondary education and adds new terms to cover digital and online harms. It defines terms such as affirmative consent (a clear, ongoing yes to sexual activity), digitized sexually explicit material (images or video created or altered to show someone nude or in sexual acts), sextortion (threatening to use sexual images to force sex, images, or money), and technology‑facilitated sexual harassment (harassment using digital platforms). It also requires community college districts and the California State University, and asks the University of California and state‑funded private colleges, to obtain disclosures and sign releases so they can check recent final findings or court decisions that an applicant committed sexual harassment when hiring faculty, coaches, or administrators.
The summary is provided by generative AI which can make mistakes. For original language, please view the details in the table below.
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. Existing law provides that sexual harassment of students is a form of prohibited sex discrimination and defines terms for purposes of the Equity in Higher Education Act.
This bill would, commencing August 1, 2027, define additional terms for purposes of the act, including, among other terms, digitized sexually explicit material, sextortion, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and affirmative consent. The bill would also revise the definitions of sexual harassment and sexual exploitation, and make conforming changes.
To the extent that the bill would impose new duties on community college districts, this 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.
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. Existing law provides that sexual harassment of students is a form of prohibited sex discrimination and defines terms for purposes of the Equity in Higher Education Act.
This bill would, commencing August 1, 2027, define additional terms for purposes of the act, including, among other terms, digitized sexually explicit material, sextortion, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and affirmative consent. The bill would also revise the definitions of sexual harassment and sexual exploitation, and make conforming changes.
To the extent that the bill would impose new duties on community college districts, this 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.
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. Existing law provides that sexual harassment of students is a form of prohibited sex discrimination and defines terms for purposes of the Equity in Higher Education Act.
This bill would would, commencing August 1, 2027, define additional terms for purposes of the act, including, among other terms, digitized sexually explicit material, sextortion, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, affirmative consent, and written consent. and affirmative consent. The bill would also revise the definitions of sexual harassment and sexual exploitation, and make conforming changes.
To the extent that the bill would impose new duties on community college districts, this 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.
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. Existing law provides that sexual harassment of students is a form of prohibited sex discrimination and defines terms for purposes of the Equity in Higher Education Act.
This bill would define additional terms for purposes of the act, including, among other terms, digitized sexually explicit material, sextortion, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, affirmative consent, and written consent. The bill would also revise the definitions of sexual harassment and sexual exploitation, and make conforming changes.
(2)Existing law requires each campus of the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and requests each independent institution of higher education, each private postsecondary educational institution, and each campus of the University of California, to post educational and preventive information on sexual violence and sexual harassment on its campus internet site, including information on specific related topics. Existing law also requires the California Community Colleges, the California State University, and independent institutions of higher education and private postsecondary educational institutions that receive state financial assistance, and requests the University of California, to annually train its students on sexual violence and sexual harassment, and requires that training to cover certain topics.This bill would require and request educational and preventive information on sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment to also be posted on campus internet sites, as provided. The bill would also require the annual training for students to cover, among other things, certain topics related to sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, as provided.Existing law requires campuses of the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and requests campuses of the University of California, to develop policies to encourage students to report any campus crimes involving sexual violence.This bill would require and request those policies to encourage students to also report any campus crimes involving sexual assaults, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment, as provided.By imposingTo the extent that the bill would impose new duties on community college districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3)TheThe 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.
(1)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. Existing law provides that sexual harassment of students is a form of prohibited sex discrimination and defines terms for purposes of the Equity in Higher Education Act.
This bill would define additional terms for purposes of the act, including, among other terms, digitized sexually explicit material, sextortion, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, affirmative consent, and written consent. The bill would also revise the definitions of sexual harassment and sexual exploitation, and make conforming changes.
This bill would require, in order to receive state funds for student financial assistance, the governing board of a community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, the Regents of the University of California, and the governing boards of independent postsecondary educational institutions to update their respective sexual harassment policies to include, among other things, (A) a prohibition on the public disclosure of the creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material without the depicted individuals or individuals written consent, (B) a policy that the disclosure of such material without that consent is sexual exploitation, and (C) a list of organizations to assist students and employees with the removal of digitized sexually explicit material from digital platforms, as provided.By imposing new duties on community college districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.(2)Existing law requires the Trustees of the California State University and the governing board of a community college district, and requests the University of California, to adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying, and to include these policies within the rules and regulations governing student behavior. Existing law requires the trustees, and requests the regents, to provide, as a part of established campus orientations, educational and preventive information about cyberbullying to students at all campuses.This bill instead would require the regents to adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying, and to include these policies within the rules and regulations governing student conduct. The bill would also require the governing board of a community college district, the trustees, and the regents to provide, as part of established campus orientations, educational and preventive information about those subjects to students.Existing(2)Existing law requires each campus of the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and requests each independent institution of higher education, each private postsecondary educational institution, and each campus of the University of California, to post educational and preventive information on sexual violence and sexual harassment on its campus internet site, including information on specific related topics. Existing law also requires the California Community Colleges, the California State University, and independent institutions of higher education and private postsecondary educational institutions that receive state financial assistance, and requests the University of California, to annually train its students on sexual violence and sexual harassment, and requires that training to cover certain topics.
This bill would require and request educational and preventive information on sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment to also be posted on campus internet sites, as provided. The bill would also require the annual student training for students to cover, among other things, certain topics related to sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, as provided.
Existing law requires campuses of the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and requests campuses of the University of California, to develop policies to encourage students to report any campus crimes involving sexual violence.
This bill would require and request those policies to encourage students to also report any campus crimes involving sexual assaults, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment, as provided.
By imposing new duties on community college districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3)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.
(1)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. Existing law provides that sexual harassment of students is a form of prohibited sex discrimination and defines terms for purposes of the Equity in Higher Education Act.
This bill would define additional terms for purposes of the act, including, among other terms, digitized sexually explicit material, sextortion, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, affirmative consent, and written consent. The bill would also revise the definitions of sexual harassment and sexual exploitation, and make conforming changes.
This bill would require, in order to receive state funds for student financial assistance, the governing board of a community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, the Regents of the University of California, and the governing boards of independent postsecondary educational institutions to update their respective sexual harassment policies to include, among other things, (A) a prohibition on the public disclosure of the creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material without the depicted individuals or individuals written consent, (B) a policy that the disclosure of such material without that consent is sexual exploitation, and (C) a list of organizations to assist students and employees with the removal of digitized sexually explicit material from digital platforms, as provided.
This bill would require, upon appropriation, the University of California, Los Angeles Center for the Study of Women to facilitate research on the prevention of, and the adjudication of reports of, sexual harassment, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment at postsecondary educational institutions, as provided.By imposing new duties on community college districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2)Existing law requires the Trustees of the California State University and the governing board of a community college district, and requests the University of California, to adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying, and to include these policies within the rules and regulations governing student behavior. Existing law requires the trustees, and requests the regents, to provide, as a part of established campus orientations, educational and preventive information about cyberbullying to students at all campuses.
This bill instead would require the regents to adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying, and to include these policies within the rules and regulations governing student conduct. The bill would also require the governing board of a community college district, the trustees, and the regents to provide, as part of established campus orientations, educational and preventive information about those subjects to students.
Existing law requires each campus of the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and requests each independent institution of higher education, each private postsecondary educational institution, and each campus of the University of California, to post educational and preventive information on sexual violence and sexual harassment on its campus internet site, including information on specific related topics. Existing law also requires the California Community Colleges, the California State University, and independent institutions of higher education and private postsecondary educational institutions that receive state financial assistance, and requests the University of California, to annually train its students on sexual violence and sexual harassment, and requires that training to cover certain topics.
This bill would require and request educational and preventive information on sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment to also be posted on campus internet sites, as provided. The bill would also require the annual student training for students to cover, among other things, certain topics related to sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, as provided.
Existing law requires campuses of the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and requests campuses of the University of California, to develop policies to encourage students to report any campus crimes involving sexual violence.
This bill would require and request those policies to encourage students to also report any campus crimes involving sexual assaults, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment, as provided.
By imposing new duties on community college districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3)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.
(1)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. Existing law provides that sexual harassment of students is a form of prohibited sex discrimination and defines terms for purposes of the Equity in Higher Education Act.
This bill would define additional terms for purposes of the act, including, among other terms, digitized sexually explicit material, sextortion, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, affirmative consent, and written consent. The bill would also revise the definitions of sexual harassment and sexual exploitation, and make conforming changes.
This bill would require, in order to receive state funds for student financial assistance, the governing board of a community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, the Regents of the University of California, and the governing boards of independent postsecondary educational institutions to update their respective sexual harassment policies to include, among other things, (A) a prohibition on the public disclosure of the creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material without the depicted individuals or individuals written consent, (B) a policy that the disclosure of such material without that consent is sexual exploitation, and (C) a list of organizations to assist students and employees with the removal of digitized sexually explicit material from digital platforms, as provided.
This bill would require, upon appropriation, the University of California, Los Angeles Center for the Study of Women to facilitate research on the prevention of, and the adjudication of reports of, sexual harassment, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment at postsecondary educational institutions, as provided.
By imposing new duties on community college districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2)Existing law requires the Trustees of the California State University and the governing board of a community college district, and requests the University of California, to adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying, and to include these policies within the rules and regulations governing student behavior. Existing law requires the trustees, and requests the regents, to provide, as a part of established campus orientations, educational and preventive information about cyberbullying to students at all campuses.
This bill instead would require the regents to adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying, and to include these policies within the rules and regulations governing student conduct. The bill would also require the governing board of a community college district, the trustees, and the regents to provide, as part of established campus orientations, educational and preventive information about those subjects to students.
Existing law requires each campus of the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and requests each independent institution of higher education, each private postsecondary educational institution, and each campus of the University of California, to post educational and preventive information on sexual violence and sexual harassment on its campus internet site, including information on specific related topics. Existing law also requires the California Community Colleges, the California State University, and independent institutions of higher education and private postsecondary educational institutions that receive state financial assistance, and requests the University of California, to annually train its students on sexual violence and sexual harassment, and requires that training to cover certain topics.
This bill would require and request educational and preventive information on sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment to also be posted on campus internet sites, as provided. The bill would also require the annual student training for students to cover, among other things, certain topics related to sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, as provided.
Existing law requires campuses of the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and requests campuses of the University of California, to develop policies to encourage students to report any campus crimes involving sexual violence.
This bill would require and request those policies to encourage students to also report any campus crimes involving sexual assaults, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment, as provided.
By imposing new duties on community college districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3)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.
(1)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. Existing law provides that sexual harassment of students is a form of prohibited sex discrimination and defines terms for purposes of the Equity in Higher Education Act.
This bill would define additional terms for purposes of the act, including, among other terms, digitized sexually explicit material, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, affirmative consent, and written consent. The bill would also revise the definitions of sexual harassment and sexual exploitation, and make conforming changes.
This bill would require, in order to receive state funds for student financial assistance, the governing board of a community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, the Regents of the University of California, and the governing boards of independent postsecondary educational institutions to update their respective sexual harassment policies to include include, among other things, (A) a prohibition on the public disclosure of the creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material without the depicted individuals or individuals written consent, and (B) a policy that the disclosure of such material without that consent is sexual exploitation, and (C) a list of organizations to assist students and employees with the removal of digitized sexually explicit material from digital platforms, as provided.
This bill would require, upon appropriation, the University of California, Los Angeles Center for the Study of Women to facilitate research on students quality of life at public postsecondary educational institutions by awarding grants to universities, institutes, and organizations to research the prevention of, and the adjudication of reports of, sexual harassment, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment on campus, at postsecondary educational institutions, as provided.
By imposing new duties on community college districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2)Existing law requires the Trustees of the California State University and the governing board of a community college district, and requests the University of California, to adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying, and to include these policies within the rules and regulations governing student behavior. Existing law requires the trustees, and requests the regents, to provide, as a part of established campus orientations, educational and preventive information about cyberbullying to students at all campuses.
This bill instead would require the regents to adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying, and to include these policies within the rules and regulations governing student conduct. The bill would also require the governing board of a community college district, the trustees, and the regents to provide, as part of established campus orientations, educational and preventive information about those subjects to students.
Existing law requires each campus of the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and requests each independent institution of higher education, each private postsecondary educational institution, and each campus of the University of California, to post educational and preventive information on sexual violence and sexual harassment on its campus internet site, including information on specific related topics. Existing law also requires the California Community Colleges, the California State University, and independent institutions of higher education and private postsecondary educational institutions that receive state financial assistance, and requests the University of California, to annually train its students on sexual violence and sexual harassment, and requires that training to cover certain topics.
This bill would require and request educational and preventive information on sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment to also be posted on campus internet sites, as provided. The bill would also require the annual student training for students to cover, among other things, certain topics related to sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, as provided.
Existing law requires campuses of the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and requests campuses of the University of California, to develop policies to encourage students to report any campus crimes involving sexual violence.
This bill would require and request those policies to encourage students to also report any campus crimes involving sexual assaults, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment, as provided.
By imposing new duties on community college districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3)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.
(1)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. Existing law provides that sexual harassment of students is a form of prohibited sex discrimination and defines terms for purposes of the Equity in Higher Education Act.
This bill would define additional terms for purposes of the act, including, among other terms, digitized sexually explicit material, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, affirmative consent, and written consent. The bill would also revise the definitions of sexual harassment and sexual exploitation. exploitation, and make conforming changes.
This bill would require, in order to receive state funds for student financial assistance, the governing board of a community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, the Regents of the University of California, and the governing boards of independent postsecondary educational institutions to update their respective sexual harassment policies to include (A) a prohibition on the public disclosure of the creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material without the depicted individuals or individuals written consent, and (B) a policy that the disclosure of such material without that consent is sexual exploitation, as provided.
This bill would require, upon appropriation, beginning September 1, 2027, in order to receive state funds, the governing board of a community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, and the Regents of the University of California to provide up to $1,000 to students who are victims of digitized sexually explicit material to help those students identify and remove the material, as provided.This bill would require, upon appropriation, the University of California, Los Angeles Center for the Study of Women to facilitate research on students quality of life at public postsecondary educational institutions by awarding grants to universities, institutes, and organizations to research the prevention of, and the adjudication of reports of, sexual harassment, sexual violence, and sexual exploitation exploitation, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment on campus, as provided.
By imposing new duties on community college districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2)Existing law requires the Trustees of the California State University and the governing board of a community college district, and requests the University of California, to adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying, and to include these policies within the rules and regulations governing student behavior. Existing law requires the trustees, and requests the regents, to provide, as a part of established campus orientations, educational and preventive information about cyberbullying to students at all campuses.
This bill instead would require the regents to adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying, and to include these policies within the rules and regulations governing student conduct. The bill would also require the governing board of a community college district, the trustees, and the regents to provide, as part of established campus orientations, educational and preventive information about those subjects to students. The bill would define bullying for these purposes.
Existing law requires each campus of the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and requests each independent institution of higher education, each private postsecondary educational institution, and each campus of the University of California, to post educational and preventive information on sexual violence and sexual harassment on its campus internet site, including information on specific related topics. Existing law also requires the California Community Colleges, the California State University, and independent institutions of higher education and private postsecondary educational institutions that receive state financial assistance, and requests the University of California, to annually train its students on sexual violence and sexual harassment, and requires that training to cover certain topics.
This bill would require and request educational and preventive information on sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment to also be posted on campus internet sites, as provided. The bill would also require the annual student training for students to cover, among other things, certain topics related to sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, as provided.
Existing law requires campuses of the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and requests campuses of the University of California, to develop policies to encourage students to report any campus crimes involving sexual violence.
This bill would require and request those policies to encourage students to also report any campus crimes involving sexual assaults, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment, as provided.
By imposing new duties on community college districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3)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.
(1)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. Existing law provides that sexual harassment of students is a form of prohibited sex discrimination and defines terms for purposes of the Equity in Higher Education Act.
This bill would define additional terms for purposes of the act, including, among other terms, digitized sexually explicit material, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, affirmative consent, and written consent. The bill would also revise the definitions of sexual harassment and sexual exploitation.
This bill would require, in order to receive state funds for student financial assistance, the governing board of a community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, the Regents of the University of California, and the governing boards of independent postsecondary educational institutions to update their respective sexual harassment policies to include (A) a prohibition on the public disclosure of the creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material without the depicted individuals written consent, and (B) a policy that the disclosure of such material without that consent is sexual exploitation, as provided.
This bill would require, upon appropriation, beginning September 1, 2027, in order to receive state funds, the governing board of a community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, and the Regents of the University of California to provide up to $1,000 to students who are victims of digitized sexually explicit material to help those students identify and remove the material, as provided.
This bill would require, upon appropriation, the University of California, Los Angeles Center for the Study of Women to facilitate research on students quality of life at public postsecondary educational institutions by awarding grants to universities, institutes, and organizations to research the prevention of, and the adjudication of reports of, sexual harassment, sexual violence, and sexual exploitation on campus, as provided.
By imposing new duties on community college districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2)Existing law requires the Trustees of the California State University and the governing board of a community college district, and requests the University of California, to adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying, and to include these policies within the rules and regulations governing student behavior. Existing law requires the trustees, and requests the regents, to provide, as a part of established campus orientations, educational and preventive information about cyberbullying to students at all campuses.
This bill instead would require the regents to adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying, and to include these policies within the rules and regulations governing student conduct. The bill would also require the governing board of a community college district, the trustees, and the regents to provide, as part of established campus orientations, educational and preventive information about those subjects to students. The bill would define bullying for these purposes.
Existing law requires each campus of the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and requests each independent institution of higher education, each private postsecondary educational institution, and each campus of the University of California, to post educational and preventive information on sexual violence and sexual harassment on its campus internet site, including information on specific related topics. Existing law also requires the California Community Colleges, the California State University, and independent institutions of higher education and private postsecondary educational institutions that receive state financial assistance, and requests the University of California, to annually train its students on sexual violence and sexual harassment, and requires that training to cover certain topics.
This bill would require and request educational and preventive information on sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment to also be posted on campus internet sites, as provided. The bill would also require the annual student training for students to cover, among other things, certain topics related to sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, as provided.
By imposing new duties on community college districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3)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.
(a)(1)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 212.5 and includes sexual battery, sexual violence, and sexual exploitation.
(2)Sexual harassment of students is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Section 66270.
(b)For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1)Sexual violence means physical sexual acts perpetrated against a person without the persons affirmative consent, as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 67386. Physical sexual acts include both of the following:
(A)Rape, defined as penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any part or object, or oral copulation of a sex organ by another person, without the consent of the victim.
(B)Sexual battery, as defined in paragraph (2).
(2)Sexual battery means the intentional touching of another persons intimate parts without consent, intentionally causing a person to touch the intimate parts of another without consent, or using a persons own intimate part to intentionally touch another persons body without consent.
(3)Sexual exploitation means a person taking sexual advantage of another person for the benefit of anyone other than that person without that persons consent, including, but not limited to, any of the following acts:
(A)The prostituting of another person.
(B)The trafficking of another person, defined as the inducement of a person to perform a commercial sex act, or labor or services, through force, fraud, or coercion.
(C)The recording of images, including video or photograph, or audio of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, without that persons consent.
(D)The distribution of images, including video or photograph, or audio of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, if the individual distributing the images or audio knows or should have known that the person depicted in the images or audio did not consent to the disclosure.
(E)The viewing of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, in a place where that other person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy, without that persons consent, for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire.
(c)This section shall become inoperative on August 1, 2027, and, as of January 1, 2028, is repealed.
SEC. 2.Section 66262.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:66262.5.(a)For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(1)Affirmative consent means affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity. It is the responsibility of each person involved in the sexual activity to ensure that the person has the affirmative consent of the other or others to engage in the sexual activity. Lack of protest or resistance does not mean consent, nor does silence mean consent. Affirmative consent must be ongoing throughout a sexual activity and can be revoked at any time. The existence of a dating relationship between the persons involved, or the fact of past sexual relations between them, should never by itself be assumed to be an indicator of consent.
(2)Depicted individual means an individual who is portrayed in sexually explicit material.
(3)Digitization means a process by which any of the following are realistically depicted:
(A)The nude body parts of another human being as the nude body parts of the depicted individual.
(B)Computer-generated nude body parts as the nude body parts of the depicted individual.
(C)The depicted individual engaging in sexual conduct in which the depicted individual did not engage.
(4)Digitized sexually explicit material means any portion of a visual or audiovisual work created or substantially altered through digitization, including an image, that shows the depicted individual in the nude or appearing to engage in, or being subjected to, sexual conduct.
(5)Sextortion means 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.
(6)Sexual battery means the intentional touching of another persons intimate parts without consent, intentionally causing a person to touch the intimate parts of another without consent, or using a persons own intimate part to intentionally touch another persons body without affirmative consent.
(7)Sexual conduct means any of the following:
(A)Masturbation.
(B)Sexual intercourse, including genital, oral, or anal, whether between persons regardless of sex or gender or between humans and animals.
(C)Sexual penetration of the vagina or rectum by, or with, an object.
(D)The transfer of semen by means of sexual conduct from the penis directly onto the depicted individual as a result of ejaculation.
(E)Sadomasochistic abuse involving the depicted individual.
(8)Sexual exploitation means a person taking sexual advantage of another person for the benefit of anyone other than that person without that persons affirmative consent, including, but not limited to, any of the following acts:
(A)The prostituting of another person.
(B)The trafficking of another person, defined as the inducement of a person to perform a commercial sex act, or labor or services, through force, fraud, or coercion.
(C)The recording of images, including video or photograph, or audio, of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, without that persons affirmative consent.
(D)The distribution of images, including video or photograph, or audio, of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, if the individual distributing the images, video, photograph, or audio knows or should have known that the person depicted in the images, video, photograph, or audio did not provide affirmative consent to the disclosure.
(E)The viewing of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts in a place where that other person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy, without that persons affirmative consent, for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire.
(F)The creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit materials without the depicted individuals written consent.
(G)The distribution of digitized sexually explicit materials, if the individual distributing the materials knows or should have known that the depicted individual did not provide written consent to the disclosure.
(9)(A)Sexual harassment means unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature, made by someone from or in a work or educational setting, under any of the following conditions:
(i)Submission to the conduct is explicitly or implicitly made a term or a condition of an individuals employment, academic status, or progress.
(ii)Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis of employment or academic decisions affecting the individual.
(iii)The conduct has the purpose or effect of having a negative impact upon the individuals work or academic performance, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or educational environment.
(iv)Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis for a decision affecting the individual regarding benefits and services, honors, programs, or activities available at or through the educational institution.
(B)Sexual harassment includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(i)Sexual exploitation.
(ii)Sexual violence, including, but not limited to, sexual battery.
(iii)Stalking.
(iv)Sextortion.
(v)Technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
(C)Sexual harassment of students is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Section 66270.
(10)Sexual violence means physical sexual acts perpetrated against a person without the persons affirmative consent. Physical sexual acts include both of the following:
(A)Rape, defined as penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any part or object, or oral copulation of a sex organ by another person, without the affirmative consent of the victim.
(B)Sexual battery, as defined in paragraph (6).
(11)Stalking means engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to do either of the following:
(A)Fear for their safety or the safety of others.
(B)Suffer substantial emotional distress.
(12)Technology-facilitated sexual harassment means sexual harassment that occurs on, or is facilitated by, digital platforms or digital technologies.
(b)This section shall become operative on August 1, 2027.
SEC. 3.Section 66281.9 of the Education Code is amended to read:66281.9.(a)The governing board or body of an independent institution of higher education that receives state financial assistance is requested, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with that independent institution of higher education, to do all of the following:(1)(A)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment.(B)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or, if applicable, with the United States Department of Education.(2)Require an applicant to sign a release form that authorizes, in the event the applicant reaches the final stages of the application process, the release of information by the applicants previous employers to the independent institution of higher education concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct in order to permit the institution to evaluate the released information with respect to the criteria for a potential job placement.(3)If an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the intended academic, athletic, or administrative position, require the independent institution of higher education to use the release form signed pursuant to paragraph (2) to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.(b)Independent institutions of higher education that receive state financial assistance are requested to not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the institution has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:(1)Applicant means a person who submits an employment application for an academic, athletic, or administrative position, but does not include a person who is a current employee and is hired or rehired for a different position with the same employer.(2)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and the subsequent hearing.(3)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.(4)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.(5)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined in Section 106.30 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.(6)Substantiated allegation means an allegation that has been sustained based upon a burden of proof of at least a preponderance of the evidence.SEC. 4.Section 87604.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:87604.5.(a)The governing board of a community college district shall, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with that district, do all of the following:(1)(A)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment.(B)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or, if applicable, with the United States Department of Education.(2)Require an applicant to sign a release form that authorizes, in the event the applicant reaches the final stages of the application process, the release of information by the applicants previous employers to the community college district concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct in order to permit the community college district to evaluate the released information with respect to the criteria for a potential job placement.(3)If an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the intended academic, athletic, or administrative position, require the community college district to use the release form signed pursuant to paragraph (2) to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.(b)A community college district shall not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the community college district has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:(1)Applicant means a person who submits an employment application for an academic, athletic, or administrative position, but does not include a person who is a current employee and is hired or rehired for a different position with the same employer.(2)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and the subsequent hearing.(3)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.(4)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.(5)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined in Section 106.30 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.(6)Substantiated allegation means an allegation that has been sustained based upon a burden of proof of at least a preponderance of the evidence.SEC. 5.Section 89521 of the Education Code is amended to read:89521.(a)The trustees shall, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with the California State University, do all of the following:(1)(A)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment.(B)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or, if applicable, with the United States Department of Education.(2)Require an applicant to sign a release form that authorizes, in the event the applicant reaches the final stages of the application process, the release of information by the applicants previous employers to the campus of the California State University concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct in order to permit the campus to evaluate the released information with respect to the criteria for a potential job placement.(3)If an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the intended academic, athletic, or administrative position, require campuses of the California State University to use the release form signed pursuant to paragraph (2) to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.(b)The California State University shall not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the California State University has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:(1)Applicant means a person who submits an employment application for an academic, athletic, or administrative position, but does not include a person who is a current employee and is hired or rehired for a different position with the same campus.(2)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and the subsequent hearing.(3)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.(4)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.(5)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined in Section 106.30 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.(6)Substantiated allegation means an allegation that has been sustained based upon a burden of proof of at least a preponderance of the evidence.SEC. 6.Section 92612.1 of the Education Code is amended to read:92612.1.(a)The regents are requested, as part of the hiring process for an applicant applying for an academic, athletic, or administrative position with the University of California, to do both of the following:(1)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed misconduct, including sexual harassment.(2)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer, administrative agency, or court, if applicable.(b)The University of California is requested to not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the University of California has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:(1)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and a hearing, if a hearing is either required pursuant to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.) or federal regulations implementing those provisions, or is required by the public postsecondary educational institutions written policy on sex discrimination, including sexual harassment, and related grievance processes. If a party has filed a timely grievance or appeal, final administrative decision means after the grievance or appeal decision has been issued.(2)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.(3)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.(4)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined by the federal regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.).SEC. 7.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.(a)(1)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 212.5 and includes sexual battery, sexual violence, and sexual exploitation.
(2)Sexual harassment of students is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Section 66270.
(b)For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1)Sexual violence means physical sexual acts perpetrated against a person without the persons affirmative consent, as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 67386. Physical sexual acts include both of the following:
(A)Rape, defined as penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any part or object, or oral copulation of a sex organ by another person, without the consent of the victim.
(B)Sexual battery, as defined in paragraph (2).
(2)Sexual battery means the intentional touching of another persons intimate parts without consent, intentionally causing a person to touch the intimate parts of another without consent, or using a persons own intimate part to intentionally touch another persons body without consent.
(3)Sexual exploitation means a person taking sexual advantage of another person for the benefit of anyone other than that person without that persons consent, including, but not limited to, any of the following acts:
(A)The prostituting of another person.
(B)The trafficking of another person, defined as the inducement of a person to perform a commercial sex act, or labor or services, through force, fraud, or coercion.
(C)The recording of images, including video or photograph, or audio of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, without that persons consent.
(D)The distribution of images, including video or photograph, or audio of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, if the individual distributing the images or audio knows or should have known that the person depicted in the images or audio did not consent to the disclosure.
(E)The viewing of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, in a place where that other person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy, without that persons consent, for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire.
(c)This section shall become inoperative on August 1, 2027, and, as of January 1, 2028, is repealed.
SEC. 2.Section 66262.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:66262.5.(a)For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(1)Affirmative consent means affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity. It is the responsibility of each person involved in the sexual activity to ensure that the person has the affirmative consent of the other or others to engage in the sexual activity. Lack of protest or resistance does not mean consent, nor does silence mean consent. Affirmative consent must be ongoing throughout a sexual activity and can be revoked at any time. The existence of a dating relationship between the persons involved, or the fact of past sexual relations between them, should never by itself be assumed to be an indicator of consent.
(2)Depicted individual means an individual who is portrayed in sexually explicit material.
(3)Digitization means a process by which any of the following are realistically depicted:
(A)The nude body parts of another human being as the nude body parts of the depicted individual.
(B)Computer-generated nude body parts as the nude body parts of the depicted individual.
(C)The depicted individual engaging in sexual conduct in which the depicted individual did not engage.
(4)Digitized sexually explicit material means any portion of a visual or audiovisual work created or substantially altered through digitization, including an image, that shows the depicted individual in the nude or appearing to engage in, or being subjected to, sexual conduct.
(5)Sextortion means 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.
(6)Sexual battery means the intentional touching of another persons intimate parts without consent, intentionally causing a person to touch the intimate parts of another without consent, or using a persons own intimate part to intentionally touch another persons body without affirmative consent.
(7)Sexual conduct means any of the following:
(A)Masturbation.
(B)Sexual intercourse, including genital, oral, or anal, whether between persons regardless of sex or gender or between humans and animals.
(C)Sexual penetration of the vagina or rectum by, or with, an object.
(D)The transfer of semen by means of sexual conduct from the penis directly onto the depicted individual as a result of ejaculation.
(E)Sadomasochistic abuse involving the depicted individual.
(8)Sexual exploitation means a person taking sexual advantage of another person for the benefit of anyone other than that person without that persons affirmative consent, including, but not limited to, any of the following acts:
(A)The prostituting of another person.
(B)The trafficking of another person, defined as the inducement of a person to perform a commercial sex act, or labor or services, through force, fraud, or coercion.
(C)The recording of images, including video or photograph, or audio, of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, without that persons affirmative consent.
(D)The distribution of images, including video or photograph, or audio, of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, if the individual distributing the images, video, photograph, or audio knows or should have known that the person depicted in the images, video, photograph, or audio did not provide affirmative consent to the disclosure.
(E)The viewing of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts in a place where that other person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy, without that persons affirmative consent, for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire.
(F)The creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit materials without the depicted individuals written consent.
(G)The distribution of digitized sexually explicit materials, if the individual distributing the materials knows or should have known that the depicted individual did not provide written consent to the disclosure.
(9)(A)Sexual harassment means unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature, made by someone from or in a work or educational setting, under any of the following conditions:
(i)Submission to the conduct is explicitly or implicitly made a term or a condition of an individuals employment, academic status, or progress.
(ii)Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis of employment or academic decisions affecting the individual.
(iii)The conduct has the purpose or effect of having a negative impact upon the individuals work or academic performance, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or educational environment.
(iv)Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis for a decision affecting the individual regarding benefits and services, honors, programs, or activities available at or through the educational institution.
(B)Sexual harassment includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(i)Sexual exploitation.
(ii)Sexual violence, including, but not limited to, sexual battery.
(iii)Stalking.
(iv)Sextortion.
(v)Technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
(C)Sexual harassment of students is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Section 66270.
(10)Sexual violence means physical sexual acts perpetrated against a person without the persons affirmative consent. Physical sexual acts include both of the following:
(A)Rape, defined as penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any part or object, or oral copulation of a sex organ by another person, without the affirmative consent of the victim.
(B)Sexual battery, as defined in paragraph (6).
(11)Stalking means engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to do either of the following:
(A)Fear for their safety or the safety of others.
(B)Suffer substantial emotional distress.
(12)Technology-facilitated sexual harassment means sexual harassment that occurs on, or is facilitated by, digital platforms or digital technologies.
(b)This section shall become operative on August 1, 2027.
SEC. 3.Section 66281.9 of the Education Code is amended to read:66281.9.(a)The governing board or body of an independent institution of higher education that receives state financial assistance is requested, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with that independent institution of higher education, to do all of the following:(1)(A)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment.(B)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or, if applicable, with the United States Department of Education.(2)Require an applicant to sign a release form that authorizes, in the event the applicant reaches the final stages of the application process, the release of information by the applicants previous employers to the independent institution of higher education concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct in order to permit the institution to evaluate the released information with respect to the criteria for a potential job placement.(3)If an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the intended academic, athletic, or administrative position, require the independent institution of higher education to use the release form signed pursuant to paragraph (2) to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.(b)Independent institutions of higher education that receive state financial assistance are requested to not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the institution has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:(1)Applicant means a person who submits an employment application for an academic, athletic, or administrative position, but does not include a person who is a current employee and is hired or rehired for a different position with the same employer.(2)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and the subsequent hearing.(3)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.(4)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.(5)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined in Section 106.30 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.(6)Substantiated allegation means an allegation that has been sustained based upon a burden of proof of at least a preponderance of the evidence.SEC. 4.Section 87604.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:87604.5.(a)The governing board of a community college district shall, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with that district, do all of the following:(1)(A)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment.(B)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or, if applicable, with the United States Department of Education.(2)Require an applicant to sign a release form that authorizes, in the event the applicant reaches the final stages of the application process, the release of information by the applicants previous employers to the community college district concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct in order to permit the community college district to evaluate the released information with respect to the criteria for a potential job placement.(3)If an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the intended academic, athletic, or administrative position, require the community college district to use the release form signed pursuant to paragraph (2) to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.(b)A community college district shall not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the community college district has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:(1)Applicant means a person who submits an employment application for an academic, athletic, or administrative position, but does not include a person who is a current employee and is hired or rehired for a different position with the same employer.(2)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and the subsequent hearing.(3)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.(4)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.(5)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined in Section 106.30 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.(6)Substantiated allegation means an allegation that has been sustained based upon a burden of proof of at least a preponderance of the evidence.SEC. 5.Section 89521 of the Education Code is amended to read:89521.(a)The trustees shall, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with the California State University, do all of the following:(1)(A)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment.(B)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or, if applicable, with the United States Department of Education.(2)Require an applicant to sign a release form that authorizes, in the event the applicant reaches the final stages of the application process, the release of information by the applicants previous employers to the campus of the California State University concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct in order to permit the campus to evaluate the released information with respect to the criteria for a potential job placement.(3)If an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the intended academic, athletic, or administrative position, require campuses of the California State University to use the release form signed pursuant to paragraph (2) to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.(b)The California State University shall not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the California State University has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:(1)Applicant means a person who submits an employment application for an academic, athletic, or administrative position, but does not include a person who is a current employee and is hired or rehired for a different position with the same campus.(2)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and the subsequent hearing.(3)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.(4)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.(5)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined in Section 106.30 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.(6)Substantiated allegation means an allegation that has been sustained based upon a burden of proof of at least a preponderance of the evidence.SEC. 6.Section 92612.1 of the Education Code is amended to read:92612.1.(a)The regents are requested, as part of the hiring process for an applicant applying for an academic, athletic, or administrative position with the University of California, to do both of the following:(1)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed misconduct, including sexual harassment.(2)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer, administrative agency, or court, if applicable.(b)The University of California is requested to not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the University of California has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:(1)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and a hearing, if a hearing is either required pursuant to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.) or federal regulations implementing those provisions, or is required by the public postsecondary educational institutions written policy on sex discrimination, including sexual harassment, and related grievance processes. If a party has filed a timely grievance or appeal, final administrative decision means after the grievance or appeal decision has been issued.(2)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.(3)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.(4)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined by the federal regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.).SEC. 7.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.(a)(1)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 212.5 and includes sexual battery, sexual violence, and sexual exploitation.
(2)Sexual harassment of students is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Section 66270.
(b)For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1)Sexual violence means physical sexual acts perpetrated against a person without the persons affirmative consent, as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 67386. Physical sexual acts include both of the following:
(A)Rape, defined as penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any part or object, or oral copulation of a sex organ by another person, without the consent of the victim.
(B)Sexual battery, as defined in paragraph (2).
(2)Sexual battery means the intentional touching of another persons intimate parts without consent, intentionally causing a person to touch the intimate parts of another without consent, or using a persons own intimate part to intentionally touch another persons body without consent.
(3)Sexual exploitation means a person taking sexual advantage of another person for the benefit of anyone other than that person without that persons consent, including, but not limited to, any of the following acts:
(A)The prostituting of another person.
(B)The trafficking of another person, defined as the inducement of a person to perform a commercial sex act, or labor or services, through force, fraud, or coercion.
(C)The recording of images, including video or photograph, or audio of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, without that persons consent.
(D)The distribution of images, including video or photograph, or audio of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, if the individual distributing the images or audio knows or should have known that the person depicted in the images or audio did not consent to the disclosure.
(E)The viewing of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, in a place where that other person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy, without that persons consent, for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire.
(c)This section shall become inoperative on August 1, 2027, and, as of January 1, 2028, is repealed.
SEC. 2.Section 66262.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:66262.5.(a)For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(1)Affirmative consent means affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity. It is the responsibility of each person involved in the sexual activity to ensure that the person has the affirmative consent of the other or others to engage in the sexual activity. Lack of protest or resistance does not mean consent, nor does silence mean consent. Affirmative consent must be ongoing throughout a sexual activity and can be revoked at any time. The existence of a dating relationship between the persons involved, or the fact of past sexual relations between them, should never by itself be assumed to be an indicator of consent.
(2)Depicted individual means an individual who is portrayed in sexually explicit material.
(3)Digitization means a process by which any of the following are realistically depicted:
(A)The nude body parts of another human being as the nude body parts of the depicted individual.
(B)Computer-generated nude body parts as the nude body parts of the depicted individual.
(C)The depicted individual engaging in sexual conduct in which the depicted individual did not engage.
(4)Digitized sexually explicit material means any portion of a visual or audiovisual work created or substantially altered through digitization, including an image, that shows the depicted individual in the nude or appearing to engage in, or being subjected to, sexual conduct.
(5)Sextortion means 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.
(6)Sexual battery means the intentional touching of another persons intimate parts without consent, intentionally causing a person to touch the intimate parts of another without consent, or using a persons own intimate part to intentionally touch another persons body without affirmative consent.
(7)Sexual conduct means any of the following:
(A)Masturbation.
(B)Sexual intercourse, including genital, oral, or anal, whether between persons regardless of sex or gender or between humans and animals.
(C)Sexual penetration of the vagina or rectum by, or with, an object.
(D)The transfer of semen by means of sexual conduct from the penis directly onto the depicted individual as a result of ejaculation.
(E)Sadomasochistic abuse involving the depicted individual.
(8)Sexual exploitation means a person taking sexual advantage of another person for the benefit of anyone other than that person without that persons affirmative consent, including, but not limited to, any of the following acts:
(A)The prostituting of another person.
(B)The trafficking of another person, defined as the inducement of a person to perform a commercial sex act, or labor or services, through force, fraud, or coercion.
(C)The recording of images, including video or photograph, or audio, of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, without that persons affirmative consent.
(D)The distribution of images, including video or photograph, or audio, of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, if the individual distributing the images, video, photograph, or audio knows or should have known that the person depicted in the images, video, photograph, or audio did not provide affirmative consent to the disclosure.
(E)The viewing of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts in a place where that other person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy, without that persons affirmative consent, for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire.
(F)The creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit materials without the depicted individuals written consent.
(G)The distribution of digitized sexually explicit materials, if the individual distributing the materials knows or should have known that the depicted individual did not provide written consent to the disclosure.
(9)(A)Sexual harassment means unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature, made by someone from or in a work or educational setting, under any of the following conditions:
(i)Submission to the conduct is explicitly or implicitly made a term or a condition of an individuals employment, academic status, or progress.
(ii)Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis of employment or academic decisions affecting the individual.
(iii)The conduct has the purpose or effect of having a negative impact upon the individuals work or academic performance, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or educational environment.
(iv)Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis for a decision affecting the individual regarding benefits and services, honors, programs, or activities available at or through the educational institution.
(B)Sexual harassment includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(i)Sexual exploitation.
(ii)Sexual violence, including, but not limited to, sexual battery.
(iii)Stalking.
(iv)Sextortion.
(v)Technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
(C)Sexual harassment of students is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Section 66270.
(10)Sexual violence means physical sexual acts perpetrated against a person without the persons affirmative consent. Physical sexual acts include both of the following:
(A)Rape, defined as penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any part or object, or oral copulation of a sex organ by another person, without the affirmative consent of the victim.
(B)Sexual battery, as defined in paragraph (6).
(11)Stalking means engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to do either of the following:
(A)Fear for their safety or the safety of others.
(B)Suffer substantial emotional distress.
(12)Technology-facilitated sexual harassment means sexual harassment that occurs on, or is facilitated by, digital platforms or digital technologies.
(b)This section shall become operative on August 1, 2027.
SEC. 3.Section 66281.9 of the Education Code is amended to read:66281.9.(a)The governing board or body of an independent institution of higher education that receives state financial assistance is requested, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with that independent institution of higher education, to do all of the following:(1)(A)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment.(B)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or, if applicable, with the United States Department of Education.(2)Require an applicant to sign a release form that authorizes, in the event the applicant reaches the final stages of the application process, the release of information by the applicants previous employers to the independent institution of higher education concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct in order to permit the institution to evaluate the released information with respect to the criteria for a potential job placement.(3)If an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the intended academic, athletic, or administrative position, require the independent institution of higher education to use the release form signed pursuant to paragraph (2) to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.(b)Independent institutions of higher education that receive state financial assistance are requested to not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the institution has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:(1)Applicant means a person who submits an employment application for an academic, athletic, or administrative position, but does not include a person who is a current employee and is hired or rehired for a different position with the same employer.(2)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and the subsequent hearing.(3)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.(4)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.(5)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined in Section 106.30 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.(6)Substantiated allegation means an allegation that has been sustained based upon a burden of proof of at least a preponderance of the evidence.SEC. 4.Section 67385.7 of the Education Code is amended to read:67385.7.(a)The governing board of each community college district and the Trustees of the California State University shall, and the Regents of the University of California are requested to, in collaboration with campus-based and community-based victim advocacy organizations, provide, as part of established campus orientations, educational and preventive information about sexual violence to students at all campuses of their respective segments. For a campus with an existing on-campus orientation program, this information shall be provided, in addition to the sexual harassment information required to be provided pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 66281.5, during the regular orientation for incoming students.(b)(1)Each campus of the California Community Colleges and the California State University shall post educational and preventive information on sexual violence and sexual harassment on its campus internet website.(2)Each campus of an independent institution of higher education, a private postsecondary educational institution, and the University of California is requested to post educational and preventive information on sexual violence and sexual harassment on its campus internet website.(c)The educational and preventive information provided pursuant to this section shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:(1)Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual violence and sexual harassment.(2)What constitutes sexual violence and sexual harassment, including information on how to file internal administrative complaints with the institution of higher education and how to file criminal charges with local law enforcement officials.(3)The availability of, and contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual violence and sexual harassment.(4)Methods of encouraging peer support for victims and the imposition of sanctions on offenders.(5)Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing acts of sexual violence and sexual harassment.(d)(1)Beginning on September 1, 2024, and each year thereafter, the California Community Colleges, the California State University, independent institutions of higher education that receive state financial assistance, and private postsecondary educational institutions that receive state financial assistance shall, and the University of California is requested to, annually train its students on sexual violence and sexual harassment, and on or before September 1, 2026, and every two years thereafter, consider updating the annual training.(2)Beginning on September 1, 2024, and each year thereafter, students attending the California Community Colleges shall complete their annual training within six months of the beginning of the academic year.(3)The annual training for students established in paragraph (1) shall cover all of the following topics:(A)Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual violence and sexual harassment.(B)What constitutes sexual violence and sexual harassment, including information on how to file internal administrative complaints with the institution of higher education and how to file criminal charges with local law enforcement officials.(C)The availability of, and contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual violence and sexual harassment.(D)Methods of encouraging peer support for victims and the imposition of sanctions on offenders.(E)Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing acts of sexual violence and sexual harassment.(F)The contact information of a Title IX coordinator or a similar position.(G)As referenced in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (b) of Section 66281.8, statistics on the prevalence of sexual harassment and sexual violence in the educational setting, and the differing rates at which students experience sexual harassment and sexual assault in the educational setting based on their race, sexual orientation, disability, gender, and gender identity.(4)Beginning on September 1, 2026, the annual training for students established in paragraph (1) shall cover all of the following topics:(A)How to recognize if a person is at risk of alcohol- and drug-facilitated sexual assault, including, but not limited to, common symptoms following alcohol and drug consumption and intoxication.(B)Effective measures that can be taken to prevent involuntary alcohol and drug consumption and ways to respond to circumstances where a person may be involuntarily intoxicated and at risk for alcohol- and drug-facilitated sexual assault.(C)As part of the topic covered pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3), common facts and myths regarding alcohol- and drug-facilitated sexual assault.(D)Information related to confidential support and care resources for situations that arise as a result of an act of sexual violence or sexual harassment, or both, including, but not limited to, contact information and the availability of confidential medical and transportation services, forensic examination sites, and, to the extent available, rape crisis centers on campus or within the surrounding community of the campus.(e)This section does not prevent the California Community Colleges, the California State University, independent institutions of higher education, private postsecondary educational institutions, and the University of California from incorporating the training developed pursuant to subdivision (d) from being integrated into existing trainings as referenced in subdivision (a).(f)A community college district may authorize students to self-certify that they have completed training developed pursuant to this section.(g)As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings:(1)Drugs includes, but is not limited to, flunitrazepam, ketamine, and gamma hydroxybutyric acid, which is also known by other names, including, but not limited to, GHB, gamma hydroxyl butyrate, 4-hydroxybutyrate, 4-hydroxybutanoic acid, sodium oxybate, and sodium oxybutyrate.(2)Independent institutions of higher education has the same meaning as that term is defined in Section 66010.(3)Private postsecondary educational institution has the same meaning as that term is defined in Section 94858.(4)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as that term is defined in subdivision (m) of Section 66262.5.(5)Sexual violence has the same meaning as that term is defined in subdivision (n) of Section 66262.5.(6)Training or train includes, but is not limited to, in-person, remote, or video instruction. Training or train shall not include instruction that is only provided through written materials.(h)Campuses of the California Community Colleges and the California State University shall, and campuses of the University of California are requested to, develop policies to encourage students to report any campus crimes involving sexual violence to the appropriate campus authorities.(i)Campuses are urged to adopt policies to eliminate barriers for victims who come forward to report sexual assaults, and to advise students regarding these policies. These policies may include, but are not limited to, exempting the victim from campus sanctions for being in violation of any campus policies, including alcohol or substance abuse policies or other policies of the campus, at the time of the incident.(j)The Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges and the Trustees of the California State University shall, and the Regents of the University of California are requested to, develop and adopt regulations setting forth procedures for the implementation of this section by campuses in their respective segments.SEC. 5.SEC. 4.Section 87604.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:87604.5.(a)The governing board of a community college district shall, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with that district, do all of the following:(1)(A)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment.(B)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or, if applicable, with the United States Department of Education.(2)Require an applicant to sign a release form that authorizes, in the event the applicant reaches the final stages of the application process, the release of information by the applicants previous employers to the community college district concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct in order to permit the community college district to evaluate the released information with respect to the criteria for a potential job placement.(3)If an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the intended academic, athletic, or administrative position, require the community college district to use the release form signed pursuant to paragraph (2) to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.(b)A community college district shall not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the community college district has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:(1)Applicant means a person who submits an employment application for an academic, athletic, or administrative position, but does not include a person who is a current employee and is hired or rehired for a different position with the same employer.(2)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and the subsequent hearing.(3)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.(4)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.(5)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined in Section 106.30 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.(6)Substantiated allegation means an allegation that has been sustained based upon a burden of proof of at least a preponderance of the evidence.SEC. 6.SEC. 5.Section 89521 of the Education Code is amended to read:89521.(a)The trustees shall, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with the California State University, do all of the following:(1)(A)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment.(B)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or, if applicable, with the United States Department of Education.(2)Require an applicant to sign a release form that authorizes, in the event the applicant reaches the final stages of the application process, the release of information by the applicants previous employers to the campus of the California State University concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct in order to permit the campus to evaluate the released information with respect to the criteria for a potential job placement.(3)If an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the intended academic, athletic, or administrative position, require campuses of the California State University to use the release form signed pursuant to paragraph (2) to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.(b)The California State University shall not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the California State University has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:(1)Applicant means a person who submits an employment application for an academic, athletic, or administrative position, but does not include a person who is a current employee and is hired or rehired for a different position with the same campus.(2)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and the subsequent hearing.(3)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.(4)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.(5)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined in Section 106.30 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.(6)Substantiated allegation means an allegation that has been sustained based upon a burden of proof of at least a preponderance of the evidence.SEC. 7.SEC. 6.Section 92612.1 of the Education Code is amended to read:92612.1.(a)The regents are requested, as part of the hiring process for an applicant applying for an academic, athletic, or administrative position with the University of California, to do both of the following:(1)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed misconduct, including sexual harassment.(2)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer, administrative agency, or court, if applicable.(b)The University of California is requested to not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the University of California has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:(1)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and a hearing, if a hearing is either required pursuant to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.) or federal regulations implementing those provisions, or is required by the public postsecondary educational institutions written policy on sex discrimination, including sexual harassment, and related grievance processes. If a party has filed a timely grievance or appeal, final administrative decision means after the grievance or appeal decision has been issued.(2)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.(3)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.(4)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined by the federal regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.).SEC. 8.SEC. 7.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.For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(a)Affirmative consent means affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity. It is the responsibility of each person involved in the sexual activity to ensure that the person has the affirmative consent of the other or others to engage in the sexual activity. Lack of protest or resistance does not mean consent, nor does silence mean consent. Affirmative consent must be ongoing throughout a sexual activity and can be revoked at any time. The existence of a dating relationship between the persons involved, or the fact of past sexual relations between them, should never by itself be assumed to be an indicator of consent.
(b)(1)Cyber sexual bullying means the dissemination of, or the solicitation or incitement to disseminate, a photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording by means of an electronic act that has or can be reasonably predicted to have one or more of the following effects:
(A)Placing a reasonable person or persons in fear of harm to that person or persons or their property.
(B)Causing a reasonable person to experience a substantially detrimental effect on the persons physical or mental health.
(C)Causing a reasonable person to experience substantial interference with the persons academic performance, work, or employment.
(D)Causing a reasonable person to experience substantial interference with the persons ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by an educational institution.
(2)A photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording, as described in paragraph (1), includes the depiction of a nude, seminude, or sexually explicit photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording of a person in which the person is identifiable from the photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, visual recording, or other electronic act.
(3)Cyber sexual bullying does not include a depiction, portrayal, or image that has any serious literary, artistic, educational, political, or scientific value or that involves athletic events or sanctioned activities by the educational institution.
(c)Cyber stalking means stalking by means of an electronic communication device. For purposes of this paragraph, stalking and electronic communication device have the same meanings as the terms are used in Section 646.9 of the Penal Code.
(d)Depicted individual means an individual who is portrayed in sexually explicit material.
(e)Digitization means a process by which any of the following are realistically depicted:
(1)The nude body parts of another human being as the nude body parts of the depicted individual.
(2)Computer-generated nude body parts as the nude body parts of the depicted individual.
(3)The depicted individual engaging in sexual conduct in which the depicted individual did not engage.
(f)Digitized sexually explicit material means any portion of a visual or audiovisual work created or substantially altered through digitization, including an image, that shows the depicted individual in the nude or appearing to engage in, or being subjected to, sexual conduct.
(g)Doxing means an act when a person, with intent to place another person in reasonable fear for their safety, or the safety of the other persons immediate family, by means of an electronic communication device, and without written consent of the other person, and, for the purpose of imminently causing that other person unwanted physical contact, injury, or harassment by a third party, electronically distributes, publishes, emails, hyperlinks, or makes available for downloading, personal identifying information, including, but not limited to, a digital image of another person, or an electronic message of a harassing nature about another person, that would be likely to incite or produce that unwanted physical contact, injury, or harassment by a third party. For purposes of this paragraph, electronic communication device means a telephone, cell phone, computer, internet web page or website, internet phone, hybrid cellular or wireless device, personal digital assistant, video recorder, fax machine, or pager.
(h)Electronic act means the creation or transmission, originating on campus or off campus of a public postsecondary educational institution, by means of an electronic device, including, but not limited to, a telephone, wireless telephone, or other wireless communication device, computer, or pager, of a communication, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(1)A message, text, sound, video, or image.
(2)A post on a social network internet website or social media platform, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(A)Posting to or creating a burn page. Burn page means an internet website created for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b).
(B)Creating a credible impersonation of another actual person for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b). Credible impersonation means to knowingly and without consent impersonate a person for the purpose of bullying the person such that another person would reasonably believe, or has reasonably believed, that the person was or is the person who was impersonated.
(C)Creating a false profile for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in paragraph (1). False profile means a profile of a fictitious person or a profile using the likeness or attributes of an actual person other than the person who created the false profile.
(3)An act of technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
(i)Sextortion means 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.
(j)Sexual battery means the intentional touching of another persons intimate parts without consent, intentionally causing a person to touch the intimate parts of another without consent, or using a persons own intimate part to intentionally touch another persons body without affirmative consent.
(k)Sexual conduct means any of the following:
(1)Masturbation.
(2)Sexual intercourse, including genital, oral, or anal, whether between persons regardless of sex or gender or between humans and animals.
(3)Sexual penetration of the vagina or rectum by, or with, an object.
(4)The transfer of semen by means of sexual conduct from the penis directly onto the depicted individual as a result of ejaculation.
(5)Sadomasochistic abuse involving the depicted individual.
(l)Sexual exploitation means a person taking sexual advantage of another person for the benefit of anyone other than that person without that persons affirmative consent, including, but not limited to, any of the following acts:
(1)The prostituting of another person.
(2)The trafficking of another person, defined as the inducement of a person to perform a commercial sex act, or labor or services, through force, fraud, or coercion.
(3)The recording of images, including video or photograph, or audio, of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, without that persons affirmative consent.
(4)The distribution of images, including video or photograph, or audio, of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, if the individual distributing the images, video, photograph, or audio knows or should have known that the person depicted in the images, video, photograph, or audio did not provide affirmative consent to the disclosure.
(5)The viewing of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts in a place where that other person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy, without that persons affirmative consent, for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire.
(6)The creation, generation, or distribution of digitized sexually explicit materials without the distinct and separate written consent of the depicted individual or individuals for each such act.
(7)The creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, without that persons written consent.
(8)The distribution of digitized sexually explicit material of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, if the individual distributing the digitized sexually explicit material knows or should have known that the person depicted in the digitized sexually explicit material did not provide written consent to the disclosure.
(m)(1)Sexual harassment means unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature, made by someone from or in a work or educational setting, under any of the following conditions:
(A)Submission to the conduct is explicitly or implicitly made a term or a condition of an individuals employment, academic status, or progress.
(B)Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis of employment or academic decisions affecting the individual.
(C)The conduct has the purpose or effect of having a negative impact upon the individuals work or academic performance, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or educational environment.
(D)Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis for a decision affecting the individual regarding benefits and services, honors, programs, or activities available at or through the educational institution.
(2)Sexual harassment includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(A)Sexual exploitation.
(B)Sexual violence, including, but not limited to, sexual battery.
(C)Technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including, but not limited to, cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, sextortion, and doxing.
(3)Sexual harassment of students is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Section 66270.
(n)Sexual violence means physical sexual acts perpetrated against a person without the persons affirmative consent. Physical sexual acts include both of the following:
(1)Rape, defined as penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any part or object, or oral copulation of a sex organ by another person, without the affirmative consent of the victim.
(2)Sexual battery, as defined in subdivision (j).
(o)(1)Technology-facilitated sexual harassment means sexual harassment that occurs on, or is facilitated by, digital platforms or digital technologies.
(2)Technology-facilitated sexual harassment includes, but is not limited to, cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, sextortion, and doxing.
(p)(1)Written consent means an agreement written in plain language signed knowingly and voluntarily by the depicted individual that includes a general description of the digitized sexually explicit material and the visual or audiovisual work in which it will be incorporated.
(2)A depicted individual may rescind consent by delivering written notice within three business days from the date consent was given to the person in whose favor consent was made, unless one of the following requirements is satisfied:
(A)The depicted individual is given at least 72 hours to review the terms of the agreement before signing the agreement.
(B)The depicted individuals authorized representative provides written approval of the signed agreement.
SEC. 3.Section 66281.9 of the Education Code is amended to read:66281.9.(a)The governing board or body of an independent institution of higher education that receives state financial assistance is requested, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with that independent institution of higher education, to do all of the following:
(1)(A)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment.
(B)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or, if applicable, with the United States Department of Education.
(2)Require an applicant to sign a release form that authorizes, in the event the applicant reaches the final stages of the application process, the release of information by the applicants previous employers to the independent institution of higher education concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct in order to permit the institution to evaluate the released information with respect to the criteria for a potential job placement.
(3)If an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the intended academic, athletic, or administrative position, require the independent institution of higher education to use the release form signed pursuant to paragraph (2) to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.
(b)Independent institutions of higher education that receive state financial assistance are requested to not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the institution has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)Applicant means a person who submits an employment application for an academic, athletic, or administrative position, but does not include a person who is a current employee and is hired or rehired for a different position with the same employer.
(2)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and the subsequent hearing.
(3)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.
(4)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
(5)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined in Section 106.30 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(6)Substantiated allegation means an allegation that has been sustained based upon a burden of proof of at least a preponderance of the evidence.
SEC. 4.Section 67385.7 of the Education Code is amended to read:67385.7.(a)The governing board of each community college district and the Trustees of the California State University shall, and the Regents of the University of California are requested to, in collaboration with campus-based and community-based victim advocacy organizations, provide, as part of established campus orientations, educational and preventive information about sexual violence to students at all campuses of their respective segments. For a campus with an existing on-campus orientation program, this information shall be provided, in addition to the sexual harassment information required to be provided pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 66281.5, during the regular orientation for incoming students.(b)(1)Each campus of the California Community Colleges and the California State University shall post educational and preventive information on sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment on its campus internet website.(2)Each campus of an independent institution of higher education, a private postsecondary educational institution, and the University of California is requested to post educational and preventive information on sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment on its campus internet website.(c)The educational and preventive information provided pursuant to this section shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:(1)Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment.(2)What constitutes sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment, including information on how to file internal administrative complaints with the institution of higher education and how to file criminal charges with local law enforcement officials.(3)The availability of, and contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment.(4)Methods of encouraging peer support for victims and the imposition of sanctions on offenders.(5)Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing acts of sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment.(6)What constitutes digitized sexually explicit material.(7)What constitutes affirmative consent and written consent as defined in Section 66262.5.(d)(1)Beginning on September 1, 2024, and each year thereafter, the California Community Colleges, the California State University, independent institutions of higher education that receive state financial assistance, and private postsecondary educational institutions that receive state financial assistance shall, and the University of California is requested to, annually train its students on sexual violence and sexual harassment, and on or before September 1, 2026, and every two years thereafter, consider updating the annual training.(2)Beginning on September 1, 2024, and each year thereafter, students attending the California Community Colleges shall complete their annual training within six months of the beginning of the academic year.(3)The annual training for students established in paragraph (1) shall cover all of the following topics:(A)Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual violence and sexual harassment.(B)What constitutes sexual violence and sexual harassment, including information on how to file internal administrative complaints with the institution of higher education and how to file criminal charges with local law enforcement officials.(C)The availability of, and contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual violence and sexual harassment.(D)Methods of encouraging peer support for victims and the imposition of sanctions on offenders.(E)Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing acts of sexual violence and sexual harassment.(F)The contact information of a Title IX coordinator or a similar position.(G)As referenced in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (b) of Section 66281.8, statistics on the prevalence of sexual harassment and sexual violence in the educational setting, and the differing rates at which students experience sexual harassment and sexual assault in the educational setting based on their race, sexual orientation, disability, gender, and gender identity.(4)Beginning on September 1, 2026, the annual training for students established in paragraph (1) shall cover all of the following topics:(A)How to recognize if a person is at risk of alcohol- and drug-facilitated sexual assault, including, but not limited to, common symptoms following alcohol and drug consumption and intoxication.(B)Effective measures that can be taken to prevent involuntary alcohol and drug consumption and ways to respond to circumstances where a person may be involuntarily intoxicated and at risk for alcohol- and drug-facilitated sexual assault.(C)As part of the topic covered pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3), common facts and myths regarding alcohol- and drug-facilitated sexual assault.(D)Information related to confidential support and care resources for situations that arise as a result of an act of sexual violence or sexual harassment, or both, including, but not limited to, contact information and the availability of confidential medical and transportation services, forensic examination sites, and, to the extent available, rape crisis centers on campus or within the surrounding community of the campus.(5)Beginning on September 1, 2027, the annual training for students described in paragraph (1) shall cover all of the following topics:(A)Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment.(B)What constitutes sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including information on how to file internal administrative complaints with the institution of higher education and how to file criminal charges with local law enforcement officials.(C)The availability of, and contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment.(D)Methods of encouraging peer support for victims and the imposition of sanctions on offenders.(E)Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment.(F)The contact information of a Title IX coordinator, or a similar position.(G)The availability of, and contact information for, campus, community, and online resources for victims of sexual exploitation or technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including how to help take down digitized sexually explicit material.(e)This section does not prevent the California Community Colleges, the California State University, independent institutions of higher education, private postsecondary educational institutions, and the University of California from incorporating the training developed pursuant to subdivision (d) from being integrated into existing trainings as referenced in subdivision (a).(f)A community college district may authorize students to self-certify that they have completed training developed pursuant to this section.(g)As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings:(1)Digitized sexually explicit material has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5.(2)Drugs includes, but is not limited to, flunitrazepam, ketamine, and gamma hydroxybutyric acid, which is also known by other names, including, but not limited to, GHB, gamma hydroxyl butyrate, 4-hydroxybutyrate, 4-hydroxybutanoic acid, sodium oxybate, and sodium oxybutyrate.(3)Independent institutions of higher education has the same meaning as that term is defined in Section 66010.(4)Private postsecondary educational institution has the same meaning as that term is defined in Section 94858.(5)Sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment have the same meaning as those terms are defined in Section 66262.5.(6)Training or train includes, but is not limited to, in-person, remote, or video instruction. Training or train shall not include instruction that is only provided through written materials.(h)Campuses of the California Community Colleges and the California State University shall, and campuses of the University of California are requested to, develop policies to encourage students to report any campus crimes involving sexual assaults, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, or sexual harassment to the appropriate campus authorities.(i)Campuses are urged to adopt policies to eliminate barriers for victims who come forward to report sexual assaults, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, or sexual harassment, and to advise students regarding these policies. These policies may include, but are not limited to, exempting the victim from campus sanctions for being in violation of any campus policies, including alcohol or substance abuse policies or other policies of the campus, at the time of the incident.(j)The Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges and the Trustees of the California State University shall, and the Regents of the University of California are requested to, develop and adopt regulations setting forth procedures for the implementation of this section by campuses in their respective segments.SEC. 4.Section 67385.7 of the Education Code is amended to read:67385.7.(a)The governing board of each community college district and the Trustees of the California State University shall, and the Regents of the University of California are requested to, in collaboration with campus-based and community-based victim advocacy organizations, provide, as part of established campus orientations, educational and preventive information about sexual violence to students at all campuses of their respective segments. For a campus with an existing on-campus orientation program, this information shall be provided, in addition to the sexual harassment information required to be provided pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 66281.5, during the regular orientation for incoming students.
(b)(1)Each campus of the California Community Colleges and the California State University shall post educational and preventive information on sexual violence and sexual harassment on its campus internet website.
(2)Each campus of an independent institution of higher education, a private postsecondary educational institution, and the University of California is requested to post educational and preventive information on sexual violence and sexual harassment on its campus internet website.
(c)The educational and preventive information provided pursuant to this section shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1)Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual violence and sexual harassment.
(2)What constitutes sexual violence and sexual harassment, including information on how to file internal administrative complaints with the institution of higher education and how to file criminal charges with local law enforcement officials.
(3)The availability of, and contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual violence and sexual harassment.
(4)Methods of encouraging peer support for victims and the imposition of sanctions on offenders.
(5)Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing acts of sexual violence and sexual harassment.
(d)(1)Beginning on September 1, 2024, and each year thereafter, the California Community Colleges, the California State University, independent institutions of higher education that receive state financial assistance, and private postsecondary educational institutions that receive state financial assistance shall, and the University of California is requested to, annually train its students on sexual violence and sexual harassment, and on or before September 1, 2026, and every two years thereafter, consider updating the annual training.
(2)Beginning on September 1, 2024, and each year thereafter, students attending the California Community Colleges shall complete their annual training within six months of the beginning of the academic year.
(3)The annual training for students established in paragraph (1) shall cover all of the following topics:
(A)Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual violence and sexual harassment.
(B)What constitutes sexual violence and sexual harassment, including information on how to file internal administrative complaints with the institution of higher education and how to file criminal charges with local law enforcement officials.
(C)The availability of, and contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual violence and sexual harassment.
(D)Methods of encouraging peer support for victims and the imposition of sanctions on offenders.
(E)Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing acts of sexual violence and sexual harassment.
(F)The contact information of a Title IX coordinator or a similar position.
(G)As referenced in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (b) of Section 66281.8, statistics on the prevalence of sexual harassment and sexual violence in the educational setting, and the differing rates at which students experience sexual harassment and sexual assault in the educational setting based on their race, sexual orientation, disability, gender, and gender identity.
(4)Beginning on September 1, 2026, the annual training for students established in paragraph (1) shall cover all of the following topics:
(A)How to recognize if a person is at risk of alcohol- and drug-facilitated sexual assault, including, but not limited to, common symptoms following alcohol and drug consumption and intoxication.
(B)Effective measures that can be taken to prevent involuntary alcohol and drug consumption and ways to respond to circumstances where a person may be involuntarily intoxicated and at risk for alcohol- and drug-facilitated sexual assault.
(C)As part of the topic covered pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3), common facts and myths regarding alcohol- and drug-facilitated sexual assault.
(D)Information related to confidential support and care resources for situations that arise as a result of an act of sexual violence or sexual harassment, or both, including, but not limited to, contact information and the availability of confidential medical and transportation services, forensic examination sites, and, to the extent available, rape crisis centers on campus or within the surrounding community of the campus.
(e)This section does not prevent the California Community Colleges, the California State University, independent institutions of higher education, private postsecondary educational institutions, and the University of California from incorporating the training developed pursuant to subdivision (d) from being integrated into existing trainings as referenced in subdivision (a).
(f)A community college district may authorize students to self-certify that they have completed training developed pursuant to this section.
(g)As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1)Drugs includes, but is not limited to, flunitrazepam, ketamine, and gamma hydroxybutyric acid, which is also known by other names, including, but not limited to, GHB, gamma hydroxyl butyrate, 4-hydroxybutyrate, 4-hydroxybutanoic acid, sodium oxybate, and sodium oxybutyrate.
(2)Independent institutions of higher education has the same meaning as that term is defined in Section 66010.
(3)Private postsecondary educational institution has the same meaning as that term is defined in Section 94858.
(4)Sexual violence and sexual harassment have the same meaning as those terms are defined in Section 66262.5.(4)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as that term is defined in subdivision (m) of Section 66262.5.
(5)Sexual violence has the same meaning as that term is defined in subdivision (n) of Section 66262.5.
(5)(6)Training or train includes, but is not limited to, in-person, remote, or video instruction. Training or train shall not include instruction that is only provided through written materials.
(h)Campuses of the California Community Colleges and the California State University shall, and campuses of the University of California are requested to, develop policies to encourage students to report any campus crimes involving sexual violence to the appropriate campus authorities.
(i)Campuses are urged to adopt policies to eliminate barriers for victims who come forward to report sexual assaults, and to advise students regarding these policies. These policies may include, but are not limited to, exempting the victim from campus sanctions for being in violation of any campus policies, including alcohol or substance abuse policies or other policies of the campus, at the time of the incident.
(j)The Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges and the Trustees of the California State University shall, and the Regents of the University of California are requested to, develop and adopt regulations setting forth procedures for the implementation of this section by campuses in their respective segments.
SEC. 5.Section 87604.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:87604.5.(a)The governing board of a community college district shall, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with that district, do all of the following:
(1)(A)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment.
(B)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or, if applicable, with the United States Department of Education.
(2)Require an applicant to sign a release form that authorizes, in the event the applicant reaches the final stages of the application process, the release of information by the applicants previous employers to the community college district concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct in order to permit the community college district to evaluate the released information with respect to the criteria for a potential job placement.
(3)If an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the intended academic, athletic, or administrative position, require the community college district to use the release form signed pursuant to paragraph (2) to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.
(b)A community college district shall not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the community college district has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)Applicant means a person who submits an employment application for an academic, athletic, or administrative position, but does not include a person who is a current employee and is hired or rehired for a different position with the same employer.
(2)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and the subsequent hearing.
(3)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.
(4)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
(5)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined in Section 106.30 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(6)Substantiated allegation means an allegation that has been sustained based upon a burden of proof of at least a preponderance of the evidence.
SEC. 6.Section 89521 of the Education Code is amended to read:89521.(a)The trustees shall, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with the California State University, do all of the following:
(1)(A)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment.
(B)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or, if applicable, with the United States Department of Education.
(2)Require an applicant to sign a release form that authorizes, in the event the applicant reaches the final stages of the application process, the release of information by the applicants previous employers to the campus of the California State University concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct in order to permit the campus to evaluate the released information with respect to the criteria for a potential job placement.
(3)If an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the intended academic, athletic, or administrative position, require campuses of the California State University to use the release form signed pursuant to paragraph (2) to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.
(b)The California State University shall not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the California State University has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)Applicant means a person who submits an employment application for an academic, athletic, or administrative position, but does not include a person who is a current employee and is hired or rehired for a different position with the same campus.
(2)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and the subsequent hearing.
(3)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.
(4)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
(5)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined in Section 106.30 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(6)Substantiated allegation means an allegation that has been sustained based upon a burden of proof of at least a preponderance of the evidence.
SEC. 7.Section 92612.1 of the Education Code is amended to read:92612.1.(a)The regents are requested, as part of the hiring process for an applicant applying for an academic, athletic, or administrative position with the University of California, to do both of the following:
(1)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed misconduct, including sexual harassment.
(2)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer, administrative agency, or court, if applicable.
(b)The University of California is requested to not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the University of California has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and a hearing, if a hearing is either required pursuant to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.) or federal regulations implementing those provisions, or is required by the public postsecondary educational institutions written policy on sex discrimination, including sexual harassment, and related grievance processes. If a party has filed a timely grievance or appeal, final administrative decision means after the grievance or appeal decision has been issued.
(2)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.
(3)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
(4)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined by the federal regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.).
SEC. 8.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.
For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(a)Affirmative consent means affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity. It is the responsibility of each person involved in the sexual activity to ensure that the person has the affirmative consent of the other or others to engage in the sexual activity. Lack of protest or resistance does not mean consent, nor does silence mean consent. Affirmative consent must be ongoing throughout a sexual activity and can be revoked at any time. The existence of a dating relationship between the persons involved, or the fact of past sexual relations between them, should never by itself be assumed to be an indicator of consent.
(b)(1)Cyber sexual bullying means the dissemination of, or the solicitation or incitement to disseminate, a photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording by means of an electronic act that has or can be reasonably predicted to have one or more of the following effects:
(A)Placing a reasonable person or persons in fear of harm to that person or persons or their property.
(B)Causing a reasonable person to experience a substantially detrimental effect on the persons physical or mental health.
(C)Causing a reasonable person to experience substantial interference with the persons academic performance, work, or employment.
(D)Causing a reasonable person to experience substantial interference with the persons ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by an educational institution.
(2)A photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording, as described in paragraph (1), includes the depiction of a nude, seminude, or sexually explicit photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording of a person in which the person is identifiable from the photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, visual recording, or other electronic act.
(3)Cyber sexual bullying does not include a depiction, portrayal, or image that has any serious literary, artistic, educational, political, or scientific value or that involves athletic events or sanctioned activities by the educational institution.
(c)Cyber stalking means stalking by means of an electronic communication device. For purposes of this paragraph, stalking and electronic communication device have the same meanings as the terms are used in Section 646.9 of the Penal Code.
(d)Depicted individual means an individual who is portrayed in sexually explicit material.
(e)Digitization means a process by which any of the following are realistically depicted:
(1)The nude body parts of another human being as the nude body parts of the depicted individual.
(2)Computer-generated nude body parts as the nude body parts of the depicted individual.
(3)The depicted individual engaging in sexual conduct in which the depicted individual did not engage.
(f)Digitized sexually explicit material means any portion of a visual or audiovisual work created or substantially altered through digitization, including an image, that shows the depicted individual in the nude or appearing to engage in, or being subjected to, sexual conduct.
(g)Doxing means an act when a person, with intent to place another person in reasonable fear for their safety, or the safety of the other persons immediate family, by means of an electronic communication device, and without written consent of the other person, and, for the purpose of imminently causing that other person unwanted physical contact, injury, or harassment by a third party, electronically distributes, publishes, emails, hyperlinks, or makes available for downloading, personal identifying information, including, but not limited to, a digital image of another person, or an electronic message of a harassing nature about another person, that would be likely to incite or produce that unwanted physical contact, injury, or harassment by a third party. For purposes of this paragraph, electronic communication device means a telephone, cell phone, computer, internet web page or website, internet phone, hybrid cellular or wireless device, personal digital assistant, video recorder, fax machine, or pager.
(h)Electronic act means the creation or transmission, originating on campus or off campus of a public postsecondary educational institution, by means of an electronic device, including, but not limited to, a telephone, wireless telephone, or other wireless communication device, computer, or pager, of a communication, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(1)A message, text, sound, video, or image.
(2)A post on a social network internet website or social media platform, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(A)Posting to or creating a burn page. Burn page means an internet website created for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b).
(B)Creating a credible impersonation of another actual person for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b). Credible impersonation means to knowingly and without consent impersonate a person for the purpose of bullying the person such that another person would reasonably believe, or has reasonably believed, that the person was or is the person who was impersonated.
(C)Creating a false profile for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in paragraph (1). False profile means a profile of a fictitious person or a profile using the likeness or attributes of an actual person other than the person who created the false profile.
(3)An act of technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
(i)Sextortion means 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.
(j)Sexual battery means the intentional touching of another persons intimate parts without consent, intentionally causing a person to touch the intimate parts of another without consent, or using a persons own intimate part to intentionally touch another persons body without affirmative consent.
(k)Sexual conduct means any of the following:
(1)Masturbation.
(2)Sexual intercourse, including genital, oral, or anal, whether between persons regardless of sex or gender or between humans and animals.
(3)Sexual penetration of the vagina or rectum by, or with, an object.
(4)The transfer of semen by means of sexual conduct from the penis directly onto the depicted individual as a result of ejaculation.
(5)Sadomasochistic abuse involving the depicted individual.
(l)Sexual exploitation means a person taking sexual advantage of another person for the benefit of anyone other than that person without that persons affirmative consent, including, but not limited to, any of the following acts:
(1)The prostituting of another person.
(2)The trafficking of another person, defined as the inducement of a person to perform a commercial sex act, or labor or services, through force, fraud, or coercion.
(3)The recording of images, including video or photograph, or audio, of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, without that persons affirmative consent.
(4)The distribution of images, including video or photograph, or audio, of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, if the individual distributing the images, video, photograph, or audio knows or should have known that the person depicted in the images, video, photograph, or audio did not provide affirmative consent to the disclosure.
(5)The viewing of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts in a place where that other person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy, without that persons affirmative consent, for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire.
(6)The creation, generation, or distribution of digitized sexually explicit materials without the distinct and separate written consent of the depicted individual or individuals for each such act.
(7)The creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, without that persons written consent.
(8)The distribution of digitized sexually explicit material of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, if the individual distributing the digitized sexually explicit material knows or should have known that the person depicted in the digitized sexually explicit material did not provide written consent to the disclosure.
(m)(1)Sexual harassment means unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature, made by someone from or in a work or educational setting, under any of the following conditions:
(A)Submission to the conduct is explicitly or implicitly made a term or a condition of an individuals employment, academic status, or progress.
(B)Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis of employment or academic decisions affecting the individual.
(C)The conduct has the purpose or effect of having a negative impact upon the individuals work or academic performance, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or educational environment.
(D)Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis for a decision affecting the individual regarding benefits and services, honors, programs, or activities available at or through the educational institution.
(2)Sexual harassment includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(A)Sexual exploitation.
(B)Sexual violence, including, but not limited to, sexual battery.
(C)Technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including, but not limited to, cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, sextortion, and doxing.
(3)Sexual harassment of students is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Section 66270.
(n)Sexual violence means physical sexual acts perpetrated against a person without the persons affirmative consent. Physical sexual acts include both of the following:
(1)Rape, defined as penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any part or object, or oral copulation of a sex organ by another person, without the affirmative consent of the victim.
(2)Sexual battery, as defined in subdivision (j).
(o)(1)Technology-facilitated sexual harassment means sexual harassment that occurs on, or is facilitated by, digital platforms or digital technologies.
(2)Technology-facilitated sexual harassment includes, but is not limited to, cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, sextortion, and doxing.
(p)(1)Written consent means an agreement written in plain language signed knowingly and voluntarily by the depicted individual that includes a general description of the digitized sexually explicit material and the visual or audiovisual work in which it will be incorporated.
(2)A depicted individual may rescind consent by delivering written notice within three business days from the date consent was given to the person in whose favor consent was made, unless one of the following requirements is satisfied:
(A)The depicted individual is given at least 72 hours to review the terms of the agreement before signing the agreement.
(B)The depicted individuals authorized representative provides written approval of the signed agreement.
SEC. 3.Section 66281.9 of the Education Code is amended to read:66281.9.(a)The governing board or body of an independent institution of higher education that receives state financial assistance is requested, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with that independent institution of higher education, to do all of the following:
(1)(A)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment.
(B)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or, if applicable, with the United States Department of Education.
(2)Require an applicant to sign a release form that authorizes, in the event the applicant reaches the final stages of the application process, the release of information by the applicants previous employers to the independent institution of higher education concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct in order to permit the institution to evaluate the released information with respect to the criteria for a potential job placement.
(3)If an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the intended academic, athletic, or administrative position, require the independent institution of higher education to use the release form signed pursuant to paragraph (2) to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.
(b)Independent institutions of higher education that receive state financial assistance are requested to not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the institution has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)Applicant means a person who submits an employment application for an academic, athletic, or administrative position, but does not include a person who is a current employee and is hired or rehired for a different position with the same employer.
(2)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and the subsequent hearing.
(3)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.
(4)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
(5)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined in Section 106.30 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(6)Substantiated allegation means an allegation that has been sustained based upon a burden of proof of at least a preponderance of the evidence.
SEC. 4.Section 66286 is added to the Education Code, to read:66286.(a)It is the policy of the State of California, pursuant to Section 66251, that all persons, regardless of their sex, should enjoy freedom from discrimination of any kind in the postsecondary educational institutions of the state.(b)In order to receive state funds for student financial assistance, the governing board of a community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, the Regents of the University of California, and the governing boards of independent postsecondary institutions shall update any institutional policy pertaining to the adjudication of complaints of sexual harassment, the prevention of sexual harassment, or any policy pertaining to sexual harassment to include all of the following:(1)A prohibition on the public disclosure of the creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material without the written consent of the depicted individual or individuals.(2)A policy that the disclosure of digitized sexually explicit material without the written consent of the depicted individual or individuals is sexual exploitation and a violation of the institutions policy, and subject to disciplinary sanctions.(3)A list of organizations to assist students and employees with the removal of digitized sexually explicit material from digital platforms. The list shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following:(A)Contact information for the Cyber Civil Rights Legal Project. (B)Information on organizations that specialize in assisting in the removal of digitized sexually explicit material from digital platforms, including, but not limited to, all of the following: (i)Take It Down. (ii)Stop Non-Consensual Intimate Image Abuse (StopNCII.org). (iii)Revenge Porn Helpline. (iv)South West Grid for Learning - Safe, Secure, Online. (4)Information on the federal and state rights afforded to someone who has been subjected to the nonconsensual sharing of digitized sexually explicit material. (5)Contact information for legal firms who may assist the student in filing a civil or criminal case for the removal of the digitized sexually explicit material. (6)Campus resources available to the student who is a victim of sexual harassment or sexual exploitation due to the digitized sexually explicit material. (c)The California State University shall incorporate subdivision (b) into its single, systemwide nondiscrimination policy for the entire system pursuant to Section 66280.(d)The University of California shall incorporate subdivision (b) into its single, systemwide nondiscrimination policy for the entire system pursuant to Section 66280.5.SEC. 5.Section 66302 of the Education Code is amended to read:66302.(a)Notwithstanding Section 67400, to receive state financial assistance, as defined in Section 213, the governing board of a community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, and the Regents of the University of California shall do both of the following:(1)Adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying and include the policies within the rules and regulations governing student conduct within their respective segments of public postsecondary education.(2)Provide, as a part of established campus orientations, educational and preventive information about harassment, intimidation, and bullying to students at all campuses of their respective segments of public postsecondary education.(b)The rules and regulations governing student conduct adopted pursuant to this section shall be published, at minimum, on the internet website of each public postsecondary educational campus and as part of any printed material covering those rules and regulations within the respective public postsecondary education system.SEC. 6.Section 66302.5 of the Education Code is repealed.SEC. 7.SEC. 4.Section 67385.7 of the Education Code is amended to read:67385.7.(a)The governing board of each community college district and the Trustees of the California State University shall, and the Regents of the University of California are requested to, in collaboration with campus-based and community-based victim advocacy organizations, provide, as part of established campus orientations, educational and preventive information about sexual violence to students at all campuses of their respective segments. For a campus with an existing on-campus orientation program, this information shall be provided, in addition to the sexual harassment information required to be provided pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 66281.5, during the regular orientation for incoming students.
(b)(1)Each campus of the California Community Colleges and the California State University shall post educational and preventive information on sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment on its campus internet website.
(2)Each campus of an independent institution of higher education, a private postsecondary educational institution, and the University of California is requested to post educational and preventive information on sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment on its campus internet website.
(c)The educational and preventive information provided pursuant to this section shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1)Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment.
(2)What constitutes sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment, including information on how to file internal administrative complaints with the institution of higher education and how to file criminal charges with local law enforcement officials.
(3)The availability of, and contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment.
(4)Methods of encouraging peer support for victims and the imposition of sanctions on offenders.
(5)Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing acts of sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment.
(6)What constitutes digitized sexually explicit material, including information on the prohibition of the public disclosure of the creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material pursuant to Section 66286. material.
(7)What constitutes affirmative consent and written consent as defined in Section 66262.5.
(d)(1)Beginning on September 1, 2024, and each year thereafter, the California Community Colleges, the California State University, independent institutions of higher education that receive state financial assistance, and private postsecondary educational institutions that receive state financial assistance shall, and the University of California is requested to, annually train its students on sexual violence and sexual harassment, and on or before September 1, 2026, and every two years thereafter, consider updating the annual training.
(2)Beginning on September 1, 2024, and each year thereafter, students attending the California Community Colleges shall complete their annual training within six months of the beginning of the academic year.
(3)The annual training for students established in paragraph (1) shall cover all of the following topics:
(A)Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual violence and sexual harassment.
(B)What constitutes sexual violence and sexual harassment, including information on how to file internal administrative complaints with the institution of higher education and how to file criminal charges with local law enforcement officials.
(C)The availability of, and contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual violence and sexual harassment.
(D)Methods of encouraging peer support for victims and the imposition of sanctions on offenders.
(E)Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing acts of sexual violence and sexual harassment.
(F)The contact information of a Title IX coordinator or a similar position.
(G)As referenced in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (b) of Section 66281.8, statistics on the prevalence of sexual harassment and sexual violence in the educational setting, and the differing rates at which students experience sexual harassment and sexual assault in the educational setting based on their race, sexual orientation, disability, gender, and gender identity.
(4)Beginning on September 1, 2026, the annual training for students established in paragraph (1) shall cover all of the following topics:
(A)How to recognize if a person is at risk of alcohol- and drug-facilitated sexual assault, including, but not limited to, common symptoms following alcohol and drug consumption and intoxication.
(B)Effective measures that can be taken to prevent involuntary alcohol and drug consumption and ways to respond to circumstances where a person may be involuntarily intoxicated and at risk for alcohol- and drug-facilitated sexual assault.
(C)As part of the topic covered pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3), common facts and myths regarding alcohol- and drug-facilitated sexual assault.
(D)Information related to confidential support and care resources for situations that arise as a result of an act of sexual violence or sexual harassment, or both, including, but not limited to, contact information and the availability of confidential medical and transportation services, forensic examination sites, and, to the extent available, rape crisis centers on campus or within the surrounding community of the campus.
(5)Beginning on September 1, 2027, the annual training for students described in paragraph (1) shall cover all of the following topics:
(A)Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
(B)What constitutes sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including information on how to file internal administrative complaints with the institution of higher education and how to file criminal charges with local law enforcement officials.
(C)The availability of, and contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
(D)Methods of encouraging peer support for victims and the imposition of sanctions on offenders.
(E)Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
(F)The contact information of a Title IX coordinator, or a similar position.
(G)The availability of, and contact information for, campus, community, and online resources for victims of sexual exploitation or technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including how to help take down digitized sexually explicit material.
(e)This section does not prevent the California Community Colleges, the California State University, independent institutions of higher education, private postsecondary educational institutions, and the University of California from incorporating the training developed pursuant to subdivision (d) from being integrated into existing trainings as referenced in subdivision (a).
(f)A community college district may authorize students to self-certify that they have completed training developed pursuant to this section.
(g)As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1)Digitized sexually explicit material has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5.
(2)Drugs includes, but is not limited to, flunitrazepam, ketamine, and gamma hydroxybutyric acid, which is also known by other names, including, but not limited to, GHB, gamma hydroxyl butyrate, 4-hydroxybutyrate, 4-hydroxybutanoic acid, sodium oxybate, and sodium oxybutyrate.
(3)Independent institutions of higher education has the same meaning as that term is defined in Section 66010.
(4)Private postsecondary educational institution has the same meaning as that term is defined in Section 94858.
(5)Sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment have the same meaning as those terms are defined in Section 66262.5.
(6)Training or train includes, but is not limited to, in-person, remote, or video instruction. Training or train shall not include instruction that is only provided through written materials.
(h)Campuses of the California Community Colleges and the California State University shall, and campuses of the University of California are requested to, develop policies to encourage students to report any campus crimes involving sexual assaults, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, or sexual harassment to the appropriate campus authorities.
(i)Campuses are urged to adopt policies to eliminate barriers for victims who come forward to report sexual assaults, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, or sexual harassment, and to advise students regarding these policies. These policies may include, but are not limited to, exempting the victim from campus sanctions for being in violation of any campus policies, including alcohol or substance abuse policies or other policies of the campus, at the time of the incident.
(j)The Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges and the Trustees of the California State University shall, and the Regents of the University of California are requested to, develop and adopt regulations setting forth procedures for the implementation of this section by campuses in their respective segments.
SEC. 8.SEC. 5.Section 87604.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:87604.5.(a)The governing board of a community college district shall, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with that district, do all of the following:
(1)(A)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment.
(B)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or, if applicable, with the United States Department of Education.
(2)Require an applicant to sign a release form that authorizes, in the event the applicant reaches the final stages of the application process, the release of information by the applicants previous employers to the community college district concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct in order to permit the community college district to evaluate the released information with respect to the criteria for a potential job placement.
(3)If an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the intended academic, athletic, or administrative position, require the community college district to use the release form signed pursuant to paragraph (2) to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.
(b)A community college district shall not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the community college district has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)Applicant means a person who submits an employment application for an academic, athletic, or administrative position, but does not include a person who is a current employee and is hired or rehired for a different position with the same employer.
(2)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and the subsequent hearing.
(3)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.
(4)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
(5)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined in Section 106.30 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(6)Substantiated allegation means an allegation that has been sustained based upon a burden of proof of at least a preponderance of the evidence.
SEC. 9.SEC. 6.Section 89521 of the Education Code is amended to read:89521.(a)The trustees shall, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with the California State University, do all of the following:
(1)(A)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment.
(B)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or, if applicable, with the United States Department of Education.
(2)Require an applicant to sign a release form that authorizes, in the event the applicant reaches the final stages of the application process, the release of information by the applicants previous employers to the campus of the California State University concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct in order to permit the campus to evaluate the released information with respect to the criteria for a potential job placement.
(3)If an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the intended academic, athletic, or administrative position, require campuses of the California State University to use the release form signed pursuant to paragraph (2) to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.
(b)The California State University shall not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the California State University has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)Applicant means a person who submits an employment application for an academic, athletic, or administrative position, but does not include a person who is a current employee and is hired or rehired for a different position with the same campus.
(2)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and the subsequent hearing.
(3)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.
(4)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
(5)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined in Section 106.30 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(6)Substantiated allegation means an allegation that has been sustained based upon a burden of proof of at least a preponderance of the evidence.
SEC. 10.SEC. 7.Section 92612.1 of the Education Code is amended to read:92612.1.(a)The regents are requested, as part of the hiring process for an applicant applying for an academic, athletic, or administrative position with the University of California, to do both of the following:
(1)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed misconduct, including sexual harassment.
(2)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer, administrative agency, or court, if applicable.
(b)The University of California is requested to not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the University of California has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and a hearing, if a hearing is either required pursuant to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.) or federal regulations implementing those provisions, or is required by the public postsecondary educational institutions written policy on sex discrimination, including sexual harassment, and related grievance processes. If a party has filed a timely grievance or appeal, final administrative decision means after the grievance or appeal decision has been issued.
(2)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.
(3)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
(4)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined by the federal regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.).
SEC. 11.SEC. 8.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.
For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(a)Affirmative consent means affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity. It is the responsibility of each person involved in the sexual activity to ensure that the person has the affirmative consent of the other or others to engage in the sexual activity. Lack of protest or resistance does not mean consent, nor does silence mean consent. Affirmative consent must be ongoing throughout a sexual activity and can be revoked at any time. The existence of a dating relationship between the persons involved, or the fact of past sexual relations between them, should never by itself be assumed to be an indicator of consent.
(b)(1)Cyber sexual bullying means the dissemination of, or the solicitation or incitement to disseminate, a photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording by means of an electronic act that has or can be reasonably predicted to have one or more of the following effects:
(A)Placing a reasonable person or persons in fear of harm to that person or persons or their property.
(B)Causing a reasonable person to experience a substantially detrimental effect on the persons physical or mental health.
(C)Causing a reasonable person to experience substantial interference with the persons academic performance, work, or employment.
(D)Causing a reasonable person to experience substantial interference with the persons ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by an educational institution.
(2)A photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording, as described in paragraph (1), includes the depiction of a nude, seminude, or sexually explicit photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording of a person in which the person is identifiable from the photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, visual recording, or other electronic act.
(3)Cyber sexual bullying does not include a depiction, portrayal, or image that has any serious literary, artistic, educational, political, or scientific value or that involves athletic events or sanctioned activities by the educational institution.
(c)Cyber stalking means stalking by means of an electronic communication device. For purposes of this paragraph, stalking and electronic communication device have the same meanings as the terms are used in Section 646.9 of the Penal Code.
(d)Depicted individual means an individual who is portrayed in sexually explicit material.
(e)Digitization means a process by which any of the following are realistically depicted:
(1)The nude body parts of another human being as the nude body parts of the depicted individual.
(2)Computer-generated nude body parts as the nude body parts of the depicted individual.
(3)The depicted individual engaging in sexual conduct in which the depicted individual did not engage.
(f)Digitized sexually explicit material means any portion of a visual or audiovisual work created or substantially altered through digitization, including an image, that shows the depicted individual in the nude or appearing to engage in, or being subjected to, sexual conduct.
(g)Doxing means an act when a person, with intent to place another person in reasonable fear for their safety, or the safety of the other persons immediate family, by means of an electronic communication device, and without written consent of the other person, and, for the purpose of imminently causing that other person unwanted physical contact, injury, or harassment by a third party, electronically distributes, publishes, emails, hyperlinks, or makes available for downloading, personal identifying information, including, but not limited to, a digital image of another person, or an electronic message of a harassing nature about another person, that would be likely to incite or produce that unwanted physical contact, injury, or harassment by a third party. For purposes of this paragraph, electronic communication device means a telephone, cell phone, computer, internet web page or website, internet phone, hybrid cellular or wireless device, personal digital assistant, video recorder, fax machine, or pager.
(h)Electronic act means the creation or transmission, originating on campus or off campus of a public postsecondary educational institution, by means of an electronic device, including, but not limited to, a telephone, wireless telephone, or other wireless communication device, computer, or pager, of a communication, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(1)A message, text, sound, video, or image.
(2)A post on a social network internet website or social media platform, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(A)Posting to or creating a burn page. Burn page means an internet website created for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b).
(B)Creating a credible impersonation of another actual person for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b). Credible impersonation means to knowingly and without consent impersonate a person for the purpose of bullying the person such that another person would reasonably believe, or has reasonably believed, that the person was or is the person who was impersonated.
(C)Creating a false profile for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in paragraph (1). False profile means a profile of a fictitious person or a profile using the likeness or attributes of an actual person other than the person who created the false profile.
(3)An act of technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
(i)Sextortion means 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.
(j)Sexual battery means the intentional touching of another persons intimate parts without consent, intentionally causing a person to touch the intimate parts of another without consent, or using a persons own intimate part to intentionally touch another persons body without affirmative consent.
(k)Sexual conduct means any of the following:
(1)Masturbation.
(2)Sexual intercourse, including genital, oral, or anal, whether between persons regardless of sex or gender or between humans and animals.
(3)Sexual penetration of the vagina or rectum by, or with, an object.
(4)The transfer of semen by means of sexual conduct from the penis directly onto the depicted individual as a result of ejaculation.
(5)Sadomasochistic abuse involving the depicted individual.
(l)Sexual exploitation means a person taking sexual advantage of another person for the benefit of anyone other than that person without that persons affirmative consent, including, but not limited to, any of the following acts:
(1)The prostituting of another person.
(2)The trafficking of another person, defined as the inducement of a person to perform a commercial sex act, or labor or services, through force, fraud, or coercion.
(3)The recording of images, including video or photograph, or audio, of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, without that persons affirmative consent.
(4)The distribution of images, including video or photograph, or audio, of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, if the individual distributing the images, video, photograph, or audio knows or should have known that the person depicted in the images, video, photograph, or audio did not provide affirmative consent to the disclosure.
(5)The viewing of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts in a place where that other person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy, without that persons affirmative consent, for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire.
(6)The creation, generation, or distribution of digitized sexually explicit materials without the distinct and separate written consent of the depicted individual or individuals for each such act.
(7)The creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, without that persons written consent.
(8)The distribution of digitized sexually explicit material of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, if the individual distributing the digitized sexually explicit material knows or should have known that the person depicted in the digitized sexually explicit material did not provide written consent to the disclosure.
(m)(1)Sexual harassment means unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature, made by someone from or in a work or educational setting, under any of the following conditions:
(A)Submission to the conduct is explicitly or implicitly made a term or a condition of an individuals employment, academic status, or progress.
(B)Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis of employment or academic decisions affecting the individual.
(C)The conduct has the purpose or effect of having a negative impact upon the individuals work or academic performance, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or educational environment.
(D)Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis for a decision affecting the individual regarding benefits and services, honors, programs, or activities available at or through the educational institution.
(2)Sexual harassment includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(A)Sexual exploitation.
(B)Sexual violence, including, but not limited to, sexual battery.
(C)Technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including, but not limited to, cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, sextortion, and doxing.
(3)Sexual harassment of students is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Section 66270.
(n)Sexual violence means physical sexual acts perpetrated against a person without the persons affirmative consent. Physical sexual acts include both of the following:
(1)Rape, defined as penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any part or object, or oral copulation of a sex organ by another person, without the affirmative consent of the victim.
(2)Sexual battery, as defined in subdivision (j).
(o)(1)Technology-facilitated sexual harassment means sexual harassment that occurs on, or is facilitated by, digital platforms or digital technologies.
(2)Technology-facilitated sexual harassment includes, but is not limited to, cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, sextortion, and doxing.
(p)(1)Written consent means an agreement written in plain language signed knowingly and voluntarily by the depicted individual that includes a general description of the digitized sexually explicit material and the visual or audiovisual work in which it will be incorporated.
(2)A depicted individual may rescind consent by delivering written notice within three business days from the date consent was given to the person in whose favor consent was made, unless one of the following requirements is satisfied:
(A)The depicted individual is given at least 72 hours to review the terms of the agreement before signing the agreement.
(B)The depicted individuals authorized representative provides written approval of the signed agreement.
SEC. 3.Section 66281.9 of the Education Code is amended to read:66281.9.(a)The governing board or body of an independent institution of higher education that receives state financial assistance is requested, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with that independent institution of higher education, to do all of the following:
(1)(A)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment.
(B)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or, if applicable, with the United States Department of Education.
(2)Require an applicant to sign a release form that authorizes, in the event the applicant reaches the final stages of the application process, the release of information by the applicants previous employers to the independent institution of higher education concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct in order to permit the institution to evaluate the released information with respect to the criteria for a potential job placement.
(3)If an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the intended academic, athletic, or administrative position, require the independent institution of higher education to use the release form signed pursuant to paragraph (2) to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.
(b)Independent institutions of higher education that receive state financial assistance are requested to not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the institution has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)Applicant means a person who submits an employment application for an academic, athletic, or administrative position, but does not include a person who is a current employee and is hired or rehired for a different position with the same employer.
(2)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and the subsequent hearing.
(3)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.
(4)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
(5)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined in Section 106.30 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(6)Substantiated allegation means an allegation that has been sustained based upon a burden of proof of at least a preponderance of the evidence.
SEC. 4.Section 66286 is added to the Education Code, to read:66286.(a)It is the policy of the State of California, pursuant to Section 66251, that all persons, regardless of their sex, should enjoy freedom from discrimination of any kind in the postsecondary educational institutions of the state.
(b)In order to receive state funds for student financial assistance, the governing board of a community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, the Regents of the University of California, and the governing boards of independent postsecondary institutions shall update any institutional policy pertaining to the adjudication of complaints of sexual harassment, the prevention of sexual harassment, or any policy pertaining to sexual harassment to include all of the following:
(1)A prohibition on the public disclosure of the creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material without the written consent of the depicted individual or individuals.
(2)A policy that the disclosure of digitized sexually explicit material without the written consent of the depicted individual or individuals is sexual exploitation and a violation of the institutions policy, and subject to disciplinary sanctions.
(3)A list of organizations to assist students and employees with the removal of digitized sexually explicit material from digital platforms. The list shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(A)Contact information for the Cyber Civil Rights Legal Project.
(B)Information on organizations that specialize in assisting in the removal of digitized sexually explicit material from digital platforms, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(i)Take It Down.
(ii)Stop Non-Consensual Intimate Image Abuse (StopNCII.org).
(iii)Revenge Porn Helpline.
(iv)South West Grid for Learning - Safe, Secure, Online.
(4)Information on the federal and state rights afforded to someone who has been subjected to the nonconsensual sharing of digitized sexually explicit material.
(5)Contact information for legal firms who may assist the student in filing a civil or criminal case for the removal of the digitized sexually explicit material.
(6)Campus resources available to the student who is a victim of sexual harassment or sexual exploitation due to the digitized sexually explicit material.
(c)The California State University shall incorporate subdivision (b) into its single, systemwide nondiscrimination policy for the entire system pursuant to Section 66280.
(d)The University of California shall incorporate subdivision (b) into its single, systemwide nondiscrimination policy for the entire system pursuant to Section 66280.5.
SEC. 5.Section 66293.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:66293.5.(a)In the absence of federal funding to examine the quality of life of students, faculty, and staff on campuses for the purpose of evaluating incidents of sexual harassment, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment for the expressed purpose of improving campus-based resources, services, and communications available to victims, the Legislature finds and declares that it is a moral imperative for the state to address this gap in funding for research.(b)Upon an appropriation in the annual Budget Act, the University of California, Los Angeles Center for the Study of Women shall facilitate research on the prevention of, and adjudication of reports of, sexual harassment, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment at postsecondary educational institutions. The research shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following:(1)A comprehensive study of a students sense of safety on campus and interactions with campus resources that serve survivors of sexual harassment, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including, but not limited to, Title IX offices and confidential advocates.(2)The prevalence of digitized sexually explicit materials at postsecondary educational institutions and best practices to prevent and address digitized sexually explicit materials at postsecondary educational institutions.(3)The prevalence of technology-facilitated sexual harassment at postsecondary educational institutions and best practices to prevent and address technology-facilitated sexual harassment at postsecondary educational institutions.(c)For purposes of this section, postsecondary educational institution means a community college, a campus of the California State University, a campus of the University of California, or the College of the Law, San Francisco.SEC. 6.SEC. 5.Section 66302 of the Education Code is amended to read:66302.(a)Notwithstanding Section 67400, to receive state financial assistance, as defined in Section 213, the governing board of a community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, and the Regents of the University of California shall do both of the following:
(1)Adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying and include the policies within the rules and regulations governing student conduct within their respective segments of public postsecondary education.
(2)Provide, as a part of established campus orientations, educational and preventive information about harassment, intimidation, and bullying to students at all campuses of their respective segments of public postsecondary education.
(b)The rules and regulations governing student conduct adopted pursuant to this section shall be published, at minimum, on the internet website of each public postsecondary educational campus and as part of any printed material covering those rules and regulations within the respective public postsecondary education system.
SEC. 7.SEC. 6.Section 66302.5 of the Education Code is repealed.SEC. 8.SEC. 7.Section 67385.7 of the Education Code is amended to read:67385.7.(a)The governing board of each community college district and the Trustees of the California State University shall, and the Regents of the University of California are requested to, in collaboration with campus-based and community-based victim advocacy organizations, provide, as part of established campus orientations, educational and preventive information about sexual violence to students at all campuses of their respective segments. For a campus with an existing on-campus orientation program, this information shall be provided, in addition to the sexual harassment information required to be provided pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 66281.5, during the regular orientation for incoming students.
(b)(1)Each campus of the California Community Colleges and the California State University shall post educational and preventive information on sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment on its campus internet website.
(2)Each campus of an independent institution of higher education, a private postsecondary educational institution, and the University of California is requested to post educational and preventive information on sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment on its campus internet website.
(c)The educational and preventive information provided pursuant to this section shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1)Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment.
(2)What constitutes sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment, including information on how to file internal administrative complaints with the institution of higher education and how to file criminal charges with local law enforcement officials.
(3)The availability of, and contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment.
(4)Methods of encouraging peer support for victims and the imposition of sanctions on offenders.
(5)Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing acts of sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment.
(6)What constitutes digitized sexually explicit material, including information on the prohibition of the public disclosure of the creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material pursuant to Section 66286.
(7)What constitutes affirmative consent and written consent as defined in Section 66262.5.
(d)(1)Beginning on September 1, 2024, and each year thereafter, the California Community Colleges, the California State University, independent institutions of higher education that receive state financial assistance, and private postsecondary educational institutions that receive state financial assistance shall, and the University of California is requested to, annually train its students on sexual violence and sexual harassment, and on or before September 1, 2026, and every two years thereafter, consider updating the annual training.
(2)Beginning on September 1, 2024, and each year thereafter, students attending the California Community Colleges shall complete their annual training within six months of the beginning of the academic year.
(3)The annual training for students established in paragraph (1) shall cover all of the following topics:
(A)Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual violence and sexual harassment.
(B)What constitutes sexual violence and sexual harassment, including information on how to file internal administrative complaints with the institution of higher education and how to file criminal charges with local law enforcement officials.
(C)The availability of, and contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual violence and sexual harassment.
(D)Methods of encouraging peer support for victims and the imposition of sanctions on offenders.
(E)Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing acts of sexual violence and sexual harassment.
(F)The contact information of a Title IX coordinator or a similar position.
(G)As referenced in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (b) of Section 66281.8, statistics on the prevalence of sexual harassment and sexual violence in the educational setting, and the differing rates at which students experience sexual harassment and sexual assault in the educational setting based on their race, sexual orientation, disability, gender, and gender identity.
(4)Beginning on September 1, 2026, the annual training for students established in paragraph (1) shall cover all of the following topics:
(A)How to recognize if a person is at risk of alcohol- and drug-facilitated sexual assault, including, but not limited to, common symptoms following alcohol and drug consumption and intoxication.
(B)Effective measures that can be taken to prevent involuntary alcohol and drug consumption and ways to respond to circumstances where a person may be involuntarily intoxicated and at risk for alcohol- and drug-facilitated sexual assault.
(C)As part of the topic covered pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3), common facts and myths regarding alcohol- and drug-facilitated sexual assault.
(D)Information related to confidential support and care resources for situations that arise as a result of an act of sexual violence or sexual harassment, or both, including, but not limited to, contact information and the availability of confidential medical and transportation services, forensic examination sites, and, to the extent available, rape crisis centers on campus or within the surrounding community of the campus.
(5)Beginning on September 1, 2027, the annual training for students described in paragraph (1) shall cover all of the following topics:
(A)Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
(B)What constitutes sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including information on how to file internal administrative complaints with the institution of higher education and how to file criminal charges with local law enforcement officials.
(C)The availability of, and contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
(D)Methods of encouraging peer support for victims and the imposition of sanctions on offenders.
(E)Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
(F)The contact information of a Title IX coordinator, or a similar position.
(G)The availability of, and contact information for, campus, community, and online resources for victims of sexual exploitation or technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including how to help take down digitized sexually explicit material.
(e)This section does not prevent the California Community Colleges, the California State University, independent institutions of higher education, private postsecondary educational institutions, and the University of California from incorporating the training developed pursuant to subdivision (d) from being integrated into existing trainings as referenced in subdivision (a).
(f)A community college district may authorize students to self-certify that they have completed training developed pursuant to this section.
(g)As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1)Digitized sexually explicit material has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5.
(2)Drugs includes, but is not limited to, flunitrazepam, ketamine, and gamma hydroxybutyric acid, which is also known by other names, including, but not limited to, GHB, gamma hydroxyl butyrate, 4-hydroxybutyrate, 4-hydroxybutanoic acid, sodium oxybate, and sodium oxybutyrate.
(3)Independent institutions of higher education has the same meaning as that term is defined in Section 66010.
(4)Private postsecondary educational institution has the same meaning as that term is defined in Section 94858.
(5)Sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment have the same meaning as those terms are defined in Section 66262.5.
(6)Training or train includes, but is not limited to, in-person, remote, or video instruction. Training or train shall not include instruction that is only provided through written materials.
(h)Campuses of the California Community Colleges and the California State University shall, and campuses of the University of California are requested to, develop policies to encourage students to report any campus crimes involving sexual assaults, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, or sexual harassment to the appropriate campus authorities.
(i)Campuses are urged to adopt policies to eliminate barriers for victims who come forward to report sexual assaults, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, or sexual harassment, and to advise students regarding these policies. These policies may include, but are not limited to, exempting the victim from campus sanctions for being in violation of any campus policies, including alcohol or substance abuse policies or other policies of the campus, at the time of the incident.
(j)The Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges and the Trustees of the California State University shall, and the Regents of the University of California are requested to, develop and adopt regulations setting forth procedures for the implementation of this section by campuses in their respective segments.
SEC. 9.SEC. 8.Section 87604.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:87604.5.(a)The governing board of a community college district shall, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with that district, do all of the following:
(1)(A)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment.
(B)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or, if applicable, with the United States Department of Education.
(2)Require an applicant to sign a release form that authorizes, in the event the applicant reaches the final stages of the application process, the release of information by the applicants previous employers to the community college district concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct in order to permit the community college district to evaluate the released information with respect to the criteria for a potential job placement.
(3)If an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the intended academic, athletic, or administrative position, require the community college district to use the release form signed pursuant to paragraph (2) to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.
(b)A community college district shall not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the community college district has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)Applicant means a person who submits an employment application for an academic, athletic, or administrative position, but does not include a person who is a current employee and is hired or rehired for a different position with the same employer.
(2)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and the subsequent hearing.
(3)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.
(4)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
(5)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined in Section 106.30 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(6)Substantiated allegation means an allegation that has been sustained based upon a burden of proof of at least a preponderance of the evidence.
SEC. 10.SEC. 9.Section 89521 of the Education Code is amended to read:89521.(a)The trustees shall, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with the California State University, do all of the following:
(1)(A)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment.
(B)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or, if applicable, with the United States Department of Education.
(2)Require an applicant to sign a release form that authorizes, in the event the applicant reaches the final stages of the application process, the release of information by the applicants previous employers to the campus of the California State University concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct in order to permit the campus to evaluate the released information with respect to the criteria for a potential job placement.
(3)If an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the intended academic, athletic, or administrative position, require campuses of the California State University to use the release form signed pursuant to paragraph (2) to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.
(b)The California State University shall not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the California State University has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)Applicant means a person who submits an employment application for an academic, athletic, or administrative position, but does not include a person who is a current employee and is hired or rehired for a different position with the same campus.
(2)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and the subsequent hearing.
(3)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.
(4)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
(5)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined in Section 106.30 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(6)Substantiated allegation means an allegation that has been sustained based upon a burden of proof of at least a preponderance of the evidence.
SEC. 11.SEC. 10.Section 92612.1 of the Education Code is amended to read:92612.1.(a)The regents are requested, as part of the hiring process for an applicant applying for an academic, athletic, or administrative position with the University of California, to do both of the following:
(1)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed misconduct, including sexual harassment.
(2)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer, administrative agency, or court, if applicable.
(b)The University of California is requested to not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the University of California has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and a hearing, if a hearing is either required pursuant to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.) or federal regulations implementing those provisions, or is required by the public postsecondary educational institutions written policy on sex discrimination, including sexual harassment, and related grievance processes. If a party has filed a timely grievance or appeal, final administrative decision means after the grievance or appeal decision has been issued.
(2)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.
(3)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
(4)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined by the federal regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.).
SEC. 12.SEC. 11.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.
For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(a)Affirmative consent means affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity. It is the responsibility of each person involved in the sexual activity to ensure that the person has the affirmative consent of the other or others to engage in the sexual activity. Lack of protest or resistance does not mean consent, nor does silence mean consent. Affirmative consent must be ongoing throughout a sexual activity and can be revoked at any time. The existence of a dating relationship between the persons involved, or the fact of past sexual relations between them, should never by itself be assumed to be an indicator of consent.
(b)(1)Cyber sexual bullying means the dissemination of, or the solicitation or incitement to disseminate, a photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording by means of an electronic act that has or can be reasonably predicted to have one or more of the following effects:
(A)Placing a reasonable person or persons in fear of harm to that person or persons or their property.
(B)Causing a reasonable person to experience a substantially detrimental effect on the persons physical or mental health.
(C)Causing a reasonable person to experience substantial interference with the persons academic performance, work, or employment.
(D)Causing a reasonable person to experience substantial interference with the persons ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by an educational institution.
(2)A photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording, as described in paragraph (1), includes the depiction of a nude, seminude, or sexually explicit photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording of a person in which the person is identifiable from the photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, visual recording, or other electronic act.
(3)Cyber sexual bullying does not include a depiction, portrayal, or image that has any serious literary, artistic, educational, political, or scientific value or that involves athletic events or sanctioned activities by the educational institution.
(c)Cyber stalking means stalking by means of an electronic communication device. For purposes of this paragraph, stalking and electronic communication device have the same meanings as the terms are used in Section 646.9 of the Penal Code.
(d)Depicted individual means an individual who is portrayed in sexually explicit material.
(e)Digitization means a process by which any of the following are realistically depicted:
(1)The nude body parts of another human being as the nude body parts of the depicted individual.
(2)Computer-generated nude body parts as the nude body parts of the depicted individual.
(3)The depicted individual engaging in sexual conduct in which the depicted individual did not engage.
(f)Digitized sexually explicit material means any portion of a visual or audiovisual work created or substantially altered through digitization, including an image, that shows the depicted individual in the nude or appearing to engage in, or being subjected to, sexual conduct.
(g)Doxing means an act when a person, with intent to place another person in reasonable fear for their safety, or the safety of the other persons immediate family, by means of an electronic communication device, and without written consent of the other person, and, for the purpose of imminently causing that other person unwanted physical contact, injury, or harassment by a third party, electronically distributes, publishes, emails, hyperlinks, or makes available for downloading, personal identifying information, including, but not limited to, a digital image of another person, or an electronic message of a harassing nature about another person, that would be likely to incite or produce that unwanted physical contact, injury, or harassment by a third party. For purposes of this paragraph, electronic communication device means a telephone, cell phone, computer, internet web page or website, internet phone, hybrid cellular or wireless device, personal digital assistant, video recorder, fax machine, or pager.
(h)Electronic act means the creation or transmission, originating on campus or off campus of a public postsecondary educational institution, by means of an electronic device, including, but not limited to, a telephone, wireless telephone, or other wireless communication device, computer, or pager, of a communication, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(1)A message, text, sound, video, or image.
(2)A post on a social network internet website or social media platform, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(A)Posting to or creating a burn page. Burn page means an internet website created for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b).
(B)Creating a credible impersonation of another actual person for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b). Credible impersonation means to knowingly and without consent impersonate a person for the purpose of bullying the person such that another person would reasonably believe, or has reasonably believed, that the person was or is the person who was impersonated.
(C)Creating a false profile for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in paragraph (1). False profile means a profile of a fictitious person or a profile using the likeness or attributes of an actual person other than the person who created the false profile.
(3)An act of technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
(i)Sextortion means 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.
(i)(j)Sexual battery means the intentional touching of another persons intimate parts without consent, intentionally causing a person to touch the intimate parts of another without consent, or using a persons own intimate part to intentionally touch another persons body without affirmative consent.
(j)(k)Sexual conduct means any of the following:
(1)Masturbation.
(2)Sexual intercourse, including genital, oral, or anal, whether between persons regardless of sex or gender or between humans and animals.
(3)Sexual penetration of the vagina or rectum by, or with, an object.
(4)The transfer of semen by means of sexual conduct from the penis directly onto the depicted individual as a result of ejaculation.
(5)Sadomasochistic abuse involving the depicted individual.
(k)(l)Sexual exploitation means a person taking sexual advantage of another person for the benefit of anyone other than that person without that persons affirmative consent, including, but not limited to, any of the following acts:
(1)The prostituting of another person.
(2)The trafficking of another person, defined as the inducement of a person to perform a commercial sex act, or labor or services, through force, fraud, or coercion.
(3)The recording of images, including video or photograph, or audio, of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, without that persons affirmative consent.
(4)The distribution of images, including video or photograph, or audio, of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, if the individual distributing the images, video, photograph, or audio knows or should have known that the person depicted in the images, video, photograph, or audio did not provide affirmative consent to the disclosure.
(5)The viewing of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts in a place where that other person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy, without that persons affirmative consent, for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire.
(6)The creation, generation, or distribution of digitized sexually explicit materials without the distinct and separate written consent of the depicted individual or individuals for each such act.
(7)The creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, without that persons written consent.
(8)The distribution of digitized sexually explicit material of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, if the individual distributing the digitized sexually explicit material knows or should have known that the person depicted in the digitized sexually explicit material did not provide written consent to the disclosure.
(l)(m)(1)Sexual harassment means unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature, made by someone from or in a work or educational setting, under any of the following conditions:
(A)Submission to the conduct is explicitly or implicitly made a term or a condition of an individuals employment, academic status, or progress.
(B)Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis of employment or academic decisions affecting the individual.
(C)The conduct has the purpose or effect of having a negative impact upon the individuals work or academic performance, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or educational environment.
(D)Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis for a decision affecting the individual regarding benefits and services, honors, programs, or activities available at or through the educational institution.
(2)Sexual harassment includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(A)Sexual exploitation.
(B)Sexual violence, including, but not limited to, sexual battery.
(C)Technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including, but not limited to, cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, sextortion, and doxing.
(3)Sexual harassment of students is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Section 66270.
(m)(n)Sexual violence means physical sexual acts perpetrated against a person without the persons affirmative consent. Physical sexual acts include both of the following:
(1)Rape, defined as penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any part or object, or oral copulation of a sex organ by another person, without the affirmative consent of the victim.
(2)Sexual battery, as defined in subdivision (i). (j).
(n)(o)(1)Technology-facilitated sexual harassment means sexual harassment that occurs on, or is facilitated by, digital platforms or digital technologies.
(2)Technology-facilitated sexual harassment includes, but is not limited to, cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, sextortion, and doxing.
(o)(p)(1)Written consent means an agreement written in plain language signed knowingly and voluntarily by the depicted individual that includes a general description of the digitized sexually explicit material and the visual or audiovisual work in which it will be incorporated.
(2)A depicted individual may rescind consent by delivering written notice within three business days from the date consent was given to the person in whose favor consent was made, unless one of the following requirements is satisfied:
(A)The depicted individual is given at least 72 hours to review the terms of the agreement before signing the agreement.
(B)The depicted individuals authorized representative provides written approval of the signed agreement.
SEC. 3.Section 66281.9 of the Education Code is amended to read:66281.9.(a)The governing board or body of an independent institution of higher education that receives state financial assistance is requested, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with that independent institution of higher education, to do all of the following:
(1)(A)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment.
(B)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or, if applicable, with the United States Department of Education.
(2)Require an applicant to sign a release form that authorizes, in the event the applicant reaches the final stages of the application process, the release of information by the applicants previous employers to the independent institution of higher education concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct in order to permit the institution to evaluate the released information with respect to the criteria for a potential job placement.
(3)If an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the intended academic, athletic, or administrative position, require the independent institution of higher education to use the release form signed pursuant to paragraph (2) to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.
(b)Independent institutions of higher education that receive state financial assistance are requested to not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the institution has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)Applicant means a person who submits an employment application for an academic, athletic, or administrative position, but does not include a person who is a current employee and is hired or rehired for a different position with the same employer.
(2)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and the subsequent hearing.
(3)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.
(4)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
(5)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined in Section 106.30 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(6)Substantiated allegation means an allegation that has been sustained based upon a burden of proof of at least a preponderance of the evidence.
SEC. 4.Section 66286 is added to the Education Code, to read:66286.(a)It is the policy of the State of California, pursuant to Section 66251, that all persons, regardless of their sex, should enjoy freedom from discrimination of any kind in the postsecondary educational institutions of the state.
(b)In order to receive state funds for student financial assistance, the governing board of a community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, the Regents of the University of California, and the governing boards of independent postsecondary institutions shall update any institutional policy pertaining to the adjudication of complaints of sexual harassment, the prevention of sexual harassment, or any policy pertaining to sexual harassment to include all of the following:
(1)A prohibition on the public disclosure of the creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material without the written consent of the depicted individual or individuals.
(2)A policy that the disclosure of digitized sexually explicit material without the written consent of the depicted individual or individuals is sexual exploitation and a violation of the institutions policy, and subject to disciplinary sanctions.
(3)A list of organizations to assist students and employees with the removal of digitized sexually explicit material from digital platforms. The list shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(A)Contact information for the Cyber Civil Rights Legal Project.
(B)Information on organizations that specialize in assisting in the removal of digitized sexually explicit material from digital platforms, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(i)Take It Down.
(ii)Stop Non-Consensual Intimate Image Abuse (StopNCII.org).
(iii)Revenge Porn Helpline.
(iv)South West Grid for Learning - Safe, Secure, Online.
(4)Information on the federal and state rights afforded to someone who has been subjected to the nonconsensual sharing of digitized sexually explicit material.
(5)Contact information for legal firms who may assist the student in filing a civil or criminal case for the removal of the digitized sexually explicit material.
(6)Campus resources available to the student who is a victim of sexual harassment or sexual exploitation due to the digitized sexually explicit material.
(c)The California State University shall incorporate subdivision (b) into its single, systemwide nondiscrimination policy for the entire system pursuant to Section 66280.
(d)The University of California shall incorporate subdivision (b) into its single, systemwide nondiscrimination policy for the entire system pursuant to Section 66280.5.
SEC. 5.Section 66293.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:66293.5.(a)In the absence of federal funding to examine the quality of life of students, faculty, and staff on campuses for the purpose of evaluating incidents of sexual harassment, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment for the expressed purpose of improving campus-based resources, services, and communications available to victims, the Legislature finds and declares that it is a moral imperative for the state to address this gap in funding for research.
(b)Upon an appropriation in the annual Budget Act, the University of California, Los Angeles Center for the Study of Women shall facilitate research on the prevention of, and adjudication of reports of, sexual harassment, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment at postsecondary educational institutions. The research shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(1)A comprehensive study of a students sense of safety on campus and interactions with campus resources that serve survivors of sexual harassment, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including, but not limited to, Title IX offices and confidential advocates.
(2)The prevalence of digitized sexually explicit materials at postsecondary educational institutions and best practices to prevent and address digitized sexually explicit materials at postsecondary educational institutions.
(3)The prevalence of technology-facilitated sexual harassment at postsecondary educational institutions and best practices to prevent and address technology-facilitated sexual harassment at postsecondary educational institutions.
(c)For purposes of this section, postsecondary educational institution means a community college, a campus of the California State University, a campus of the University of California, or the College of the Law, San Francisco.
SEC. 6.Section 66302 of the Education Code is amended to read:66302.(a)Notwithstanding Section 67400, to receive state financial assistance, as defined in Section 213, the governing board of a community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, and the Regents of the University of California shall do both of the following:
(1)Adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying and include the policies within the rules and regulations governing student conduct within their respective segments of public postsecondary education.
(2)Provide, as a part of established campus orientations, educational and preventive information about harassment, intimidation, and bullying to students at all campuses of their respective segments of public postsecondary education.
(b)The rules and regulations governing student conduct adopted pursuant to this section shall be published, at minimum, on the internet website of each public postsecondary educational campus and as part of any printed material covering those rules and regulations within the respective public postsecondary education system.
SEC. 7.Section 66302.5 of the Education Code is repealed.SEC. 8.Section 67385.7 of the Education Code is amended to read:67385.7.(a)The governing board of each community college district and the Trustees of the California State University shall, and the Regents of the University of California are requested to, in collaboration with campus-based and community-based victim advocacy organizations, provide, as part of established campus orientations, educational and preventive information about sexual violence to students at all campuses of their respective segments. For a campus with an existing on-campus orientation program, this information shall be provided, in addition to the sexual harassment information required to be provided pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 66281.5, during the regular orientation for incoming students.
(b)(1)Each campus of the California Community Colleges and the California State University shall post educational and preventive information on sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment on its campus internet website.
(2)Each campus of an independent institution of higher education, a private postsecondary educational institution, and the University of California is requested to post educational and preventive information on sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment on its campus internet website.
(c)The educational and preventive information provided pursuant to this section shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1)Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment.
(2)What constitutes sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment, including information on how to file internal administrative complaints with the institution of higher education and how to file criminal charges with local law enforcement officials.
(3)The availability of, and contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment.
(4)Methods of encouraging peer support for victims and the imposition of sanctions on offenders.
(5)Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing acts of sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment.
(6)What constitutes digitized sexually explicit material, including information on the prohibition of the public disclosure of the creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material pursuant to Section 66286.
(7)What constitutes affirmative consent and written consent as defined in Section 66262.5.
(d)(1)Beginning on September 1, 2024, and each year thereafter, the California Community Colleges, the California State University, independent institutions of higher education that receive state financial assistance, and private postsecondary educational institutions that receive state financial assistance shall, and the University of California is requested to, annually train its students on sexual violence and sexual harassment, and on or before September 1, 2026, and every two years thereafter, consider updating the annual training.
(2)Beginning on September 1, 2024, and each year thereafter, students attending the California Community Colleges shall complete their annual training within six months of the beginning of the academic year.
(3)The annual training for students established in paragraph (1) shall cover all of the following topics:
(A)Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual violence and sexual harassment.
(B)What constitutes sexual violence and sexual harassment, including information on how to file internal administrative complaints with the institution of higher education and how to file criminal charges with local law enforcement officials.
(C)The availability of, and contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual violence and sexual harassment.
(D)Methods of encouraging peer support for victims and the imposition of sanctions on offenders.
(E)Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing acts of sexual violence and sexual harassment.
(F)The contact information of a Title IX coordinator or a similar position.
(G)As referenced in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (b) of Section 66281.8, statistics on the prevalence of sexual harassment and sexual violence in the educational setting, and the differing rates at which students experience sexual harassment and sexual assault in the educational setting based on their race, sexual orientation, disability, gender, and gender identity.
(4)Beginning on September 1, 2026, the annual training for students established in paragraph (1) shall cover all of the following topics:
(A)How to recognize if a person is at risk of alcohol- and drug-facilitated sexual assault, including, but not limited to, common symptoms following alcohol and drug consumption and intoxication.
(B)Effective measures that can be taken to prevent involuntary alcohol and drug consumption and ways to respond to circumstances where a person may be involuntarily intoxicated and at risk for alcohol- and drug-facilitated sexual assault.
(C)As part of the topic covered pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3), common facts and myths regarding alcohol- and drug-facilitated sexual assault.
(D)Information related to confidential support and care resources for situations that arise as a result of an act of sexual violence or sexual harassment, or both, including, but not limited to, contact information and the availability of confidential medical and transportation services, forensic examination sites, and, to the extent available, rape crisis centers on campus or within the surrounding community of the campus.
(5)Beginning on September 1, 2027, the annual training for students described in paragraph (1) shall cover all of the following topics:
(A)Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
(B)What constitutes sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including information on how to file internal administrative complaints with the institution of higher education and how to file criminal charges with local law enforcement officials.
(C)The availability of, and contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
(D)Methods of encouraging peer support for victims and the imposition of sanctions on offenders.
(E)Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
(F)The contact information of a Title IX coordinator, or a similar position.
(G)The availability of, and contact information for, campus, community, and online resources for victims of sexual exploitation or technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including how to help take down digitized sexually explicit material.
(e)This section does not prevent the California Community Colleges, the California State University, independent institutions of higher education, private postsecondary educational institutions, and the University of California from incorporating the training developed pursuant to subdivision (d) from being integrated into existing trainings as referenced in subdivision (a).
(f)A community college district may authorize students to self-certify that they have completed training developed pursuant to this section.
(g)As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1)Digitized sexually explicit material has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5.
(2)Drugs includes, but is not limited to, flunitrazepam, ketamine, and gamma hydroxybutyric acid, which is also known by other names, including, but not limited to, GHB, gamma hydroxyl butyrate, 4-hydroxybutyrate, 4-hydroxybutanoic acid, sodium oxybate, and sodium oxybutyrate.
(3)Independent institutions of higher education has the same meaning as that term is defined in Section 66010.
(4)Private postsecondary educational institution has the same meaning as that term is defined in Section 94858.
(5)Sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment have the same meaning as those terms are defined in Section 66262.5.
(6)Training or train includes, but is not limited to, in-person, remote, or video instruction. Training or train shall not include instruction that is only provided through written materials.
(h)Campuses of the California Community Colleges and the California State University shall, and campuses of the University of California are requested to, develop policies to encourage students to report any campus crimes involving sexual assaults, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, or sexual harassment to the appropriate campus authorities.
(i)Campuses are urged to adopt policies to eliminate barriers for victims who come forward to report sexual assaults, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, or sexual harassment, and to advise students regarding these policies. These policies may include, but are not limited to, exempting the victim from campus sanctions for being in violation of any campus policies, including alcohol or substance abuse policies or other policies of the campus, at the time of the incident.
(j)The Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges and the Trustees of the California State University shall, and the Regents of the University of California are requested to, develop and adopt regulations setting forth procedures for the implementation of this section by campuses in their respective segments.
SEC. 9.Section 87604.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:87604.5.(a)The governing board of a community college district shall, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with that district, do all of the following:
(1)(A)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment.
(B)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or, if applicable, with the United States Department of Education.
(2)Require an applicant to sign a release form that authorizes, in the event the applicant reaches the final stages of the application process, the release of information by the applicants previous employers to the community college district concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct in order to permit the community college district to evaluate the released information with respect to the criteria for a potential job placement.
(3)If an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the intended academic, athletic, or administrative position, require the community college district to use the release form signed pursuant to paragraph (2) to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.
(b)A community college district shall not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the community college district has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)Applicant means a person who submits an employment application for an academic, athletic, or administrative position, but does not include a person who is a current employee and is hired or rehired for a different position with the same employer.
(2)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and the subsequent hearing.
(3)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.
(4)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
(5)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined in Section 106.30 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(6)Substantiated allegation means an allegation that has been sustained based upon a burden of proof of at least a preponderance of the evidence.
SEC. 10.Section 89521 of the Education Code is amended to read:89521.(a)The trustees shall, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with the California State University, do all of the following:
(1)(A)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment.
(B)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or, if applicable, with the United States Department of Education.
(2)Require an applicant to sign a release form that authorizes, in the event the applicant reaches the final stages of the application process, the release of information by the applicants previous employers to the campus of the California State University concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct in order to permit the campus to evaluate the released information with respect to the criteria for a potential job placement.
(3)If an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the intended academic, athletic, or administrative position, require campuses of the California State University to use the release form signed pursuant to paragraph (2) to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.
(b)The California State University shall not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the California State University has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)Applicant means a person who submits an employment application for an academic, athletic, or administrative position, but does not include a person who is a current employee and is hired or rehired for a different position with the same campus.
(2)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and the subsequent hearing.
(3)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.
(4)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
(5)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined in Section 106.30 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(6)Substantiated allegation means an allegation that has been sustained based upon a burden of proof of at least a preponderance of the evidence.
SEC. 11.Section 92612.1 of the Education Code is amended to read:92612.1.(a)The regents are requested, as part of the hiring process for an applicant applying for an academic, athletic, or administrative position with the University of California, to do both of the following:
(1)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed misconduct, including sexual harassment.
(2)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer, administrative agency, or court, if applicable.
(b)The University of California is requested to not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the University of California has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and a hearing, if a hearing is either required pursuant to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.) or federal regulations implementing those provisions, or is required by the public postsecondary educational institutions written policy on sex discrimination, including sexual harassment, and related grievance processes. If a party has filed a timely grievance or appeal, final administrative decision means after the grievance or appeal decision has been issued.
(2)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.
(3)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
(4)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined by the federal regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.).
SEC. 12.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.
For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(a)Affirmative consent means affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity. It is the responsibility of each person involved in the sexual activity to ensure that the person has the affirmative consent of the other or others to engage in the sexual activity. Lack of protest or resistance does not mean consent, nor does silence mean consent. Affirmative consent must be ongoing throughout a sexual activity and can be revoked at any time. The existence of a dating relationship between the persons involved, or the fact of past sexual relations between them, should never by itself be assumed to be an indicator of consent.
(b)(1)Cyber sexual bullying means the dissemination of, or the solicitation or incitement to disseminate, a photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording by means of an electronic act that has or can be reasonably predicted to have one or more of the following effects:
(A)Placing a reasonable person or persons in fear of harm to that person or persons or their property.
(B)Causing a reasonable person to experience a substantially detrimental effect on the persons physical or mental health.
(C)Causing a reasonable person to experience substantial interference with the persons academic performance, work, or employment.
(D)Causing a reasonable person to experience substantial interference with the persons ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by an educational institution.
(2)A photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording, as described in paragraph (1), includes the depiction of a nude, seminude, or sexually explicit photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording of a person in which the person is identifiable from the photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, visual recording, or other electronic act.
(3)Cyber sexual bullying does not include a depiction, portrayal, or image that has any serious literary, artistic, educational, political, or scientific value or that involves athletic events or sanctioned activities by the educational institution.
(c)Cyber stalking means stalking by means of an electronic communication device. For purposes of this paragraph, stalking and electronic communication device have the same meanings as the terms are used in Section 646.9 of the Penal Code.
(d)Depicted individual means an individual who is portrayed in sexually explicit material.
(e)Digitization means a process by which any of the following are realistically depicted:
(1)The nude body parts of another human being as the nude body parts of the depicted individual.
(2)Computer-generated nude body parts as the nude body parts of the depicted individual.
(3)The depicted individual engaging in sexual conduct in which the depicted individual did not engage.
(f)Digitized sexually explicit material means any portion of a visual or audiovisual work created or substantially altered through digitization, including an image, that shows the depicted individual in the nude or appearing to engage in, or being subjected to, sexual conduct.
(g)Doxing means an act when a person, with intent to place another person in reasonable fear for their safety, or the safety of the other persons immediate family, by means of an electronic communication device, and without written consent of the other person, and, for the purpose of imminently causing that other person unwanted physical contact, injury, or harassment by a third party, electronically distributes, publishes, emails, hyperlinks, or makes available for downloading, personal identifying information, including, but not limited to, a digital image of another person, or an electronic message of a harassing nature about another person, that would be likely to incite or produce that unwanted physical contact, injury, or harassment by a third party. For purposes of this paragraph, electronic communication device means a telephone, cell phone, computer, internet web page or website, internet phone, hybrid cellular or wireless device, personal digital assistant, video recorder, fax machine, or pager.
(h)Electronic act means the creation or transmission, originating on campus or off campus of a public postsecondary educational institution, by means of an electronic device, including, but not limited to, a telephone, wireless telephone, or other wireless communication device, computer, or pager, of a communication, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(1)A message, text, sound, video, or image.
(2)A post on a social network internet website or social media platform, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(A)Posting to or creating a burn page. Burn page means an internet website created for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b).
(B)Creating a credible impersonation of another actual person for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b). Credible impersonation means to knowingly and without consent impersonate a person for the purpose of bullying the person such that another person would reasonably believe, or has reasonably believed, that the person was or is the person who was impersonated.
(C)Creating a false profile for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in paragraph (1). False profile means a profile of a fictitious person or a profile using the likeness or attributes of an actual person other than the person who created the false profile.
(3)An act of technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
(i)Sexual battery means the intentional touching of another persons intimate parts without consent, intentionally causing a person to touch the intimate parts of another without consent, or using a persons own intimate part to intentionally touch another persons body without affirmative consent.
(j)Sexual conduct means any of the following:
(1)Masturbation.
(2)Sexual intercourse, including genital, oral, or anal, whether between persons regardless of sex or gender or between humans and animals.
(3)Sexual penetration of the vagina or rectum by, or with, an object.
(4)The transfer of semen by means of sexual conduct from the penis directly onto the depicted individual as a result of ejaculation.
(5)Sadomasochistic abuse involving the depicted individual.
(k)Sexual exploitation means a person taking sexual advantage of another person for the benefit of anyone other than that person without that persons affirmative consent, including, but not limited to, any of the following acts:
(1)The prostituting of another person.
(2)The trafficking of another person, defined as the inducement of a person to perform a commercial sex act, or labor or services, through force, fraud, or coercion.
(3)The recording of images, including video or photograph, or audio, of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, without that persons affirmative consent.
(4)The distribution of images, including video or photograph, or audio, of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, if the individual distributing the images, video, photograph, or audio knows or should have known that the person depicted in the images, video, photograph, or audio did not provide affirmative consent to the disclosure.
(5)The viewing of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts in a place where that other person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy, without that persons affirmative consent, for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire.
(6)The creation, generation, or distribution of digitized sexually explicit materials without the distinct and separate written consent of the depicted individual or individuals. individuals for each such act.
(7)The creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, without that persons written consent.
(8)The distribution of digitized sexually explicit material of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, if the individual distributing the digitized sexually explicit material knows or should have known that the person depicted in the digitized sexually explicit material did not provide written consent to the disclosure.
(l)(1)Sexual harassment means unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature, made by someone from or in a work or educational setting, under any of the following conditions:
(A)Submission to the conduct is explicitly or implicitly made a term or a condition of an individuals employment, academic status, or progress.
(B)Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis of employment or academic decisions affecting the individual.
(C)The conduct has the purpose or effect of having a negative impact upon the individuals work or academic performance, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or educational environment.
(D)Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis for a decision affecting the individual regarding benefits and services, honors, programs, or activities available at or through the educational institution.
(2)Sexual harassment includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(A)Sexual exploitation.
(B)Sexual violence, including, but not limited to, sexual battery.
(C)Technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including, but not limited to, cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, and doxing.
(3)Sexual harassment of students is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Section 66270.
(m)Sexual violence means physical sexual acts perpetrated against a person without the persons affirmative consent. Physical sexual acts include both of the following:
(1)Rape, defined as penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any part or object, or oral copulation of a sex organ by another person, without the affirmative consent of the victim.
(2)Sexual battery, as defined in subdivision (i).
(n)(1)Technology-facilitated sexual harassment means sexual harassment that occurs on, or is facilitated by, digital platforms or digital technologies.
(2)Technology-facilitated sexual harassment includes, but is not limited to, cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, and doxing.
(o)(1)Written consent means an agreement written in plain language signed knowingly and voluntarily by the depicted individual that includes a general description of the digitized sexually explicit material and the visual or audiovisual work in which it will be incorporated.
(2)A depicted individual may rescind consent by delivering written notice within three business days from the date consent was given to the person in whose favor consent was made, unless one of the following requirements is satisfied:
(A)The depicted individual is given at least 72 hours to review the terms of the agreement before signing the agreement.
(B)The depicted individuals authorized representative provides written approval of the signed agreement.
SEC. 3.Section 66281.9 of the Education Code is amended to read:66281.9.(a)The governing board or body of an independent institution of higher education that receives state financial assistance is requested, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with that independent institution of higher education, to do all of the following:
(1)(A)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment.
(B)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or, if applicable, with the United States Department of Education.
(2)Require an applicant to sign a release form that authorizes, in the event the applicant reaches the final stages of the application process, the release of information by the applicants previous employers to the independent institution of higher education concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct in order to permit the institution to evaluate the released information with respect to the criteria for a potential job placement.
(3)If an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the intended academic, athletic, or administrative position, require the independent institution of higher education to use the release form signed pursuant to paragraph (2) to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.
(b)Independent institutions of higher education that receive state financial assistance are requested to not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the institution has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)Applicant means a person who submits an employment application for an academic, athletic, or administrative position, but does not include a person who is a current employee and is hired or rehired for a different position with the same employer.
(2)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and the subsequent hearing.
(3)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.
(4)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
(5)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined in Section 106.30 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(6)Substantiated allegation means an allegation that has been sustained based upon a burden of proof of at least a preponderance of the evidence.
SEC. 4.Section 66286 is added to the Education Code, to read:66286.(a)It is the policy of the State of California, pursuant to Section 66251, that all persons, regardless of their sex, should enjoy freedom from discrimination of any kind in the postsecondary educational institutions of the state.
(b)In order to receive state funds for student financial assistance, the governing board of a community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, the Regents of the University of California, and the governing boards of independent postsecondary institutions shall update any institutional policy pertaining to the adjudication of complaints of sexual harassment, the prevention of sexual harassment, or any policy pertaining to sexual harassment to include both all of the following:
(1)A prohibition on the public disclosure of the creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material without the written consent of the depicted individual or individuals.
(2)A policy that the disclosure of digitized sexually explicit material without the written consent of the depicted individual or individuals is sexual exploitation and a violation of the institutions policy, and subject to disciplinary sanctions.
(3)A list of organizations to assist students and employees with the removal of digitized sexually explicit material from digital platforms. The list shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(A)Contact information for the Cyber Civil Rights Legal Project.
(B)Information on organizations that specialize in assisting in the removal of digitized sexually explicit material from digital platforms, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(i)Take It Down.
(ii)Stop Non-Consensual Intimate Image Abuse (StopNCII.org).
(iii)Revenge Porn Helpline.
(iv)South West Grid for Learning - Safe, Secure, Online.
(4)Information on the federal and state rights afforded to someone who has been subjected to the nonconsensual sharing of digitized sexually explicit material.
(5)Contact information for legal firms who may assist the student in filing a civil or criminal case for the removal of the digitized sexually explicit material.
(6)Campus resources available to the student who is a victim of sexual harassment or sexual exploitation due to the digitized sexually explicit material.
(c)The California State University shall incorporate subdivision (b) into its single, systemwide nondiscrimination policy for the entire system pursuant to Section 66280.
(d)The University of California shall incorporate subdivision (b) into its single, systemwide nondiscrimination policy for the entire system pursuant to Section 66280.5.
SEC. 5.Section 66293.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:66293.5.(a)In the absence of federal funding to examine the quality of life of students, faculty, and staff on campuses for the purpose of evaluating incidents of sexual harassment, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment for the expressed purpose of improving campus-based resources, services, and communications available to victims, the Legislature finds and declares that it is a moral imperative for the state to address this gap in funding for research.
(b)Upon an appropriation in the annual Budget Act, the University of California, Los Angeles Center for the Study of Women shall facilitate research on the quality of life of students at public postsecondary educational institutions by awarding grants to universities, institutes, and organizations to conduct research on the prevention of, and adjudication of reports of, sexual harassment, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment on campus. at postsecondary educational institutions. The research shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(1)A comprehensive statewide study of a students quality of life, specifically focusing on campus climate, campus safety, and a students interaction with the institutions grievance procedures of a complaint as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.) or state law, across the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges.(1)A comprehensive study of a students sense of safety on campus and interactions with campus resources that serve survivors of sexual harassment, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including, but not limited to, Title IX offices and confidential advocates.
(2)The prevalence of digitized sexually explicit materials at postsecondary educational institutions and best practices to prevent and address digitized sexually explicit materials at postsecondary educational institutions.
(3)The prevalence of technology-facilitated sexual harassment at postsecondary educational institutions and best practices to prevent and address technology-facilitated sexual harassment at postsecondary educational institutions.
(c)For purposes of this section, postsecondary educational institution means a community college, a campus of the California State University, a campus of the University of California, or the College of the Law, San Francisco.
SEC. 6.Section 66302 of the Education Code is amended to read:66302.(a)Notwithstanding Section 67400, to receive state financial assistance, as defined in Section 213, the governing board of a community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, and the Regents of the University of California shall do both of the following:
(1)Adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying and include the policies within the rules and regulations governing student conduct within their respective segments of public postsecondary education.
(2)Provide, as a part of established campus orientations, educational and preventive information about harassment, intimidation, and bullying to students at all campuses of their respective segments of public postsecondary education.
(b)The rules and regulations governing student conduct adopted pursuant to this section shall be published, at minimum, on the internet website of each public postsecondary educational campus and as part of any printed material covering those rules and regulations within the respective public postsecondary education system.
SEC. 7.Section 66302.5 of the Education Code is repealed.SEC. 8.Section 67385.7 of the Education Code is amended to read:67385.7.(a)The governing board of each community college district and the Trustees of the California State University shall, and the Regents of the University of California are requested to, in collaboration with campus-based and community-based victim advocacy organizations, provide, as part of established campus orientations, educational and preventive information about sexual violence to students at all campuses of their respective segments. For a campus with an existing on-campus orientation program, this information shall be provided, in addition to the sexual harassment information required to be provided pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 66281.5, during the regular orientation for incoming students.
(b)(1)Each campus of the California Community Colleges and the California State University shall post educational and preventive information on sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment on its campus internet website.
(2)Each campus of an independent institution of higher education, a private postsecondary educational institution, and the University of California is requested to post educational and preventive information on sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment on its campus internet website.
(c)The educational and preventive information provided pursuant to this section shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1)Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment.
(2)What constitutes sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment, including information on how to file internal administrative complaints with the institution of higher education and how to file criminal charges with local law enforcement officials.
(3)The availability of, and contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment.
(4)Methods of encouraging peer support for victims and the imposition of sanctions on offenders.
(5)Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing acts of sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment.
(6)What constitutes digitized sexually explicit material, including information on the prohibition of the public disclosure of the creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material pursuant to Section 66286.
(7)What constitutes affirmative consent and written consent as defined in Section 66262.5.
(d)(1)Beginning on September 1, 2024, and each year thereafter, the California Community Colleges, the California State University, independent institutions of higher education that receive state financial assistance, and private postsecondary educational institutions that receive state financial assistance shall, and the University of California is requested to, annually train its students on sexual violence and sexual harassment, and on or before September 1, 2026, and every two years thereafter, consider updating the annual training.
(2)Beginning on September 1, 2024, and each year thereafter, students attending the California Community Colleges shall complete their annual training within six months of the beginning of the academic year.
(3)The annual training for students established in paragraph (1) shall cover all of the following topics:
(A)Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual violence and sexual harassment.
(B)What constitutes sexual violence and sexual harassment, including information on how to file internal administrative complaints with the institution of higher education and how to file criminal charges with local law enforcement officials.
(C)The availability of, and contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual violence and sexual harassment.
(D)Methods of encouraging peer support for victims and the imposition of sanctions on offenders.
(E)Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing acts of sexual violence and sexual harassment.
(F)The contact information of a Title IX coordinator or a similar position.
(G)As referenced in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (b) of Section 66281.8, statistics on the prevalence of sexual harassment and sexual violence in the educational setting, and the differing rates at which students experience sexual harassment and sexual assault in the educational setting based on their race, sexual orientation, disability, gender, and gender identity.
(4)Beginning on September 1, 2026, the annual training for students established in paragraph (1) shall cover all of the following topics:
(A)How to recognize if a person is at risk of alcohol- and drug-facilitated sexual assault, including, but not limited to, common symptoms following alcohol and drug consumption and intoxication.
(B)Effective measures that can be taken to prevent involuntary alcohol and drug consumption and ways to respond to circumstances where a person may be involuntarily intoxicated and at risk for alcohol- and drug-facilitated sexual assault.
(C)As part of the topic covered pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3), common facts and myths regarding alcohol- and drug-facilitated sexual assault.
(D)Information related to confidential support and care resources for situations that arise as a result of an act of sexual violence or sexual harassment, or both, including, but not limited to, contact information and the availability of confidential medical and transportation services, forensic examination sites, and, to the extent available, rape crisis centers on campus or within the surrounding community of the campus.
(5)Beginning on September 1, 2027, the annual training for students described in paragraph (1) shall cover all of the following topics:
(A)Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
(B)What constitutes sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including information on how to file internal administrative complaints with the institution of higher education and how to file criminal charges with local law enforcement officials.
(C)The availability of, and contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
(D)Methods of encouraging peer support for victims and the imposition of sanctions on offenders.
(E)Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
(F)The contact information of a Title IX coordinator, or a similar position.
(G)The availability of, and contact information for, campus, community, and online resources for victims of sexual exploitation or technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including how to help take down digitized sexually explicit material.
(e)This section does not prevent the California Community Colleges, the California State University, independent institutions of higher education, private postsecondary educational institutions, and the University of California from incorporating the training developed pursuant to subdivision (d) from being integrated into existing trainings as referenced in subdivision (a).
(f)A community college district may authorize students to self-certify that they have completed training developed pursuant to this section.
(g)As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1)Digitized sexually explicit material has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5.
(2)Drugs includes, but is not limited to, flunitrazepam, ketamine, and gamma hydroxybutyric acid, which is also known by other names, including, but not limited to, GHB, gamma hydroxyl butyrate, 4-hydroxybutyrate, 4-hydroxybutanoic acid, sodium oxybate, and sodium oxybutyrate.
(3)Independent institutions of higher education has the same meaning as that term is defined in Section 66010.
(4)Private postsecondary educational institution has the same meaning as that term is defined in Section 94858.
(5)Sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment have the same meaning as those terms are defined in Section 66262.5.
(6)Training or train includes, but is not limited to, in-person, remote, or video instruction. Training or train shall not include instruction that is only provided through written materials.
(h)Campuses of the California Community Colleges and the California State University shall, and campuses of the University of California are requested to, develop policies to encourage students to report any campus crimes involving sexual assaults, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, or sexual harassment to the appropriate campus authorities.
(i)Campuses are urged to adopt policies to eliminate barriers for victims who come forward to report sexual assaults, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, or sexual harassment, and to advise students regarding these policies. These policies may include, but are not limited to, exempting the victim from campus sanctions for being in violation of any campus policies, including alcohol or substance abuse policies or other policies of the campus, at the time of the incident.
(j)The Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges and the Trustees of the California State University shall, and the Regents of the University of California are requested to, develop and adopt regulations setting forth procedures for the implementation of this section by campuses in their respective segments.
SEC. 9.Section 87604.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:87604.5.(a)The governing board of a community college district shall, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with that district, do all of the following:
(1)(A)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment.
(B)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or, if applicable, with the United States Department of Education.
(2)Require an applicant to sign a release form that authorizes, in the event the applicant reaches the final stages of the application process, the release of information by the applicants previous employers to the community college district concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct in order to permit the community college district to evaluate the released information with respect to the criteria for a potential job placement.
(3)If an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the intended academic, athletic, or administrative position, require the community college district to use the release form signed pursuant to paragraph (2) to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.
(b)A community college district shall not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the community college district has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)Applicant means a person who submits an employment application for an academic, athletic, or administrative position, but does not include a person who is a current employee and is hired or rehired for a different position with the same employer.
(2)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and the subsequent hearing.
(3)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.
(4)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
(5)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined in Section 106.30 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(6)Substantiated allegation means an allegation that has been sustained based upon a burden of proof of at least a preponderance of the evidence.
SEC. 10.Section 89521 of the Education Code is amended to read:89521.(a)The trustees shall, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with the California State University, do all of the following:
(1)(A)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment.
(B)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or, if applicable, with the United States Department of Education.
(2)Require an applicant to sign a release form that authorizes, in the event the applicant reaches the final stages of the application process, the release of information by the applicants previous employers to the campus of the California State University concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct in order to permit the campus to evaluate the released information with respect to the criteria for a potential job placement.
(3)If an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the intended academic, athletic, or administrative position, require campuses of the California State University to use the release form signed pursuant to paragraph (2) to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.
(b)The California State University shall not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the California State University has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)Applicant means a person who submits an employment application for an academic, athletic, or administrative position, but does not include a person who is a current employee and is hired or rehired for a different position with the same campus.
(2)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and the subsequent hearing.
(3)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.
(4)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
(5)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined in Section 106.30 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(6)Substantiated allegation means an allegation that has been sustained based upon a burden of proof of at least a preponderance of the evidence.
SEC. 11.Section 92612.1 of the Education Code is amended to read:92612.1.(a)The regents are requested, as part of the hiring process for an applicant applying for an academic, athletic, or administrative position with the University of California, to do both of the following:
(1)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed misconduct, including sexual harassment.
(2)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer, administrative agency, or court, if applicable.
(b)The University of California is requested to not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the University of California has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and a hearing, if a hearing is either required pursuant to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.) or federal regulations implementing those provisions, or is required by the public postsecondary educational institutions written policy on sex discrimination, including sexual harassment, and related grievance processes. If a party has filed a timely grievance or appeal, final administrative decision means after the grievance or appeal decision has been issued.
(2)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.
(3)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
(4)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined by the federal regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.).
SEC. 12.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.
For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(a)Affirmative consent means affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity. It is the responsibility of each person involved in the sexual activity to ensure that the person has the affirmative consent of the other or others to engage in the sexual activity. Lack of protest or resistance does not mean consent, nor does silence mean consent. Affirmative consent must be ongoing throughout a sexual activity and can be revoked at any time. The existence of a dating relationship between the persons involved, or the fact of past sexual relations between them, should never by itself be assumed to be an indicator of consent.
(2)(A)(b)(1)Cyber sexual bullying means the dissemination of, or the solicitation or incitement to disseminate, a photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording by means of an electronic act that has or can be reasonably predicted to have one or more of the following effects:
(i)(A)Placing a reasonable person or persons in fear of harm to that person or persons or their property.
(ii)(B)Causing a reasonable person to experience a substantially detrimental effect on the persons physical or mental health.
(iii)(C)Causing a reasonable person to experience substantial interference with the persons academic performance, work, or employment.
(iv)(D)Causing a reasonable person to experience substantial interference with the persons ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by an educational institution.
(B)(2)A photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording, as described in subparagraph (A), paragraph (1), includes the depiction of a nude, seminude, or sexually explicit photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording of a person in which the person is identifiable from the photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, visual recording, or other electronic act.
(C)(3)Cyber sexual bullying does not include a depiction, portrayal, or image that has any serious literary, artistic, educational, political, or scientific value or that involves athletic events or sanctioned activities by the educational institution.
(3)(c)Cyber stalking means stalking by means of an electronic communication device. For purposes of this paragraph, stalking and electronic communication device have the same meanings as the terms are used in Section 646.9 of the Penal Code.
(4)(d)Depicted individual means an individual who is portrayed in sexually explicit material.
(5)(e)Digitization means a process by which any of the following are realistically depicted:
(A)(1)The nude body parts of another human being as the nude body parts of the depicted individual.
(B)(2)Computer-generated nude body parts as the nude body parts of the depicted individual.
(C)(3)The depicted individual engaging in sexual conduct in which the depicted individual did not engage.
(6)(f)Digitized sexually explicit material means any portion of a visual or audiovisual work created or substantially altered through digitization, including an image, that shows the depicted individual in the nude or appearing to engage in, or being subjected to, sexual conduct.
(7)(g)Doxing means an act when a person, with intent to place another person in reasonable fear for their safety, or the safety of the other persons immediate family, by means of an electronic communication device, and without written consent of the other person, and and, for the purpose of imminently causing that other person unwanted physical contact, injury, or harassment by a third party, electronically distributes, publishes, emails, hyperlinks, or makes available for downloading, personal identifying information, including, but not limited to, a digital image of another person, or an electronic message of a harassing nature about another person, that would be likely to incite or produce that unwanted physical contact, injury, or harassment by a third party. For purposes of this paragraph, electronic communication device means a telephone, cell phone, computer, internet web page or website, internet phone, hybrid cellular or wireless device, personal digital assistant, video recorder, fax machine, or pager.
(h)Electronic act means the creation or transmission, originating on campus or off campus of a public postsecondary educational institution, by means of an electronic device, including, but not limited to, a telephone, wireless telephone, or other wireless communication device, computer, or pager, of a communication, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(1)A message, text, sound, video, or image.
(2)A post on a social network internet website or social media platform, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(A)Posting to or creating a burn page. Burn page means an internet website created for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b).
(B)Creating a credible impersonation of another actual person for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b). Credible impersonation means to knowingly and without consent impersonate a person for the purpose of bullying the person such that another person would reasonably believe, or has reasonably believed, that the person was or is the person who was impersonated.
(C)Creating a false profile for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in paragraph (1). False profile means a profile of a fictitious person or a profile using the likeness or attributes of an actual person other than the person who created the false profile.
(3)An act of technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
(8)(i)Sexual battery means the intentional touching of another persons intimate parts without consent, intentionally causing a person to touch the intimate parts of another without consent, or using a persons own intimate part to intentionally touch another persons body without affirmative consent.
(9)(j)Sexual conduct means any of the following:
(A)(1)Masturbation.
(B)(2)Sexual intercourse, including genital, oral, or anal, whether between persons regardless of sex or gender or between humans and animals.
(C)(3)Sexual penetration of the vagina or rectum by, or with, an object.
(D)(4)The transfer of semen by means of sexual conduct from the penis directly onto the depicted individual as a result of ejaculation.
(E)(5)Sadomasochistic abuse involving the depicted individual.
(10)(k)Sexual exploitation means a person taking sexual advantage of another person for the benefit of anyone other than that person without that persons affirmative consent, including, but not limited to, any of the following acts:
(A)(1)The prostituting of another person.
(B)(2)The trafficking of another person, defined as the inducement of a person to perform a commercial sex act, or labor or services, through force, fraud, or coercion.
(C)(3)The recording of images, including video or photograph, or audio, of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, without that persons affirmative consent.
(D)(4)The distribution of images, including video or photograph, or audio, of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, if the individual distributing the images, video, photograph, or audio knows or should have known that the person depicted in the images, video, photograph, or audio did not provide affirmative consent to the disclosure.
(E)(5)The viewing of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts in a place where that other person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy, without that persons affirmative consent, for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire.
(F)(6)The creation, generation, or distribution of digitized sexually explicit materials without the written consent of the depicted individual or individuals.
(G)(7)The creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, without that persons written consent.
(H)(8)The distribution of digitized sexually explicit material of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, if the individual distributing the digitized sexually explicit material knows or should have known that the person depicted in the digitized sexually explicit material did not provide written consent to the disclosure.
(l)(1)Sexual harassment means unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature, made by someone from or in a work or educational setting, under any of the following conditions:
(A)Submission to the conduct is explicitly or implicitly made a term or a condition of an individuals employment, academic status, or progress.
(B)Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis of employment or academic decisions affecting the individual.
(C)The conduct has the purpose or effect of having a negative impact upon the individuals work or academic performance, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or educational environment.
(D)Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis for a decision affecting the individual regarding benefits and services, honors, programs, or activities available at or through the educational institution.
(2)Sexual harassment includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(A)Sexual exploitation.
(B)Sexual violence, including, but not limited to, sexual battery.
(C)Technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including, but not limited to, cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, and doxing.
(3)Sexual harassment of students is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Section 66270.
(11)(m)Sexual violence means physical sexual acts perpetrated against a person without the persons affirmative consent. Physical sexual acts include both of the following:
(A)(1)Rape, defined as penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any part or object, or oral copulation of a sex organ by another person, without the affirmative consent of the victim.
(B)(2)Sexual battery, as defined in paragraph (8). subdivision (i).
(12)(A)(n)(1)Technology-facilitated sexual harassment means unwelcome sexual advances made on or through digital platforms, technology-facilitated requests for sexual favors, technology-facilitated threats of sexual violence, and digital conduct of a sexual nature, made by someone on a digital platform under any of the following conditions: sexual harassment that occurs on, or is facilitated by, digital platforms or digital technologies.
(i)Submission to the conduct is explicitly or implicitly made a term or a condition of an individuals employment, academic status, or progress.(ii)Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis of employment or academic decisions affecting the individual.(iii)The conduct has the purpose or effect of having a negative impact upon the individuals work or academic performance, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or educational environment.(iv)Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis for a decision affecting the individual regarding benefits and services, honors, programs, or activities available at or through the educational institution.(B)(2)Technology-facilitated sexual harassment includes, but is not limited to, cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, and doxing.
(13)(A)(o)(1)Written consent means an agreement written in plain language signed knowingly and voluntarily by the depicted individual that includes a general description of the digitized sexually explicit material and the visual or audiovisual work in which it will be incorporated.
(B)(2)A depicted individual may rescind consent by delivering written notice within three business days from the date consent was given to the person in whose favor consent was made, unless one of the following requirements is satisfied:
(i)(A)The depicted individual is given at least 72 hours to review the terms of the agreement before signing the agreement.
(ii)(B)The depicted individuals authorized representative provides written approval of the signed agreement.
SEC. 3.Section 66281.9 of the Education Code is amended to read:66281.9.(a)The governing board or body of an independent institution of higher education that receives state financial assistance is requested, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with that independent institution of higher education, to do all of the following:
(1)(A)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment.
(B)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or, if applicable, with the United States Department of Education.
(2)Require an applicant to sign a release form that authorizes, in the event the applicant reaches the final stages of the application process, the release of information by the applicants previous employers to the independent institution of higher education concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct in order to permit the institution to evaluate the released information with respect to the criteria for a potential job placement.
(3)If an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the intended academic, athletic, or administrative position, require the independent institution of higher education to use the release form signed pursuant to paragraph (2) to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.
(b)Independent institutions of higher education that receive state financial assistance are requested to not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the institution has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)Applicant means a person who submits an employment application for an academic, athletic, or administrative position, but does not include a person who is a current employee and is hired or rehired for a different position with the same employer.
(2)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and the subsequent hearing.
(3)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.
(4)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
(5)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as described defined in subdivision (a) of Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined in Section 106.30 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(6)Substantiated allegation means an allegation that has been sustained based upon a burden of proof of at least a preponderance of the evidence.
SEC. 3.SEC. 4.Section 66286 is added to the Education Code, to read:66286.(a)It is the policy of the State of California, pursuant to Section 66251, that all persons, regardless of their sex, should enjoy freedom from discrimination of any kind in the postsecondary educational institutions of the state.
(b)In order to receive state funds for student financial assistance, the governing board of a community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, the Regents of the University of California, and the governing boards of independent postsecondary institutions shall update any institutional policy pertaining to the adjudication of complaints of sexual harassment, the prevention of sexual harassment, or any policy pertaining to sexual harassment to include both of the following:
(1)A prohibition on the public disclosure of the creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material without the written consent of the depicted individual. individual or individuals.
(2)A policy that the disclosure of digitized sexually explicit material without the written consent of the depicted individual or individuals is sexual exploitation and a violation of the institutions policy, and subject to disciplinary sanctions.
(c)The California State University shall incorporate subdivision (b) into its single, systemwide nondiscrimination policy for the entire system pursuant to Section 66280.
(d)The University of California shall incorporate subdivision (b) into its single, systemwide nondiscrimination policy for the entire system pursuant to Section 66280.5.
SEC. 4.Section 66286.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:66286.5.(a)Upon an appropriation in the annual Budget Act, beginning on September 1, 2027, and every year after, in order to receive state funds for student financial assistance, the governing board of a community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, and the Regents of the University of California shall provide students with financial assistance of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000) each to help students who are victims of digitized sexually explicit material to identify and remove the material.(b)For a student to be eligible to receive the financial assistance described in subdivision (a), all the following conditions shall be met:(1)The student has filed a formal complaint alleging sexual harassment or sexual exploitation due to the digitized sexually explicit material.(2)The postsecondary educational institution completed the institutions grievance procedures for the complaint as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.) or Section 66281.8.(3)The postsecondary educational institution has determined the student was a victim of sexual harassment or sexual exploitation.(c)Subdivisions (a) and (b) do not prevent the postsecondary educational institution from providing other forms of supportive measures to a student who has filed a complaint alleging sexual harassment or sexual exploitation due to digitized sexually explicit material. For complaints of sexual harassment or sexual exploitation containing allegations of digitized sexually explicit material, the postsecondary educational institution shall provide the student with all of the following:(1)Contact information for the Cyber Civil Rights Legal Project.(2)Information on organizations that specialize in assisting in the removal of digitized sexually explicit material from digital platforms, including, but not limited to, all of the following:(A)Take It Down.(B)Stop Non-Consensual Intimate Image Abuse (StopNCII.org).(C)Revenge Porn Helpline.(D)South West Grid for Learning - Safe, Secure, Online.(3)Information on the federal and state rights afforded to someone who has been subjected to the nonconsensual sharing of digitized sexually explicit material.(4)Contact information for legal firms who may assist the student in filing a civil or criminal case for the removal of the digitized sexually explicit material.(5)Campus resources available to the student who is a victim of sexual harassment or sexual exploitation due to the digitized sexually explicit material.(d)For purposes of this section, postsecondary educational institution means a community college, a campus of the California State University, a campus of the University of California, or the College of the Law, San Francisco.SEC. 5.Section 66293.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:66293.5.(a)In the absence of federal funding to examine the quality of life of students, faculty, and staff on campuses for the purpose of evaluating incidents of sexual harassment, sexual violence, and sexual exploitation exploitation, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment for the expressed purpose of improving campus-based resources, services, and communications available to victims, the Legislature finds and declares that it is a moral imperative for the state to address this gap in funding for research.
(b)Upon an appropriation in the annual Budget Act, the University of California, Los Angeles Center for the Study of Women shall facilitate research on the quality of life of students at public postsecondary educational institutions by awarding grants to universities, institutes, and organizations to conduct research on the prevention of, and adjudication of reports of, sexual harassment, sexual violence, and sexual exploitation exploitation, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment on campus. The research shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(1)A comprehensive statewide study of a students quality of life, specifically focusing on campus climate, campus safety, and a students interaction with the institutions grievance procedures of a complaint as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.) or state law, across the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges.
(2)The prevalence of digitized sexually explicit materials at postsecondary educational institutions and best practices to prevent and address digitized sexually explicit materials at postsecondary educational institutions.
(3)The prevalence of digitized online technology-facilitated sexual harassment at postsecondary educational institutions and best practices to prevent and address online technology-facilitated sexual harassment at postsecondary educational institutions.
(c)For purposes of this section, postsecondary educational institution means a community college, a campus of the California State University, a campus of the University of California, or the College of the Law, San Francisco.
SEC. 6.Section 66302 of the Education Code is amended to read:66302.(a)Notwithstanding Section 67400, to receive state financial assistance, as defined in Section 213, the governing board of a community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, and the Regents of the University of California shall do both of the following:
(1)Adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying and include the policies within the rules and regulations governing student conduct within their respective segments of public postsecondary education.
(2)Provide, as a part of established campus orientations, educational and preventive information about harassment, intimidation, and bullying to students at all campuses of their respective segments of public postsecondary education.
(b)The rules and regulations governing student conduct adopted pursuant to this section shall be published, at minimum, on the internet website of each public postsecondary educational campus and as part of any printed material covering those rules and regulations within the respective public postsecondary education system.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:(1)Bullying means any severe or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct, including communications made in writing or by means of an electronic act. Bullying includes one or more acts committed by a person or groups of people directed toward one or more people that has or can be reasonably predicted to have the effect of any of the following:(A)Placing a reasonable person or group of people in fear of harm to that person or property.(B)Causing a reasonable person to experience a substantially detrimental effect on the persons physical or mental health.(C)Causing a reasonable person to experience substantial interference with the persons academic performance.(D)Causing a reasonable person to experience substantial interference with the persons ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by a public postsecondary educational institution.(2)Electronic act means the creation or transmission, originating on campus or off campus of a public postsecondary educational institution, by means of an electronic device, including, but not limited to, a telephone, wireless telephone, or other wireless communication device, computer, or pager, of a communication, including, but not limited to, any of the following:(A)A message, text, sound, video, or image.(B)A post on a social network internet website or social media platform, including, but not limited to, any of the following:(i)Posting to or creating a burn page. Burn page means an internet website created for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in paragraph (1).(ii)Creating a credible impersonation of another actual person for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in paragraph (1). Credible impersonation means to knowingly and without consent impersonate a person for the purpose of bullying the person such that another person would reasonably believe, or has reasonably believed, that the person was or is the person who was impersonated.(iii)Creating a false profile for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in paragraph (1). False profile means a profile of a fictitious person or a profile using the likeness or attributes of an actual person other than the person who created the false profile.(C)An act of technology-facilitated sexual harassment. For purposes of this subparagraph, technology-facilitated sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5.SEC. 7.Section 66302.5 of the Education Code is repealed.SEC. 8.Section 67385.7 of the Education Code is amended to read:67385.7.(a)The governing board of each community college district and the Trustees of the California State University shall, and the Regents of the University of California are requested to, in collaboration with campus-based and community-based victim advocacy organizations, provide, as part of established campus orientations, educational and preventive information about sexual violence to students at all campuses of their respective segments. For a campus with an existing on-campus orientation program, this information shall be provided, in addition to the sexual harassment information required to be provided pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 66281.5, during the regular orientation for incoming students.
(b)(1)Each campus of the California Community Colleges and the California State University shall post educational and preventive information on sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment on its campus internet website.
(2)Each campus of an independent institution of higher education, a private postsecondary educational institution, and the University of California is requested to post educational and preventive information on sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment on its campus internet website.
(c)The educational and preventive information provided pursuant to this section shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1)Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment.
(2)What constitutes sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment, including information on how to file internal administrative complaints with the institution of higher education and how to file criminal charges with local law enforcement officials.
(3)The availability of, and contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment.
(4)Methods of encouraging peer support for victims and the imposition of sanctions on offenders.
(5)Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing acts of sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment.
(6)What constitutes digitized sexually explicit material, including information on the prohibition of the public disclosure of the creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material pursuant to Section 66286.
(7)What constitutes affirmative consent and written consent as defined in Section 66262.5.
(d)(1)Beginning on September 1, 2024, and each year thereafter, the California Community Colleges, the California State University, independent institutions of higher education that receive state financial assistance, and private postsecondary educational institutions that receive state financial assistance shall, and the University of California is requested to, annually train its students on sexual violence and sexual harassment, and on or before September 1, 2026, and every two years thereafter, consider updating the annual training.
(2)Beginning on September 1, 2024, and each year thereafter, students attending the California Community Colleges shall complete their annual training within six months of the beginning of the academic year.
(3)The annual training for students established in paragraph (1) shall cover all of the following topics:
(A)Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual violence and sexual harassment.
(B)What constitutes sexual violence and sexual harassment, including information on how to file internal administrative complaints with the institution of higher education and how to file criminal charges with local law enforcement officials.
(C)The availability of, and contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual violence and sexual harassment.
(D)Methods of encouraging peer support for victims and the imposition of sanctions on offenders.
(E)Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing acts of sexual violence and sexual harassment.
(F)The contact information of a Title IX coordinator or a similar position.
(G)As referenced in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (b) of Section 66281.8, statistics on the prevalence of sexual harassment and sexual violence in the educational setting, and the differing rates at which students experience sexual harassment and sexual assault in the educational setting based on their race, sexual orientation, disability, gender, and gender identity.
(4)Beginning on September 1, 2026, the annual training for students established in paragraph (1) shall cover all of the following topics:
(A)How to recognize if a person is at risk of alcohol- and drug-facilitated sexual assault, including, but not limited to, common symptoms following alcohol and drug consumption and intoxication.
(B)Effective measures that can be taken to prevent involuntary alcohol and drug consumption and ways to respond to circumstances where a person may be involuntarily intoxicated and at risk for alcohol- and drug-facilitated sexual assault.
(C)As part of the topic covered pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3), common facts and myths regarding alcohol- and drug-facilitated sexual assault.
(D)Information related to confidential support and care resources for situations that arise as a result of an act of sexual violence or sexual harassment, or both, including, but not limited to, contact information and the availability of confidential medical and transportation services, forensic examination sites, and, to the extent available, rape crisis centers on campus or within the surrounding community of the campus.
(5)Beginning on September 1, 2027, the annual training for students described in paragraph (1) shall cover all of the following topics:
(A)Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
(B)What constitutes sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including information on how to file internal administrative complaints with the institution of higher education and how to file criminal charges with local law enforcement officials.
(C)The availability of, and contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
(D)Methods of encouraging peer support for victims and the imposition of sanctions on offenders.
(E)Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
(F)The contact information of a Title IX coordinator, or a similar position.
(G)The availability of, and contact information for, campus, community, and online resources for victims of sexual exploitation or technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including how to help take down digitized sexually explicit material.
(e)This section does not prevent the California Community Colleges, the California State University, independent institutions of higher education, private postsecondary educational institutions, and the University of California from incorporating the training developed pursuant to subdivision (d) from being integrated into existing trainings as referenced in subdivision (a).
(f)A community college district may authorize students to self-certify that they have completed training developed pursuant to this section.
(g)As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1)Digitized sexually explicit material has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5.
(2)Drugs includes, but is not limited to, flunitrazepam, ketamine, and gamma hydroxybutyric acid, which is also known by other names, including, but not limited to, GHB, gamma hydroxyl butyrate, 4-hydroxybutyrate, 4-hydroxybutanoic acid, sodium oxybate, and sodium oxybutyrate.
(3)Independent institutions of higher education has the same meaning as that term is defined in Section 66010.
(4)Private postsecondary educational institution has the same meaning as that term is defined in Section 94858.
(5)Sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment have the same meaning as those terms are defined in Section 66262.5.
(6)Training or train includes, but is not limited to, in-person, remote, or video instruction. Training or train shall not include instruction that is only provided through written materials.
(h)Campuses of the California Community Colleges and the California State University shall, and campuses of the University of California are requested to, develop policies to encourage students to report any campus crimes involving sexual violence or assaults, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual exploitation harassment, or sexual harassment to the appropriate campus authorities.
(i)Campuses are urged to adopt policies to eliminate barriers for victims who come forward to report sexual assaults, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, or sexual harassment, and to advise students regarding these policies. These policies may include, but are not limited to, exempting the victim from campus sanctions for being in violation of any campus policies, including alcohol or substance abuse policies or other policies of the campus, at the time of the incident.
(j)The Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges and the Trustees of the California State University shall, and the Regents of the University of California are requested to, develop and adopt regulations setting forth procedures for the implementation of this section by campuses in their respective segments.
SEC. 9.Section 87604.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:87604.5.(a)The governing board of a community college district shall, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with that district, do all of the following:
(1)(A)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment.
(B)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or, if applicable, with the United States Department of Education.
(2)Require an applicant to sign a release form that authorizes, in the event the applicant reaches the final stages of the application process, the release of information by the applicants previous employers to the community college district concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct in order to permit the community college district to evaluate the released information with respect to the criteria for a potential job placement.
(3)If an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the intended academic, athletic, or administrative position, require the community college district to use the release form signed pursuant to paragraph (2) to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.
(b)A community college district shall not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the community college district has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)Applicant means a person who submits an employment application for an academic, athletic, or administrative position, but does not include a person who is a current employee and is hired or rehired for a different position with the same employer.
(2)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and the subsequent hearing.
(3)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.
(4)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
(5)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as described defined in subdivision (a) of Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined in Section 106.30 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(6)Substantiated allegation means an allegation that has been sustained based upon a burden of proof of at least a preponderance of the evidence.
SEC. 10.Section 89521 of the Education Code is amended to read:89521.(a)The trustees shall, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with the California State University, do all of the following:
(1)(A)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment.
(B)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or, if applicable, with the United States Department of Education.
(2)Require an applicant to sign a release form that authorizes, in the event the applicant reaches the final stages of the application process, the release of information by the applicants previous employers to the campus of the California State University concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct in order to permit the campus to evaluate the released information with respect to the criteria for a potential job placement.
(3)If an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the intended academic, athletic, or administrative position, require campuses of the California State University to use the release form signed pursuant to paragraph (2) to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.
(b)The California State University shall not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the California State University has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)Applicant means a person who submits an employment application for an academic, athletic, or administrative position, but does not include a person who is a current employee and is hired or rehired for a different position with the same campus.
(2)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and the subsequent hearing.
(3)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.
(4)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
(5)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as described defined in subdivision (a) of Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined in Section 106.30 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(6)Substantiated allegation means an allegation that has been sustained based upon a burden of proof of at least a preponderance of the evidence.
SEC. 11.Section 92612.1 of the Education Code is amended to read:92612.1.(a)The regents are requested, as part of the hiring process for an applicant applying for an academic, athletic, or administrative position with the University of California, to do both of the following:
(1)Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative decision or final judicial decision issued within the last seven years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed misconduct, including sexual harassment.
(2)Permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer, administrative agency, or court, if applicable.
(b)The University of California is requested to not ask an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing, information concerning any final administrative decision or final judicial decision described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), including any inquiry about an applicable decision on any employment application, until the University of California has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications stated in the notice issued for the position.
(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)Final administrative decision means the written determination of whether or not sexual harassment occurred as determined by the decisionmaker following the final investigative report and a hearing, if a hearing is either required pursuant to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.) or federal regulations implementing those provisions, or is required by the public postsecondary educational institutions written policy on sex discrimination, including sexual harassment, and related grievance processes. If a party has filed a timely grievance or appeal, final administrative decision means after the grievance or appeal decision has been issued.
(2)Final judicial decision means a final determination of a matter submitted to a court that is recorded in a judgment or order of that court.
(3)Misconduct means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicants previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
(4)Sexual harassment has the same meaning as described defined in subdivision (a) of Section 66262.5 or, if applicable, as defined by the federal regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.).
SEC. 9.SEC. 12.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.
(a)(1)Sexual harassment means unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature, made by someone from or in a work or educational setting, under any of the following conditions:
(A)Submission to the conduct is explicitly or implicitly made a term or a condition of an individuals employment, academic status, or progress.
(B)Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis of employment or academic decisions affecting the individual.
(C)The conduct has the purpose or effect of having a negative impact upon the individuals work or academic performance, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or educational environment.
(D)Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis for a decision affecting the individual regarding benefits and services, honors, programs, or activities available at or through the educational institution.
(2)Sexual harassment includes sexual battery, sexual violence, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, sexual exploitation, and conduct described in paragraph (1) that occurs on a digital platform or in a digital space.
(3)Sexual harassment of students is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Section 66270.
(b)For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(1)Affirmative consent means affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity. It is the responsibility of each person involved in the sexual activity to ensure that the person has the affirmative consent of the other or others to engage in the sexual activity. Lack of protest or resistance does not mean consent, nor does silence mean consent. Affirmative consent must be ongoing throughout a sexual activity and can be revoked at any time. The existence of a dating relationship between the persons involved, or the fact of past sexual relations between them, should never by itself be assumed to be an indicator of consent.
(2)(A)Cyber sexual bullying means the dissemination of, or the solicitation or incitement to disseminate, a photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording by means of an electronic act that has or can be reasonably predicted to have one or more of the following effects:
(i)Placing a reasonable person or persons in fear of harm to that person or persons or their property.
(ii)Causing a reasonable person to experience a substantially detrimental effect on the persons physical or mental health.
(iii)Causing a reasonable person to experience substantial interference with the persons academic performance, work, or employment.
(iv)Causing a reasonable person to experience substantial interference with the persons ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by an educational institution.
(B)A photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording, as described in subparagraph (A), includes the depiction of a nude, seminude, or sexually explicit photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording of a person in which the person is identifiable from the photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, visual recording, or other electronic act.
(C)Cyber sexual bullying does not include a depiction, portrayal, or image that has any serious literary, artistic, educational, political, or scientific value or that involves athletic events or sanctioned activities by the educational institution.
(3)Cyber stalking means stalking by means of an electronic communication device. For purposes of this paragraph, stalking and electronic communication device have the same meanings as the terms are used in Section 646.9 of the Penal Code.
(4)Depicted individual means an individual who is portrayed in sexually explicit material.
(5)Digitization means a process by which any of the following are realistically depicted:
(A)The nude body parts of another human being as the nude body parts of the depicted individual.
(B)Computer-generated nude body parts as the nude body parts of the depicted individual.
(C)The depicted individual engaging in sexual conduct in which the depicted individual did not engage.
(6)Digitized sexually explicit material means any portion of a visual or audiovisual work created or substantially altered through digitization, including an image, that shows the depicted individual in the nude or appearing to engage in, or being subjected to, sexual conduct.
(7)Doxing means an act when a person, with intent to place another person in reasonable fear for their safety, or the safety of the other persons immediate family, by means of an electronic communication device, and without written consent of the other person, and for the purpose of imminently causing that other person unwanted physical contact, injury, or harassment by a third party, electronically distributes, publishes, emails, hyperlinks, or makes available for downloading, personal identifying information, including, but not limited to, a digital image of another person, or an electronic message of a harassing nature about another person, that would be likely to incite or produce that unwanted physical contact, injury, or harassment by a third party. For purposes of this paragraph, electronic communication device means a telephone, cell phone, computer, internet web page or website, internet phone, hybrid cellular or wireless device, personal digital assistant, video recorder, fax machine, or pager.
(8)Sexual battery means the intentional touching of another persons intimate parts without consent, intentionally causing a person to touch the intimate parts of another without consent, or using a persons own intimate part to intentionally touch another persons body without affirmative consent.
(9)Sexual conduct means any of the following:
(A)Masturbation.
(B)Sexual intercourse, including genital, oral, or anal, whether between persons regardless of sex or gender or between humans and animals.
(C)Sexual penetration of the vagina or rectum by, or with, an object.
(D)The transfer of semen by means of sexual conduct from the penis directly onto the depicted individual as a result of ejaculation.
(E)Sadomasochistic abuse involving the depicted individual.
(10)Sexual exploitation means a person taking sexual advantage of another person for the benefit of anyone other than that person without that persons affirmative consent, including, but not limited to, any of the following acts:
(A)The prostituting of another person.
(B)The trafficking of another person, defined as the inducement of a person to perform a commercial sex act, or labor or services, through force, fraud, or coercion.
(C)The recording of images, including video or photograph, or audio, of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, without that persons affirmative consent.
(D)The distribution of images, including video or photograph, or audio, of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, if the individual distributing the images, video, photograph, or audio knows or should have known that the person depicted in the images, video, photograph, or audio did not provide affirmative consent to the disclosure.
(E)The viewing of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts in a place where that other person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy, without that persons affirmative consent, for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire.
(F)The creation, generation, or distribution of digitized sexually explicit materials without the written consent of the depicted individual or individuals.
(G)The creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, without that persons written consent.
(H)The distribution of digitized sexually explicit material of another persons sexual activity or intimate parts, if the individual distributing the digitized sexually explicit material knows or should have known that the person depicted in the digitized sexually explicit material did not provide written consent to the disclosure.
(11)Sexual violence means physical sexual acts perpetrated against a person without the persons affirmative consent. Physical sexual acts include both of the following:
(A)Rape, defined as penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any part or object, or oral copulation of a sex organ by another person, without the affirmative consent of the victim.
(B)Sexual battery, as defined in paragraph (8).
(12)(A)Technology-facilitated sexual harassment means unwelcome sexual advances made on or through digital platforms, technology-facilitated requests for sexual favors, technology-facilitated threats of sexual violence, and digital conduct of a sexual nature, made by someone on a digital platform under any of the following conditions:
(i)Submission to the conduct is explicitly or implicitly made a term or a condition of an individuals employment, academic status, or progress.
(ii)Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis of employment or academic decisions affecting the individual.
(iii)The conduct has the purpose or effect of having a negative impact upon the individuals work or academic performance, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or educational environment.
(iv)Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis for a decision affecting the individual regarding benefits and services, honors, programs, or activities available at or through the educational institution.
(B)Technology-facilitated sexual harassment includes, but is not limited to, cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, and doxing.
(13)(A)Written consent means an agreement written in plain language signed knowingly and voluntarily by the depicted individual that includes a general description of the digitized sexually explicit material and the visual or audiovisual work in which it will be incorporated.
(B)A depicted individual may rescind consent by delivering written notice within three business days from the date consent was given to the person in whose favor consent was made, unless one of the following requirements is satisfied:
(i)The depicted individual is given at least 72 hours to review the terms of the agreement before signing the agreement.
(ii)The depicted individuals authorized representative provides written approval of the signed agreement.
SEC. 3.Section 66286 is added to the Education Code, to read:66286.(a)It is the policy of the State of California, pursuant to Section 66251, that all persons, regardless of their sex, should enjoy freedom from discrimination of any kind in the postsecondary educational institutions of the state.
(b)In order to receive state funds for student financial assistance, the governing board of a community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, the Regents of the University of California, and the governing boards of independent postsecondary institutions shall update any institutional policy pertaining to the adjudication of complaints of sexual harassment, the prevention of sexual harassment, or any policy pertaining sexual harassment to include both of the following:
(1)A prohibition on the public disclosure of the creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material without the written consent of the depicted individual.
(2)A policy that the disclosure of digitized sexually explicit material without the written consent of the depicted individual or individuals is sexual exploitation and a violation of the institutions policy, and subject to disciplinary sanctions.
(c)The California State University shall incorporate subdivision (b) into its single, systemwide nondiscrimination policy for the entire system pursuant to Section 66280.
(d)The University of California shall incorporate subdivision (b) into its single, systemwide nondiscrimination policy for the entire system pursuant to Section 66280.5.
SEC. 4.Section 66286.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:66286.5.(a)Upon an appropriation in the annual Budget Act, beginning on September 1, 2027, and every year after, in order to receive state funds for student financial assistance, the governing board of a community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, and the Regents of the University of California shall provide students with financial assistance of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000) each to help students who are victims of digitized sexually explicit material to identify and remove the material.
(b)For a student to be eligible to receive the financial assistance described in subdivision (a), all the following conditions shall be met:
(1)The student has filed a formal complaint alleging sexual harassment or sexual exploitation due to the digitized sexually explicit material.
(2)The postsecondary educational institution completed the institutions grievance procedures for the complaint as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.) or Section 66281.8.
(3)The postsecondary educational institution has determined the student was a victim of sexual harassment or sexual exploitation.
(c)Subdivisions (a) and (b) do not prevent the postsecondary educational institution from providing other forms of supportive measures to a student who has filed a complaint alleging sexual harassment or sexual exploitation due to digitized sexually explicit material. For complaints of sexual harassment or sexual exploitation containing allegations of digitized sexually explicit material, the postsecondary educational institution shall provide the student with all of the following:
(1)Contact information for the Cyber Civil Rights Legal Project.
(2)Information on organizations that specialize in assisting in the removal of digitized sexually explicit material from digital platforms, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(A)Take It Down.
(B)Stop Non-Consensual Intimate Image Abuse (StopNCII.org).
(C)Revenge Porn Helpline.
(D)South West Grid for Learning - Safe, Secure, Online.
(3)Information on the federal and state rights afforded to someone who has been subjected to the nonconsensual sharing of digitized sexually explicit material.
(4)Contact information for legal firms who may assist the student in filing a civil or criminal case for the removal of the digitized sexually explicit material.
(5)Campus resources available to the student who is a victim of sexual harassment or sexual exploitation due to the digitized sexually explicit material.
(d)For purposes of this section, postsecondary educational institution means a community college, a campus of the California State University, a campus of the University of California, or the College of the Law, San Francisco.
SEC. 5.Section 66293.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:66293.5.(a)In the absence of federal funding to examine the quality of life of students, faculty, and staff on campuses for the purpose of evaluating incidents of sexual harassment, sexual violence, and sexual exploitation for the expressed purpose of improving campus-based resources, services, and communications available to victims, the Legislature finds and declares that it is a moral imperative for the state to address this gap in funding for research.
(b)Upon an appropriation in the annual Budget Act, the University of California, Los Angeles Center for the Study of Women shall facilitate research on the quality of life of students at public postsecondary educational institutions by awarding grants to universities, institutes, and organizations to conduct research on the prevention of, and adjudication of reports of, sexual harassment, sexual violence, and sexual exploitation on campus. The research shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(1)A comprehensive statewide study of a students quality of life, specifically focusing on campus climate, campus safety, and a students interaction with the institutions grievance procedures of a complaint as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.) or state law, across the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges.
(2)The prevalence of digitized sexually explicit materials at postsecondary educational institutions and best practices to prevent and address digitized sexually explicit materials at postsecondary educational institutions.
(3)The prevalence of digitized online sexual harassment at postsecondary educational institutions and best practices to prevent and address online sexual harassment at postsecondary educational institutions.
(c)For purposes of this section, postsecondary educational institution means a community college, a campus of the California State University, a campus of the University of California, or the College of the Law, San Francisco.
SEC. 6.Section 66302 of the Education Code is amended to read:66302.(a)The Trustees of the California State University and the governing board of each community college district shall adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying, and shall include these policies within the rules and regulations governing student behavior within their respective segments of public postsecondary education.66302.(a)Notwithstanding Section 67400, to receive state financial assistance, as defined in Section 213, the governing board of a community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, and the Regents of the University of California shall do both of the following:
(1)Adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying and include the policies within the rules and regulations governing student conduct within their respective segments of public postsecondary education.
(2)Provide, as a part of established campus orientations, educational and preventive information about harassment, intimidation, and bullying to students at all campuses of their respective segments of public postsecondary education.
(b)It is the intent of the Legislature that The rules and regulations governing student conduct conduct adopted pursuant to this section shall be published, at a minimum, on the internet website of each public postsecondary educational campus and as part of any printed material covering those rules and regulations within the respective public postsecondary education system.
(c)The University of California is requested to comply with this section. This section shall apply to the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California, by appropriate resolution, make it applicable.(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1)Bullying means any severe or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct, including communications made in writing or by means of an electronic act. Bullying includes one or more acts committed by a person or groups of people directed toward one or more people that has or can be reasonably predicted to have the effect of any of the following:
(A)Placing a reasonable person or group of people in fear of harm to that person or property.
(B)Causing a reasonable person to experience a substantially detrimental effect on the persons physical or mental health.
(C)Causing a reasonable person to experience substantial interference with the persons academic performance.
(D)Causing a reasonable person to experience substantial interference with the persons ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by a public postsecondary educational institution.
(2)Electronic act means the creation or transmission, originating on campus or off campus of a public postsecondary educational institution, by means of an electronic device, including, but not limited to, a telephone, wireless telephone, or other wireless communication device, computer, or pager, of a communication, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(A)A message, text, sound, video, or image.
(B)A post on a social network internet website or social media platform, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(i)Posting to or creating a burn page. Burn page means an internet website created for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in paragraph (1).
(ii)Creating a credible impersonation of another actual person for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in paragraph (1). Credible impersonation means to knowingly and without consent impersonate a person for the purpose of bullying the person such that another person would reasonably believe, or has reasonably believed, that the person was or is the person who was impersonated.
(iii)Creating a false profile for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in paragraph (1). False profile means a profile of a fictitious person or a profile using the likeness or attributes of an actual person other than the person who created the false profile.
(C)An act of technology-facilitated sexual harassment. For purposes of this subparagraph, technology-facilitated sexual harassment has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5.
SEC. 7.Section 66302.5 of the Education Code is repealed.66302.5.The Trustees of the California State University shall provide, and the Regents of the University of California are requested to provide, as a part of established campus orientations, educational and preventive information about cyberbullying to students at all campuses of their respective segments.SEC. 8.Section 67385.7 of the Education Code is amended to read:67385.7.(a)The governing board of each community college district and the Trustees of the California State University shall, and the Regents of the University of California are requested to, in collaboration with campus-based and community-based victim advocacy organizations, provide, as part of established campus orientations, educational and preventive information about sexual violence to students at all campuses of their respective segments. For a campus with an existing on-campus orientation program, this information shall be provided, in addition to the sexual harassment information required to be provided pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 66281.5, during the regular orientation for incoming students.
(b)(1)Each campus of the California Community Colleges and the California State University shall post educational and preventive information on sexual violence violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment on its campus internet website.
(2)Each campus of an independent institution of higher education, a private postsecondary educational institution, and the University of California is requested to post educational and preventive information on sexual violence violence, sexual exploitation, technologyfacilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment on its campus internet website.
(c)The educational and preventive information provided pursuant to this section shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1)Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual violence violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment.
(2)What constitutes sexual violence violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment, including information on how to file internal administrative complaints with the institution of higher education and how to file criminal charges with local law enforcement officials.
(3)The availability of, and contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual violence violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment.
(4)Methods of encouraging peer support for victims and the imposition of sanctions on offenders.
(5)Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing acts of sexual violence violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment.
(6)What constitutes digitized sexually explicit material, including information on the prohibition of the public disclosure of the creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material pursuant to Section 66286.
(7)What constitutes affirmative consent and written consent as defined in Section 66262.5.
(d)(1)Beginning on September 1, 2024, and each year thereafter, the California Community Colleges, the California State University, independent institutions of higher education that receive state financial assistance, and private postsecondary educational institutions that receive state financial assistance shall, and the University of California is requested to, annually train its students on sexual violence and sexual harassment, and on or before September 1, 2026, and every two years thereafter, consider updating the annual training.
(2)Beginning on September 1, 2024, and each year thereafter, students attending the California Community Colleges shall complete their annual training within six months of the beginning of the academic year.
(3)The annual training for students established in paragraph (1) shall cover all of the following topics:
(A)Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual violence and sexual harassment.
(B)What constitutes sexual violence and sexual harassment, including information on how to file internal administrative complaints with the institution of higher education and how to file criminal charges with local law enforcement officials.
(C)The availability of, and contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual violence and sexual harassment.
(D)Methods of encouraging peer support for victims and the imposition of sanctions on offenders.
(E)Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing acts of sexual violence and sexual harassment.
(F)The contact information of a Title IX coordinator or a similar position.
(G)As referenced in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (b) of Section 66281.8, statistics on the prevalence of sexual harassment and sexual violence in the educational setting, and the differing rates at which students experience sexual harassment and sexual assault in the educational setting based on their race, sexual orientation, disability, gender, and gender identity.
(4)Beginning on September 1, 2026, the annual training for students established in paragraph (1) shall cover all of the following topics:
(A)How to recognize if a person is at risk of alcohol- and drug-facilitated sexual assault, including, but not limited to, common symptoms following alcohol and drug consumption and intoxication.
(B)Effective measures that can be taken to prevent involuntary alcohol and drug consumption and ways to respond to circumstances where a person may be involuntarily intoxicated and at risk for alcohol- and drug-facilitated sexual assault.
(C)As part of the topic covered pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3), common facts and myths regarding alcohol- and drug-facilitated sexual assault.
(D)Information related to confidential support and care resources for situations that arise as a result of an act of sexual violence or sexual harassment, or both, including, but not limited to, contact information and the availability of confidential medical and transportation services, forensic examination sites, and, to the extent available, rape crisis centers on campus or within the surrounding community of the campus.
(5)Beginning on September 1, 2027, the annual training for students described in paragraph (1) shall cover all of the following topics:
(A)Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
(B)What constitutes sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including information on how to file internal administrative complaints with the institution of higher education and how to file criminal charges with local law enforcement officials.
(C)The availability of, and contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
(D)Methods of encouraging peer support for victims and the imposition of sanctions on offenders.
(E)Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
(F)The contact information of a Title IX coordinator, or a similar position.
(G)The availability of, and contact information for, campus, community, and online resources for victims of sexual exploitation or technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including how to help take down digitized sexually explicit material.
(e)This section does not prevent the California Community Colleges, the California State University, independent institutions of higher education, private postsecondary educational institutions, and the University of California from incorporating the training developed pursuant to subdivision (d) from being integrated into existing trainings as referenced in subdivision (a).
(f)A community college district may authorize students to self-certify that they have completed training developed pursuant to this section.
(g)As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1)Digitized sexually explicit material has the same meaning as defined in Section 66262.5.
(1)(2)Drugs includes, but is not limited to, flunitrazepam, ketamine, and gamma hydroxybutyric acid, which is also known by other names, including, but not limited to, GHB, gamma hydroxyl butyrate, 4-hydroxybutyrate, 4-hydroxybutanoic acid, sodium oxybate, and sodium oxybutyrate.
(2)(3)Independent institutions of higher education has the same meaning as that term is defined in Section 66010.
(3)(4)Private postsecondary educational institution has the same meaning as that term is defined in Section 94858.
(4)(5)Sexual violence violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment have the same meaning as those terms are defined in Section 66262.5.
(5)(6)Training or train includes, but is not limited to, in-person, remote, or video instruction. Training or train shall not include instruction that is only provided through written materials.
(h)Campuses of the California Community Colleges and the California State University shall, and campuses of the University of California are requested to, develop policies to encourage students to report any campus crimes involving sexual violence or sexual exploitation to the appropriate campus authorities.
(i)Campuses are urged to adopt policies to eliminate barriers for victims who come forward to report sexual assaults, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, or sexual harassment, and to advise students regarding these policies. These policies may include, but are not limited to, exempting the victim from campus sanctions for being in violation of any campus policies, including alcohol or substance abuse policies or other policies of the campus, at the time of the incident.
(j)The Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges and the Trustees of the California State University shall, and the Regents of the University of California are requested to, develop and adopt regulations setting forth procedures for the implementation of this section by campuses in their respective segments.
SEC. 9.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.
|
Date
|
Status
|
|---|---|
| Sep 20, 2026 | Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 388, Statutes of 2026. |
| Sep 20, 2026 | Approved by the Governor. |
| Sep 8, 2026 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3:30 p.m. |
| Aug 28, 2026 | Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 77. Noes 0.). |
| Aug 28, 2026 | Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 77. Noes 0. Page 6806.). |
| Aug 27, 2026 | In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. |
| Aug 27, 2026 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 40. Noes 0.). |
| Aug 24, 2026 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| Aug 21, 2026 | Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading. |
| Aug 17, 2026 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| Aug 13, 2026 | Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading. |
| Aug 13, 2026 | From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (August 13). |
| Aug 3, 2026 | In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file. |
| Jul 1, 2026 | Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Jun 30, 2026 | From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (June 29). |
| Jun 24, 2026 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on P., D.T., & C.P. (Ayes 13. Noes 0.) (June 23). Re-referred to Com. on P., D.T., & C.P. |
| Jun 17, 2026 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 6. Noes 0.) (June 17). Re-referred to Com. on JUD. |
| Jun 10, 2026 | Referred to Coms. on ED., JUD. and P., D.T., & C.P. |
| May 27, 2026 | In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. |
| May 26, 2026 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 78. Noes 0.) |
| May 26, 2026 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 78. Noes 0. Page 5376.) |
| May 26, 2026 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. |
| May 19, 2026 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| May 18, 2026 | Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading. |
| May 14, 2026 | From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (May 14). |
| May 6, 2026 | In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file. |
| Apr 27, 2026 | Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Apr 23, 2026 | Read second time and amended. |
| Apr 22, 2026 | From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (April 21). |
| Apr 20, 2026 | Re-referred to Com. on P. & C.P. |
| Apr 16, 2026 | Read second time and amended. |
| Apr 15, 2026 | From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on P. & C.P. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (April 14). |
| Apr 7, 2026 | Re-referred to Com. on HIGHER ED. |
| Apr 6, 2026 | From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on HIGHER ED. Read second time and amended. |
| Mar 9, 2026 | Referred to Coms. on HIGHER ED. and P. & C.P. |
| Feb 20, 2026 | From printer. May be heard in committee March 22. |
| Feb 19, 2026 | Read first time. To print. |
|
Date
|
Description
|
Location
|
Votes
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 28, 2026 | AB 2212 Bauer-Kahan Concurrence in Senate Amendments | Assembly Floor |
Passed |
|
| Aug 27, 2026 | Assembly 3rd Reading AB2212 Bauer-Kahan et al. By Cervantes | Senate Floor |
Passed |
|
| Aug 13, 2026 | Do pass as amended | Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Aug 3, 2026 | Placed on suspense file | Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Jun 29, 2026 | Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Appropriations] | Senate Standing Committee on Privacy, Digital Technologies, and Consumer Protection |
Passed |
|
| Jun 23, 2026 | Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Privacy, Digital Technologies, and Consumer Protection] | Senate Standing Committee on Judiciary |
Passed |
|
| Jun 17, 2026 | Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Judiciary] | Senate Standing Committee on Education |
Passed |
|
| May 26, 2026 | AB 2212 Bauer-Kahan Assembly Third Reading | Assembly Floor |
Passed |
|
| May 14, 2026 | Do pass as amended. | Assembly Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Apr 21, 2026 | Do pass as amended, and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar | Assembly Standing Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection |
Passed |
|
| Apr 14, 2026 | Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Privacy and Consumer Protection] | Assembly Standing Committee on Higher Education |
Passed |
This list shows positions taken on this bill by organizations on the date displayed, which is linked to the original source.
Positions by individuals are not included.
|
Organization
|
Position
|
Date
|
|---|---|---|
| Aclu California Action | ** Support | |
| ASUC Sexual Violence Commission | ** Support | |
| Cal State Student Association | ** Support | |
| California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls | ** Support | |
| California Women’s Law Center | ** Support | |
| Courage California | ** Support | |
| Electronic Frontier Foundation | ** Support | |
| Equal Rights Advocates | ** Support | |
| Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression | ** Against | |
| Foundation for individual rights and expressions (FIRE) | ** Against | |
| Kapor Center Advocacy | ** Support | |
| Public Counsel | ** Support | |
| Sexual Violence Prevention Association | ** Support | |
| Survivors + Allies | ** Support | |
| Survivors Pro Bono | ** Support | |
| Survivors+Allies | ** Support | |
| Technet | ** Support | |
| Techtonic Justice | ** Support | |
| The Survivors Pro Bono | ** Support | |
| Ultraviolet Action | ** Support | |
| Undergraduate Student Association Council at the University of California, Los Angeles | ** Support | |
| University Of California Student Association | ** Support | |
| Valor | ** Support | |
| Vera Institute Of Justice | ** Support | |
| Young Data Scientists League | ** Support |
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
CSA1 Bill Id:AB 2212
Author:(Bauer-Kahan)
As Amended Ver:August 21, 2026
Majority vote
SUMMARY
Amends the Education Code to include definitions of technology-facilitated sexual harassment and digitized sexually explicit materials beginning on August 1, 2027.
Senate Amendments
- Removes the requirement for postsecondary education institutions to update any intuitional policy pertaining to sexual harassment to include a prohibition on the public disclosure of the creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material. Removes the requirement for any intuitional policy on sexual harassment to state that any nonconsensual disclosure of digitized sexual explicit material is sexual exploitation and a violation of the institution's policy.
- Removes the requirement for postsecondary education institutions to update their annual sexual harassment prevention training to include information on technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
- Removes the new definitions of cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, doxing, and written consent.
- Repeals and replaces Education Code Section 66262.5 on August 1, 2027 with expanded definitions for the Equity in Higher Education Act, including the Sex Equity. Defines the following terms: affirmed consent; depicted individual; digitization, digitized sexually explicit material; sextortion; sexual battery; sexual conduct; sexual exploitation; sexual harassment; and, technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
COMMENTS
Technology – facilitated sexual harassment on college campuses. A study published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, presented research on college-age women's experiences with technology – facilitated sexual harassment. The study found in the online digital space 84% of college-age women received sexually inappropriate messages and 74% received sexist comments. Survivors + Allies published preliminary findings of 2025 Institutional Review Board approved research study on the impacts of technology – facilitated sexual harassment on college students at the CCC, CSU, and UC. The preliminary findings included:
- One in seven students who identified as experiencing sexual harassment reported experiencing online sexual harm; and,
- 70% of those survivors never reached out to their campus for support.
The prevalence of college – age individuals experiencing technology – facilitated sexual harassment aligns as this age group are the predominately users of digital platforms and generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools. However, higher education institutions have been slow to update policies and procedures regarding the permissive use of digital online platforms and GenAI tools by students and employees on campus.
Patsy Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act (Title IX) and technology-facilitated sexual harassment. The current regulations governing the implementation of the Title IX for postsecondary education institutions does not include a definition of technology-facilitated sexual harassment. The regulations require a postsecondary education institution to respond to an incident of sexual harassment if it occurs in an educational program or activity in the United States, if the institution had substantial control over both the respondent and the context in which the sexual harassment occurs (34 US Code of Regulations Part 106, Subpart D, Section 106.44). By this definition, one could assume Title IX does not include digital platforms or GenAI tools since the institutions does not have "substantial control" over the student's use.
In January 2025, the U.S. Department of Education published guidance on "Online or Digital Sexual Harassment under the 2020 Title IX Regulations." The guidance stated, "Title IX requires a school to address sexual harassment in its education program or activity, including harassment that occurs online or using technology." The guidance further contends "harassment can be carried out by school staff, a student, or another person. It can occur in-person or online, including emails, texts, or messages, apps, or other technologies." Examples of online harassment that would be covered by Title IX according to the guidance, includes:
- Unwelcome conduct on social media platforms that is sexually demeaning or containing threats of violence;
- Nonconsensual texting, posting, or otherwise sharing of intimate images of a person whether real, altered, or created through an AI generated tool; and
- Stalking using technology; which includes, creating fake social media accounts to harass another individual.
Based on the definitions and examples provided in the United States Department of Education's January 2025 Title IX guidance, the majority of the provisions in the measure should already be implemented by postsecondary education institutions in California. However, concerns have been raised that the federal definition of sexual harassment is too narrow in scope and does not cover every incident of sexual harassment on campus. Therefore, this measure is a necessary step in providing additional protections from technology-facilitated sexual harassment that are not currently provided within the scope of Title IX nor in the California's Higher Education Sex Equity Act.
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion of this bill.
According to the Author
According to the author, "the definition of 'sexual harassment' in California's Education Code was developed before generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools became widely available. As a result, higher education institutions lack uniform standards for defining, investigating, and remediating technology-facilitated sexual harassment. AB 2212, the HEAR Survivors Act, updates the definition of 'sexual harassment' in the Education Code to account for modern digital technologies. Updating these terms in the Education Code promotes consistent campus responses, reduces stigma, and reinforces that digital abuse is no less serious than offline misconduct."
Arguments in Support
Survivors+Allies express their support of the measure because, "as generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) becomes widely available across California’s college campuses, image generation tools are increasingly putting women and LGBTQIA+ students at risk of technology-facilitated sexual harassment. Our 2025 study of college students found that 70% of survivors of online sexual harm did not seek support from their home institutions, reporting that they "felt [they] would not be taken seriously" and were "not aware [they] could reach out to a resource." The definition of "sexual harassment" in California's Education Code was developed before the widespread use of GenAI tools, and does not explicitly address harassment that occurs through, or is facilitated by, digital technologies. AB 2212 updates the definition of "sexual harassment" in the Education Code to account for modern digital technologies and requests that California's higher education institutions adopt and publish policies addressing technology-facilitated sexual harassment. Clear standards, transparent reporting mechanisms, and modernized definitions are essential to ensuring that students experiencing sexual harassment can access meaningful support."
Arguments in Opposition
Foundation for individual rights and expressions (FIRE) states concerns with the measure because "California's definition of hostile-environment sexual harassment in education, which AB 2212 reincorporates in section 66262.5(m)(1)(c), falls well short of this standard. It reaches "verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature" that has the "purpose or effect" of having a "negative impact" upon a student's work or creating an "offensive" work or educational environment. The Biden Administration proposed a similar definition in its Title IX regulations. All nine Supreme Court justices agreed that it should be enjoined in light of First Amendment and statutory concerns. The definition in AB 2212 is even weaker because it doesn't require that the speech in question be objectively offensive. Additionally, the "negative impact" standard is far short of the "effectively deny" standard. The definition also does not require that the conduct be severe and pervasive, nor does it define an "intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment." This leaves students guessing about what sex-related speech crosses the line. Speech that is merely annoying or controversial might qualify as harassment — even if it’s relevant to an academic discussion — because it temporarily distracts someone from their coursework or makes them less interested in taking a particular class."
FISCAL COMMENTS
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee on the version of this bill amended on August 13, 2026:
- The UC estimates General Fund implementation costs in the mid-hundreds of thousands annually. This estimate assumes that an additional .5 FTE at each location at a cost of $700,000 ($75,000 x 10 campuses) would be required to support increased workload and administrative costs to manage complex dual-track case evaluations, as compliance officers must manually vet and cross-reference every report against existing federal frameworks, expanded state statutory criteria, and campus policies. The UC also notes there would be modest one-time resource and financial impacts for staff training on new and expanded definitions, required updates to campus orientations and training modules, and actions required to ensure accessibility and appropriate translations.
- The CSU estimates one-time General Fund costs in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars for various administrative activities necessary to implement the bill’s provisions, including the updating of its systemwide nondiscrimination policy to include the new definitions, and ensuring that student conduct policies regarding bullying cover what is specified in the bill. The CSU also estimates minor, ongoing costs for providing information related to bullying, harassment, and intimidation at new student orientations.
- The Chancellor's Office for the California Community Colleges estimates that the costs to community college districts would likely be minor.
VOTES:
ASM HIGHER EDUCATION: 9-0-1
YES: Fong, DeMaio, Boerner, Jeff Gonzalez, Jackson, Muratsuchi, Patel, Sharp-Collins, Tangipa
ABS, ABST OR NV: Celeste Rodriguez
ASM PRIVACY AND CONSUMER PROTECTION: 15-0-0
YES: Bauer-Kahan, Macedo, Bryan, DeMaio, Hoover, Irwin, Lowenthal, McKinnor, Ortega, Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Ward, Wicks, Wilson
ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 11-0-4
YES: Wicks, Aguiar-Curry, Calderon, Caloza, Fong, Mark González, Krell, Pacheco, Pellerin, Sharp-Collins, Solache
ABS, ABST OR NV: Hoover, Dixon, Ta, Tangipa
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0-2
YES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Ahrens, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Ávila Farías, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Caloza, Carrillo, Castillo, Chen, Connolly, Davies, DeMaio, Dixon, Elhawary, Ellis, Flora, Fong, Gabriel, Gallagher, Garcia, Gipson, Jeff Gonzalez, Mark González, Hadwick, Haney, Harabedian, Hart, Hoover, Irwin, Jackson, Johnson, Kalra, Krell, Lackey, Lee, Lowenthal, Macedo, McKinnor, Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Papan, Patel, Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Ransom, Michelle Rodriguez, Rogers, Blanca Rubio, Sanchez, Schiavo, Schultz, Sharp-Collins, Solache, Soria, Stefani, Ta, Tangipa, Valencia, Wallis, Ward, Wicks, Wilson, Zbur, Rivas
ABS, ABST OR NV: Muratsuchi, Celeste Rodriguez
UPDATED
VERSION: August 21, 2026
CONSULTANT: Ellen Cesaretti-Monroy / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960 FN: 0004366
SENATE RULES COMMITTEE Office of Senate Floor Analyses (916) 651-4171 | AB 2212 |
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2212
Author: Bauer-Kahan (D), et al.
Amended: 8/21/26 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 6-0, 6/17/26
AYES: Pérez, Ochoa Bogh, Choi, Cortese, Gonzalez, Reyes
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cabaldon
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 13-0, 6/23/26
AYES: Umberg, Niello, Allen, Ashby, Caballero, Durazo, Laird, Reyes, Stern, Valladares, Wahab, Weber Pierson, Wiener
SENATE PRIV., DIGITAL TECH. & CONS. PROT. COMMITTEE: 9-0, 6/29/26
AYES: Cabaldon, Seyarto, Gonzalez, McNerney, Ochoa Bogh, Padilla, Reyes, Umberg, Wiener
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/13/26
AYES: Cervantes, Seyarto, Cabaldon, Dahle, Grayson, Richardson, Wahab
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/26/26 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Postsecondary education: sexual harassment, harassment, intimidation, and bullying policies: student training
SOURCE: Survivors + Allies
DIGEST:
This bill expands the definition of sexual harassment by adding that it includes technology-facilitated sexual harassment, stalking, and sextortion. This bill expands the definition of sexual exploitation by adding that it includes the creation, generation, or distribution of digitized sexually explicit materials without the written consent of the depicted individual or individuals of each such act.
Senate floor amendments of 8/21/26 (1) delay implementation of the provisions of this bill to August 1, 2027; (2) remove definitions for “cyber sexual bullying”, “cyber stalking”, “doxing”, “electronic act”, and “written consent”; (3) add a definition for “stalking” consistent with federal law; (4) clarify the definition of “sexual exploitation”; (5) add “stalking” and “sextortion” to the definition of “sexual harassment”; and (6) other technical and clarifying changes.
ANALYSIS:
Existing federal law:
- Establishes Title IX, providing that, in part, “no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” (United States Code (USC) Title 20, Chapter 38, § 1681 (commonly known as Title IX))
- Defines stalking as engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that could cause a reasonable person to: a) fear for his or her safety or the safety of others, or b) suffer substantial emotional distress. (USC Title 34, Chapter 121, § 12291)
- Defines sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination and as conduct on the basis of sex that satisfies at least one of the following:
- Quid pro quo harassment. An employee of the postsecondary education institution conditions aid, benefit, or services to a postsecondary education institution’s education program or activity on the individual’s participation in unwelcome sexual conduct.
- Hostile environment harassment. Unwelcome conduct determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the recipient’s education program or activity.
- Specific offenses. Sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking, as defined in the USC. (Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 34, Subtitle B, Chapter 1, Part 106, Subpart A, § 106.2)
Existing state law:
- Defines the following terms:
- “Affirmative consent” as affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity. (Education Code (EC) § 67386)
- “Sexual harassment” as unwelcomed sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature made by someone from or in the work or educational setting in which specific conditions are met. “Sexual harassment” also includes sexual battery, sexual violence, and sexual exploitation.
- “Sexual violence” as physical sexual acts perpetrated against a person without the affirmed consent of the person, and these acts include rape and sexual battery.
- “Sexual exploitation” means a person taking sexual advantage of another person for the benefit of anyone other than that person without that person’s consent, including, but not limited to: prostituting or trafficking of another person, or the nonconsensual recording or distribution of images or audio of another person’s sexual activity or intimate parts. (EC § 66262.5)
- Requires each postsecondary educational institution that receives state financial assistance, beginning on September 1, 2024, to annually train its students on sexual violence and sexual harassment, and consider updating the annual training every two years thereafter beginning September 1, 2026. (EC § 67385.7)
- Requires the governing board of the community college district (CCD) and the Trustees of the California State University (CSU), and requests of the Regents of the University of California (UC) and governing boards of independent colleges and universities that receive state financial assistance, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with their respective campuses, to:
- Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative or judicial decision issued within the last 7 years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment, and permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or with the United States Department of Education.
- Require the campuses, if an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the specified position, to use a specified signed release form to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct. (EC §§ 87604.5, 89521, 92612.1, and 66281.9)
- Provides that a depicted individual has a cause of action against a person who does any of the following:
- Creates and intentionally discloses digitized sexually explicit material portraying the depicted individual, and the person knows, or reasonably should know, that the depicted individual in that material did not consent to its creation or disclosure or was a minor when the material was created.
- Intentionally discloses digitized sexually explicit material portraying the depicted individual that the person did not create, and the person knows, or reasonably should know, that the depicted individual in that material did not consent to the creation of the digitized sexually explicit material or was a minor when the material was created. (Civil Code § 1708.86)
This bill:
- Delays implementation of the provisions of this bill to August 1, 2027.
- Adds the following definitions and stipulations:
- “Depicted individual” means an individual who is portrayed in sexually explicit material.
- “Digitization” means a process by which any of the following are realistically depicted: i) the nude body parts of another human being as the nude body parts of the depicted individual, ii) computer-generated nude body parts as the nude body parts of the depicted individual, and iii) the depicted individual engaging in sexual conduct in which the depicted individual did not engage.
- “Digitized sexually explicit material” means any portion of a visual or audiovisual work created or substantially altered through digitization, including an image, that shows the depicted individual in the nude or appearing to engage in, or being subjected to, sexual conduct.
- “Sextortion” means 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.
- “Sexual conduct” means any of the following: i) masturbation; ii) sexual intercourse; iii) sexual penetration of the vagina or rectum by, or with, an object; iv) the transfer of semen by means of sexual conduct from the penis directly onto the depicted individual as a result of ejaculation; and v) sadomasochistic abuse involving the depicted individual.
- Expands the definition of “sexual exploitation” by adding that it includes:
- The creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit materials without the depicted individual’s written consent.
- The distribution of digitized sexually explicit materials, if the individual distributing the materials knows or should have known that the depicted individual did not provide written consent to the disclosure.
- Expands the definition of “sexual harassment” by adding that it includes stalking, sextortion, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
- “Stalking” means engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that could cause a reasonable person to do either of the following: i) fear for their safety or the safety of others, or ii) suffer substantial emotional distress.
- “Technology-facilitated sexual harassment” means sexual harassment that occurs on, or is facilitated by, digital platforms or digital technologies.
- Provides updated definitions of sexual harassment and sexual violence, as appropriate, for the following:
- Requiring the governing board of CCDs and Trustees of the CSU, and requesting of the Regents of the UC and governing boards of independent colleges and universities, that applicants to disclose if they have committed sexual harassment.
- Requiring the governing board of CCDs and Trustees of the CSU, and requesting of the UC, to provide educational and preventive information about sexual violence to students at all campuses of their respective segments and to provide annual training on sexual violence and sexual harassment.
- Requiring CCC and CSU campuses, and requests of UC campuses, to develop policies to encourage students to report any campus crimes involving sexual violence.
Comments
- Need for the bill. According to the author, “The definition of “sexual harassment” in California’s Education Code was developed before generative artificial intelligence tools became widely available. As a result, higher education institutions lack uniform standards for defining, investigating, and remediating technology-facilitated sexual harassment. AB 2212, the HEAR Survivors Act, updates the definition of “sexual harassment” in the Education Code to account for modern digital technologies, and requires that California’s higher education institutions adopt and publish policies addressing technology-facilitated sexual harassment. Updating these terms and policies in the Education Code promotes consistent campus responses, reduces stigma, and reinforces that digital abuse is no less serious than offline misconduct.”
- This bill expands definitions of sexual harassment and sexual exploitation. AB 2212 intends to address sexual harassment that is aided or facilitated through the internet, smartphones, and the rise of generative artificial intelligence, including the availability of free and widespread text-to-image models that can quickly generate digital images with a written prompt.
This bill uses existing definitions from the Education Code and other Codes and consolidates them in one section under the Equity in Higher Education Act. Though many of these definitions are not new to state law or to the Education Code, this is the first time they are being considered as part of the definition of sexual harassment and sexual exploitation on college campuses.
At a high level, this bill expands the definitions of sexual harassment and sexual exploitation and requires these expanded definitions be included in a postsecondary educational institution’s annual training for students, updating and posting educational and preventive information on sexual violence, and updating employment and hiring processes to require applicants to disclose if they have committed sexual harassment.
- For “sexual harassment”, this bill expands the definition by adding that it includes a new type of sexual harassment defined as technology-facilitated sexual harassment, which is sexual harassment that occurs on, or is facilitated by, digital platforms or digital technologies. This bill also adds stalking and sextortion to the definition of sexual harassment.
- For “stalking”, this definition is consistent with the federal Clery Act, which requires colleges and universities to report campus crime data, support victims of violence, and publicly outline the policies and procedures put in place to improve campus safety. This bill adds stalking as a form of sexual harassment.
- For “sextortion”, this is defined elsewhere in the Education Code by AB 2932 (Joe Patterson, Chapter 118, Statutes of 2024), which requires the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) to consider including content on sextortion in the health curriculum framework. This bill adds sextortion as a form of sexual harassment.
- For “sexual exploitation”, this bill expands the definition by adding the creation, generation, or distribution of digitized sexually explicit materials without a depicted person’s written consent.
- For “sexual harassment”, this bill expands the definition by adding that it includes a new type of sexual harassment defined as technology-facilitated sexual harassment, which is sexual harassment that occurs on, or is facilitated by, digital platforms or digital technologies. This bill also adds stalking and sextortion to the definition of sexual harassment.
- Standards of affirmative consent and written consent. Existing state processes for the prevention of sexual harassment on college campuses generally use an affirmative consent standard, which is currently defined in the Education Code as affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity. This bill largely references affirmative consent consistent with existing Education Code; however, this bill expands the definition of sexual exploitation by including the creation, generation, or the distribution of digitized sexually explicit materials without the depicted individual’s written consent. This requirement is consistent with language in the Civil Code; specifically, SB 621 (Bauer-Kahan, Chapter 673, Statutes of 2025) provides that a depicted individual (known as a person who is portrayed in sexually explicit material) has a cause of action against a person who creates and intentionally discloses digitized sexually explicit material portraying the depicted individual if the depicted individual did not provide written consent. Colleges and universities would need to reconcile the two different consent standards depending on the type of misconduct, which will likely require widespread student, faculty, and staff training and education.
Related/Prior Legislation
AB 621 (Bauer-Kahan, Chapter 673, Statutes of 2025) fortifies existing law providing a cause of action to persons depicted in nonconsensual, sexually explicit, digitized material.
SB 493 (Jackson, Chapter 303, Statutes of 2020) requires postsecondary institutions to adopt rules and procedures for the prevention of sexual harassment, and adopt and post on their websites the grievance procedures to resolve complaints of sexual harassment.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee on the version of this bill amended on August 13, 2026:
- The UC estimates General Fund implementation costs in the mid-hundreds of thousands annually. This estimate assumes that an additional .5 FTE at each location at a cost of $700,000 ($75,000 x 10 campuses) would be required to support increased workload and administrative costs to manage complex dual-track case evaluations, as compliance officers must manually vet and cross-reference every report against existing federal frameworks, expanded state statutory criteria, and campus policies. The UC also notes there would be modest one-time resource and financial impacts for staff training on new and expanded definitions, required updates to campus orientations and training modules, and actions required to ensure accessibility and appropriate translations.
- The CSU estimates one-time General Fund costs in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars for various administrative activities necessary to implement the bill’s provisions, including the updating of its systemwide nondiscrimination policy to include the new definitions, and ensuring that student conduct policies regarding bullying cover what is specified in the bill. The CSU also estimates minor, ongoing costs for providing information related to bullying, harassment, and intimidation at new student orientations.
- The Chancellor’s Office for the California Community Colleges estimates that the costs to community college districts would likely be minor.
SUPPORT: (Verified 8/24/26)
Survivors + Allies (source)
ACLU California Action
ASUC Sexual Violence Commission
Cal State Student Association
California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls
California Women’s Law Center
Courage California
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Kapor Center Advocacy
Public Counsel
Survivors Pro Bono
TechNet
UltraViolet Action
Undergraduate Student Association Council at the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California Student Association
VALOR
Young Data Scientists League
OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/24/26)
Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/26/26
AYES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Ahrens, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Ávila Farías, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Caloza, Carrillo, Castillo, Chen, Connolly, Davies, DeMaio, Dixon, Elhawary, Ellis, Flora, Fong, Gabriel, Gallagher, Garcia, Gipson, Jeff Gonzalez, Mark González, Hadwick, Haney, Harabedian, Hart, Hoover, Irwin, Jackson, Johnson, Kalra, Krell, Lackey, Lee, Lowenthal, Macedo, McKinnor, Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Papan, Patel, Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Ransom, Michelle Rodriguez, Rogers, Blanca Rubio, Sanchez, Schiavo, Schultz, Sharp-Collins, Solache, Soria, Stefani, Ta, Tangipa, Valencia, Wallis, Ward, Wicks, Wilson, Zbur, Rivas
NO VOTE RECORDED: Muratsuchi, Celeste Rodriguez
Prepared by: Michelle Nguyen / ED. / (916) 651-4105
8/24/26 13:13:06
**** END ****
SENATE RULES COMMITTEE Office of Senate Floor Analyses (916) 651-4171 | AB 2212 |
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2212
Author: Bauer-Kahan (D), et al.
Amended: 8/13/26 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 6-0, 6/17/26
AYES: Pérez, Ochoa Bogh, Choi, Cortese, Gonzalez, Reyes
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cabaldon
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 13-0, 6/23/26
AYES: Umberg, Niello, Allen, Ashby, Caballero, Durazo, Laird, Reyes, Stern, Valladares, Wahab, Weber Pierson, Wiener
SENATE PRIV., DIGITAL TECH. & CONS. PROT. COMMITTEE: 9-0, 6/29/26
AYES: Cabaldon, Seyarto, Gonzalez, McNerney, Ochoa Bogh, Padilla, Reyes, Umberg, Wiener
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/13/26
AYES: Cervantes, Seyarto, Cabaldon, Dahle, Grayson, Richardson, Wahab
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/26/26 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Postsecondary education: sexual harassment, harassment, intimidation, and bullying policies: student training
SOURCE: Survivors + Allies
DIGEST:
This bill expands the definition of sexual harassment by adding that it includes technology-facilitated sexual harassment, which includes, but is not limited to, cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, sextortion, and doxing. This bill expands the definition of sexual exploitation by adding that it includes the creation, generation, or distribution of digitized sexually explicit materials without the written consent of the depicted individual or individuals of each such act.
ANALYSIS:
Existing federal law:
- Establishes Title IX, providing that, in part, “no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” (United States Code (USC) Title 20, Chapter 38, § 1681 (commonly known as Title IX))
- Defines sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination and as conduct on the basis of sex that satisfies at least one of the following:
- Quid pro quo harassment. An employee of the postsecondary education institution conditions aid, benefit, or services to a postsecondary education institution’s education program or activity on the individual’s participation in unwelcome sexual conduct.
- Hostile environment harassment. Unwelcome conduct determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the recipient’s education program or activity.
- Specific offenses. Sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking, as defined in the USC. (Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 34, Subtitle B, Chapter 1, Part 106, Subpart A, § 106.2)
Existing state law:
- Defines the following terms:
- “Sexual harassment” as unwelcomed sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature made by someone from or in the work or educational setting in which specific conditions are met. “Sexual harassment” also includes sexual battery, sexual violence, and sexual exploitation.
- “Sexual violence” as physical sexual acts perpetrated against a person without the affirmed consent of the person, and these acts include rape and sexual battery.
- “Sexual exploitation” means a person taking sexual advantage of another person for the benefit of anyone other than that person without that person’s consent, including, but not limited to: prostituting or trafficking of another person, or the nonconsensual recording or distribution of images or audio of another person’s sexual activity or intimate parts. (Education Code (EC) § 66262.5)
- Requires each postsecondary educational institution that receives state financial assistance, beginning on September 1, 2024, to annually train its students on sexual violence and sexual harassment, and consider updating the annual training every two years thereafter beginning September 1, 2026. (EC § 67385.7)
- Requires the governing board of the community college district (CCD) and the Trustees of the California State University (CSU), and requests of the Regents of the University of California (UC) and governing boards of independent colleges and universities that receive state financial assistance, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with their respective campuses, to:
- Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative or judicial decision issued within the last 7 years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment, and permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or with the United States Department of Education.
- Require the campuses, if an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the specified position, to use a specified signed release form to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct. (EC §§ 87604.5, 89521, 92612.1, and 66281.9)
This bill:
- Adds the following definitions and stipulations:
- “Cyber sexual bullying” means the dissemination of a photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording by means of an electronic act that has or can be reasonably predicted to have one or more of the following effects:
- Placing a reasonable person or persons in fear of harm to that person or persons or their property.
- Causing a reasonable person to experience a substantially detrimental effect on the person’s physical or mental health.
- Causing a reasonable person to experience substantial interference with the person’s academic performance, work, or employment.
- Causing a reasonable person to experience substantial interference with the person’s ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by an educational institution.
- Indicates that a photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording (in the definition for “cyber sexual bullying”) includes the depiction of a nude, seminude, or sexually explicit photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording of a person in which the person is identifiable from the specified media.
- Indicates that “cyber sexual bullying” does not include a depiction, portrayal, or image that has any serious literary, artistic, educational, political, or scientific value or that involves athletic events or sanctioned activities by the educational institution.
- “Cyber stalking” means stalking by means of an electronic communication device.
- “Depicted individual” means an individual who is portrayed in sexually explicit material.
- “Digitization” means a process by which any of the following are realistically depicted: i) the nude body parts of another human being as the nude body parts of the depicted individual, ii) computer-generated nude body parts as the nude body parts of the depicted individual, and iii) the depicted individual engaging in sexual conduct in which the depicted individual did not engage.
- “Digitized sexually explicit material” means any portion of a visual or audiovisual work created or substantially altered through digitization, including an image, that shows the depicted individual in the nude or appearing to engage in, or being subjected to, sexual conduct.
- “Doxing” means an act when a person—with intent to place another person or their immediate family in reasonable fear for their safety, by means of an electronic communication device, and without written consent of the other person, and, for the purpose of imminently causing that other person unwanted physical contact, injury, or harassment by a third party—electronically distributes as specified personal identifying information, including, but not limited to, a digital image of another person, or an electronic message of a harassing nature about another person, that would be likely to incite or produce that unwanted physical contact, injury, or harassment by a third party.
- “Electronic act” means the creation or transmission by means of an electronic device of any of the following: i) a message, text, sound, video, or image; ii) a post on a social network platform, including, but not limited to, posting to or creating a burn page for the purpose of cyber sexual bullying, as specified; creating a credible impersonation of another person for the purpose of cyber sexual bullying, as specified; and an act of technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
- “Sextortion” means 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.
- “Sexual conduct” means any of the following: i) masturbation; ii) sexual intercourse; iii) sexual penetration of the vagina or rectum by, or with, an object; iv) the transfer of semen by means of sexual conduct from the penis directly onto the depicted individual as a result of ejaculation; and v) sadomasochistic abuse involving the depicted individual.
- Expands the definition of “sexual exploitation” by adding that it includes:
- The creation, generation, or distribution of digitized sexually explicit materials without the distinct and separate written consent of the depicted individual or individuals for each such act.
- The creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material of another person’s sexual activity or intimate parts, without that person’s written consent.
- The distribution of digitized sexually explicit material of another person’s sexual activity or intimate parts, if the individual distributing the digitized sexually explicit material knows or should have known that the person depicted in the digitized sexually explicit material did not provide written consent to the disclosure.
- Expands the definition of “sexual harassment” by adding that it includes technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including, but not limited to, cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, sextortion, and doxing.
- “Technology-facilitated sexual harassment” means sexual harassment that occurs on, or is facilitated by, digital platforms or digital technologies, and it includes, but is not limited to, cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, sextortion, and doxing.
- “Written consent” means an agreement written in plain language signed knowingly and voluntarily by the depicted individual that includes a general description of the digitized sexually explicit material and the visual or audiovisual work in which it will be incorporated.
- Permits a depicted individual to rescind consent by delivering written notice within three business days from the date consent was given to the person in whose favor consent was made, unless one of the following requirements is satisfied: i) the depicted individual is given at least 72 hours to review the terms of the agreement before signing the agreement, or ii) the depicted individual’s authorized representative provides written approval of the signed agreement.
- “Cyber sexual bullying” means the dissemination of a photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording by means of an electronic act that has or can be reasonably predicted to have one or more of the following effects:
- Provides updated definitions of sexual harassment and sexual violence, as appropriate, for the following:
- Requiring the governing board of CCDs and Trustees of the CSU, and requesting of the Regents of the UC and governing boards of independent colleges and universities, that applicants to disclose if they have committed sexual harassment.
- Requiring the governing board of CCDs and Trustees of the CSU, and requesting of the UC, to provide educational and preventive information about sexual violence to students at all campuses of their respective segments and to provide annual training on sexual violence and sexual harassment.
- Requiring CCC and CSU campuses, and requests of UC campuses, to develop policies to encourage students to report any campus crimes involving sexual violence.
Comments
- Need for the bill. According to the author, “The definition of “sexual harassment” in California’s Education Code was developed before generative artificial intelligence tools became widely available. As a result, higher education institutions lack uniform standards for defining, investigating, and remediating technology-facilitated sexual harassment. AB 2212, the HEAR Survivors Act, updates the definition of “sexual harassment” in the Education Code to account for modern digital technologies, and requires that California’s higher education institutions adopt and publish policies addressing technology-facilitated sexual harassment. Updating these terms and policies in the Education Code promotes consistent campus responses, reduces stigma, and reinforces that digital abuse is no less serious than offline misconduct.”
- This bill expands definitions of sexual harassment and sexual exploitation. AB 2212 intends to address sexual harassment that is aided or facilitated through the internet, smartphones, and the rise of generative artificial intelligence, including the availability of free and widespread text-to-image models that can quickly generate digital images with a written prompt.
This bill uses existing definitions from the Education Code and other Codes and consolidates them in one section under the Equity in Higher Education Act. Though many of these definitions are not new to state law or to the Education Code, this is the first time they are being considered as part of the definition of sexual harassment and sexual exploitation on college campuses.
At a high level, this bill expands the definitions of sexual harassment and sexual exploitation and requires these expanded definitions be included in a postsecondary educational institution’s annual training for students, updating and posting educational and preventive information on sexual violence, and updating employment and hiring processes to require applicants to disclose if they have committed sexual harassment.
- For “sexual harassment”, AB 2212 expands the definition by adding a new type of sexual harassment called “technology-facilitated sexual harassment”, which includes, but is not limited to, “cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, sextortion, and doxing”.
- For “cyber sexual bullying”, this is defined elsewhere in the Education Code by AB 2536 (Chau, Chapter 419, Statutes of 2016), which includes cyber sexual bullying as an act for which a pupil may be suspended or expelled from school. This bill adds cyber sexual bullying as a form of sexual harassment.
- For “cyber stalking”, the terms “stalking” and “electronic communication device” are defined in the Penal Code. This bill adds cyber stalking as a form of sexual harassment.
- For “sextortion”, this is defined elsewhere in the Education Code by AB 2932 (Joe Patterson, Chapter 118, Statutes of 2024), which requires the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) to consider including content on sextortion in the health curriculum framework. This bill adds sextortion as a form of sexual harassment.
- For “doxing”, this is defined in the Civil Code. This bill adds doxing as a form of sexual harassment.
- For “sexual exploitation”, AB 2212 expands the definition by adding the creation, generation, or distribution of: i) digitized sexually explicit material of depicted individuals without written consent, and ii) digitized sexually explicit material of another person’s sexual activity or intimate parts without written consent.
- For “sexual harassment”, AB 2212 expands the definition by adding a new type of sexual harassment called “technology-facilitated sexual harassment”, which includes, but is not limited to, “cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, sextortion, and doxing”.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
- The UC estimates General Fund implementation costs in the mid-hundreds of thousands annually. This estimate assumes that an additional .5 FTE at each location at a cost of $700,000 ($75,000 x 10 campuses) would be required to support increased workload and administrative costs to manage complex dual-track case evaluations, as compliance officers must manually vet and cross-reference every report against existing federal frameworks, expanded state statutory criteria, and campus policies. The UC also notes there would be modest one-time resource and financial impacts for staff training on new and expanded definitions, required updates to campus orientations and training modules, and actions required to ensure accessibility and appropriate translations.
- The CSU estimates one-time General Fund costs in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars for various administrative activities necessary to implement the bill’s provisions, including the updating of its systemwide nondiscrimination policy to include the new definitions, and ensuring that student conduct policies regarding bullying cover what is specified in the bill. The CSU also estimates minor, ongoing costs for providing information related to bullying, harassment, and intimidation at new student orientations.
- The Chancellor’s Office for the California Community Colleges estimates that the costs to community college districts would likely be minor.
SUPPORT: (Verified 8/14/26)
Survivors + Allies (source)
ACLU California Action
ASUC Sexual Violence Commission
Cal State Student Association
California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls
California Women's Law Center
Courage California
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Kapor Center Advocacy
Public Counsel
Survivors Pro Bono
TechNet
UltraViolet Action
Undergraduate Student Association Council at the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California Student Association
VALOR
Young Data Scientists League
OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/14/26)
Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/26/26
AYES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Ahrens, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Ávila Farías, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Caloza, Carrillo, Castillo, Chen, Connolly, Davies, DeMaio, Dixon, Elhawary, Ellis, Flora, Fong, Gabriel, Gallagher, Garcia, Gipson, Jeff Gonzalez, Mark González, Hadwick, Haney, Harabedian, Hart, Hoover, Irwin, Jackson, Johnson, Kalra, Krell, Lackey, Lee, Lowenthal, Macedo, McKinnor, Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Papan, Patel, Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Ransom, Michelle Rodriguez, Rogers, Blanca Rubio, Sanchez, Schiavo, Schultz, Sharp-Collins, Solache, Soria, Stefani, Ta, Tangipa, Valencia, Wallis, Ward, Wicks, Wilson, Zbur, Rivas
NO VOTE RECORDED: Muratsuchi, Celeste Rodriguez
Prepared by: Michelle Nguyen / ED. / (916) 651-4105
8/17/26 10:13:55
**** END ****
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
Senator Sabrina Cervantes, Chair
2025 - 2026 Regular Session
AB 2212 (Bauer-Kahan) - Postsecondary education: sexual harassment, harassment, intimidation, and bullying policies: student training
Version: | Policy Vote: |
Urgency: | Mandate: |
Hearing Date: | Consultant: |
Bill Summary:
This bill expands the definition of sexual harassment in the Equity in Higher Education Act by providing that it includes technology-facilitated sexual harassment, which includes, but is not limited to, cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, sextortion, and doxing, and requires the definition be included in a postsecondary educational institution’s policies on the adjudication and prevention of sexual harassment. This bill also requires annual training for students that covers specified topics regarding sexual harassment.
*********** ANALYSIS ADDENDUM – SUSPENSE FILE ***********
The following information is revised to reflect amendments
adopted by the committee on August 13, 2026
Fiscal Impact:
- The University of California (UC) estimates General Fund implementation costs in the mid-hundreds of thousands annually. This estimate assumes that an additional .5 FTE at each location at a cost of $700,000 ($75,000 x 10 campuses) would be required to support increased workload and administrative costs to manage complex dual-track case evaluations, as compliance officers must manually vet and cross-reference every report against existing federal frameworks, expanded state statutory criteria, and campus policies. The UC also notes there would be modest one-time resource and financial impacts for staff training on new and expanded definitions, required updates to campus orientations and training modules, and actions required to ensure accessibility and appropriate translations.
- The California State University (CSU) estimates one-time General Fund costs in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars for various administrative activities necessary to implement the bill’s provisions, including the updating of its systemwide nondiscrimination policy to include the new definitions, and ensuring that student conduct policies regarding bullying cover what is specified in the bill. The CSU also estimates minor, ongoing costs for providing information related to bullying, harassment, and intimidation at new student orientations.
- The Chancellor’s Office for the California Community Colleges estimates that the costs to community college districts would likely be minor.
Author Amendments:
Delete the provisions of the bill that require higher education institutions to update trainings and materials to account for tech-facilitated sexual harassment.
-- END --
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
Senator Sabrina Cervantes, Chair
2025 - 2026 Regular Session
AB 2212 (Bauer-Kahan) - Postsecondary education: sexual harassment, harassment, intimidation, and bullying policies: student training
Version: | Policy Vote: |
Urgency: | Mandate: |
Hearing Date: | Consultant: |
Bill Summary:
This bill expands the definition of sexual harassment in the Equity in Higher Education Act by providing that it includes technology-facilitated sexual harassment, which includes, but is not limited to, cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, sextortion, and doxing, and requires the definition be included in a postsecondary educational institution’s policies on the adjudication and prevention of sexual harassment. This bill also requires annual training for students that covers specified topics regarding sexual harassment.
Fiscal Impact:
- The University of California (UC) estimates General Fund implementation costs in the mid-hundreds of thousands annually. This estimate assumes that an additional .5 FTE at each location at a cost of $700,000 ($75,000 x 10 campuses) would be required to support increased workload and administrative costs to manage complex dual-track case evaluations, as compliance officers must manually vet and cross-reference every report against existing federal frameworks, expanded state statutory criteria, and campus policies. The UC also notes there would be modest one-time resource and financial impacts for staff training on new and expanded definitions, required updates to campus orientations and training modules, and actions required to ensure accessibility and appropriate translations.
- The Chancellor’s Office for the California Community Colleges estimates one-time General Fund costs ranging from $200,000 to $400,000 statewide for community college districts to add specified information to existing student orientations and trainings and update definitions.
- The California State University (CSU) estimates one-time General Fund costs in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars for various administrative activities necessary to implement the bill’s provisions, including the updating of its systemwide nondiscrimination policy to include the new definitions, ensuring that student conduct policies regarding bullying cover what is specified in the bill, and updating campus webpages and student training on sexual harassment. The CSU also estimates minor, ongoing costs for providing information related to bullying, harassment, and intimidation at new student orientations.
Background:
Existing federal law establishes Title IX, providing that, in part, “no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
Existing state law requires each postsecondary educational institution that receives state financial assistance, beginning on September 1, 2024, to annually train its students on sexual violence and sexual harassment, and consider updating the annual training every two years thereafter beginning September 1, 2026.
Existing law requires the governing board of the community college district (CCD) and the Trustees of the California State University (CSU), and requests of the Regents of the University of California (UC) and governing boards of independent colleges and universities that receive state financial assistance, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with their respective campuses, to:
- Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative or judicial decision issued within the last 7 years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment, and permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or with the United States Department of Education.
- Require the campuses, if an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the specified position, to use a specified signed release form to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.
Proposed Law:
This bill adds the following definitions and stipulations to the Equity in Higher Education Act:
- “Cyber sexual bullying” means the dissemination of a photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording by means of an electronic act that has or can be reasonably predicted to have one or more of specified effects, including placing a reasonable person or persons in fear of harm to that person or persons or their property and causing a reasonable person to experience a substantially detrimental effect on the person’s physical or mental health.
- Indicates that a photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording (in the definition for “cyber sexual bullying”) includes the depiction of a nude, seminude, or sexually explicit photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording of a person in which the person is identifiable from the specified media.
- Indicates that “cyber sexual bullying” does not include a depiction, portrayal, or image that has any serious literary, artistic, educational, political, or scientific value or that involves athletic events or sanctioned activities by the educational institution.
- “Cyber stalking” means stalking by means of an electronic communication device.
- “Depicted individual” means an individual who is portrayed in sexually explicit material.
- “Digitization” means a process by which any of the following are realistically depicted: i) the nude body parts of another human being as the nude body parts of the depicted individual, ii) computer-generated nude body parts as the nude body parts of the depicted individual, and iii) the depicted individual engaging in sexual conduct in which the depicted individual did not engage.
- “Digitized sexually explicit material” means any portion of a visual or audiovisual work created or substantially altered through digitization, including an image, that shows the depicted individual in the nude or appearing to engage in, or being subjected to, sexual conduct.
- “Doxing” means an act when a person—with intent to place another person or their immediate family in reasonable fear for their safety, by means of an electronic communication device, and without written consent of the other person, and, for the purpose of imminently causing that other person unwanted physical contact, injury, or harassment by a third party—electronically distributes as specified personal identifying information, including, but not limited to, a digital image of another person, or an electronic message of a harassing nature about another person, that would be likely to incite or produce that unwanted physical contact, injury, or harassment by a third party.
- “Electronic act” means the creation or transmission by means of an electronic device of any of the following: i) a message, text, sound, video, or image; b) a post on a social network platform, including, but not limited to, posting to or creating a burn page for the purpose of cyber sexual bullying, as specified; creating a credible impersonation of another person for the purpose of cyber sexual bullying, as specified; and an act of technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
- “Sextortion” means 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.
- “Sexual conduct” means any of the following: i) masturbation; ii) sexual intercourse; iii) sexual penetration of the vagina or rectum by, or with, an object; iv) the transfer of semen by means of sexual conduct from the penis directly onto the depicted individual as a result of ejaculation; and v) sadomasochistic abuse involving the depicted individual.
This bill expands the definition of “sexual exploitation” by adding that it includes:
- The creation, generation, or distribution of digitized sexually explicit materials without the distinct and separate written consent of the depicted individual or individuals for each such act.
- The creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material of another person’s sexual activity or intimate parts, without that person’s written consent.
- The distribution of digitized sexually explicit material of another person’s sexual activity or intimate parts, if the individual distributing the digitized sexually explicit material knows or should have known that the person depicted in the digitized sexually explicit material did not provide written consent to the disclosure.
This bill expands the definition of “sexual harassment” by adding that it includes technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including, but not limited to, cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, sextortion, and doxing.
This bill defines “Technology-facilitated sexual harassment” to mean sexual harassment that occurs on, or is facilitated by, digital platforms or digital technologies, and it includes, but is not limited to, cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, sextortion, and doxing.
This bill defines “Written consent” to mean an agreement written in plain language signed knowingly and voluntarily by the depicted individual that includes a general description of the digitized sexually explicit material and the visual or audiovisual work in which it will be incorporated.
This bill permits a depicted individual to rescind consent by delivering written notice within three business days from the date consent was given to the person in whose favor consent was made, unless one of the following requirements is satisfied: i) the depicted individual is given at least 72 hours to review the terms of the agreement before signing the agreement, or ii) the depicted individual’s authorized representative provides written approval of the signed agreement.
This bill requires each CCC and CSU campus, and requests of each campus of an independent institution of higher education, a private postsecondary educational institution, and the UC, to post educational and preventive information on sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, in addition to sexual violence and sexual harassment, on its campus website.
This bill requires the specified educational and preventive information include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
- Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, in addition to sexual violence and sexual harassment.
- What constitutes sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, in addition to sexual violence and sexual harassment.
- The availability of, and contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, in addition to sexual violence and sexual harassment.
- Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing acts of sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, in addition to sexual violence and sexual harassment.
- What constitutes digitized sexually explicit material, including information on the prohibition of the public disclosure of the creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material, as specified.
- What constitutes affirmative consent and written consent, as defined.
This bill requires, beginning September 1, 2027, that specified annual training for students cover all of the following topics:
- Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
- What constitutes sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including information on how to file internal administrative complaints with the institution of higher education and how to file criminal charges with local law enforcement officials.
- The availability of, and contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
- Methods of encouraging peer support for victims and the imposition of sanctions on offenders.
- Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
- The contact information of a Title IX coordinator, or a similar position.
- The availability of, and contact information for, campus, community, and online resources for victims of sexual exploitation or technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including how to help take down digitized sexually explicit material.
This bill requires CCC and CSU campuses, and requests of UC campuses, to develop policies to encourage students to report any campus crimes involving sexual assaults, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, or sexual harassment, in addition to sexual violence. Urges these specified campuses to adopt policies to eliminate barriers for victims who come forward to report sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, or sexual harassment, in addition to sexual assaults.
This bill updates the definition of sexual harassment for purposes of requiring the governing board of CCDs and Trustees of the CSU, and requesting of the Regents of the UC and governing boards of independent colleges and universities to require that applicants to disclose if they have committed sexual harassment.
Staff Comments:
This bill expands the definitions of sexual harassment and sexual exploitation and requires these expanded definitions be included in a postsecondary educational institution’s policies on the adjudication and prevention of sexual harassment. This bill also requires annual training for students, updating and posting educational and preventive information, and updating employment and hiring processes using the updated definitions. According to the author, “The definition of “sexual harassment” in California’s Education Code was developed before generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools became widely available. As a result, higher education institutions lack uniform standards for defining, investigating, and remediating technology-facilitated sexual harassment. AB 2212, the HEAR Survivors Act, updates the definition of “sexual harassment” in the Education Code to account for modern digital technologies, and requires that California’s higher education institutions adopt and publish policies addressing technology-facilitated sexual harassment. Updating these terms and policies in the Education Code promotes consistent campus responses, reduces stigma, and reinforces that digital abuse is no less serious than offline misconduct.”
-- END --
SENATE PRIVACY, DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION COMMITTEE
Senator Christopher Cabaldon, Chair
2025-2026 Regular Session
Bill No: AB 2212 (Author:Bauer-Kahan)
Version: May 18, 2026
Hearing Date: June 29, 2026
Fiscal: Yes
Urgency: No
Consultant: CK
SUBJECT
Postsecondary education: sexual harassment, harassment, intimidation, and bullying policies: student orientation and training
DIGEST
This bill updates the definition of “sexual harassment” in the Education Code to account for modern digital technologies, and requires California’s postsecondary educational institutions to adopt and publish policies and update trainings, addressing technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Technology-driven sexual harassment has become an alarming and pervasive threat on college campuses, inflicting serious psychological harm on students particularly women and LGBTQ+ individuals. Cyberstalking and cyberbullying enable perpetrators to monitor, intimidate, and humiliate victims through social media, messaging platforms, and location-tracking tools, often creating a climate of constant fear with no clear escape. Sextortion, in which perpetrators threaten to release intimate images unless victims comply with demands, has surged dramatically, exploiting the power imbalances inherent in coercive digital relationships. Compounding this crisis is the growing misuse of AI-powered tools and image-editing software to create “deepfakes,” which are weaponized to degrade and silence victims without their knowledge or consent. Colleges and universities face mounting pressure to update their Title IX frameworks, digital conduct policies, and student support systems to adequately address these evolving forms of technology-facilitated abuse.
This bill amends the Education Code to update the definition of sexual harassment by, in part, including technology-facilitated sexual harassment, which includes newly defined conduct such as “cyber sexual bullying,” “cyber stalking,” “sextortion,” and “doxing.” The bill further requires postsecondary educational institutions to update and create an array of policies pertaining to sexual harassment to address the new categories.
The bill is sponsored by Survivors + Allies. It is supported by various organizations, including the University of California Student Association, the California Women’s Law Center, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The bill is opposed by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. The bill passed out of the Senate Education Committee on a vote of 6 to 0 and the Senate Judiciary Committee on a vote of 13 to 0.
PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE LAW
Existing federal law:
- Establishes “Title IX,” which provides that no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. (20 U.S.C. § 1681.)
- Provides that sex-based harassment prohibited by Title IX is a form of sex discrimination and means sexual harassment and other harassment on the basis of sex, including sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, quid pro quo harassment, and hostile environment harassment. (34 C.F.R. § 106.2.)
- Requires schools and other educational institutions covered by Title IX to maintain written grievance procedures that provide a prompt, fair, and impartial process for investigating and resolving complaints of sex discrimination, including sex-based harassment. The regulation requires equitable treatment of complainants and respondents, notice of allegations, an objective investigation, access to relevant evidence, a determination based on the evidence, and opportunities for appeal where applicable. (34 C.F.R. § 106.45.)
Existing state law:
- Defines “sexual harassment” as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature, made by someone from or in the work or educational setting, under any of the following conditions:
- Submission to the conduct is explicitly or implicitly made a term or a condition of an individual’s employment, academic status, or progress.
- Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis of employment or academic decisions affecting the individual.
- The conduct has the purpose or effect of having a negative impact upon the individual’s work or academic performance, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or educational environment.
- Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis for any decision affecting the individual regarding benefits and services, honors, programs, or activities available at or through the educational institution. (Educ. Code § 212.5.)
- Requires the Trustees of the California State University and the governing board of each community college district to adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying, and shall include these policies within the rules and regulations governing student behavior within their respective segments of public postsecondary education. The University of California is requested to comply with this section. (Educ. Code § 66302.)
- Places requirements on California’s institutions of higher education to include educational and preventive information about the above topics to students at all campuses of their respective segments during orientations, to post such information on their websites, and to conduct relevant trainings. (Educ. Code §§ 66302.5 & 67385.7.)
This bill:
- Updates the definition of “sexual harassment” for purposes of the Education Code to include:
- “Technology-facilitated sexual harassment,” including “cyber sexual bullying,” “cyber stalking,” “sextortion,” and “doxing.”
- “Sexual exploitation” as newly defined to include such things as the creation, generation, or distribution of digitized sexually explicit materials without the distinct and separate written consent of the depicted individual
- Defines the key terms, including:
- “Technology-facilitated sexual harassment” means sexual harassment that occurs on, or is facilitated by, digital platforms or digital technologies, including cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, sextortion, and doxing.
- “Cyber sexual bullying” means the dissemination of, or the solicitation or incitement to disseminate, a photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording by means of an electronic act that has or can be reasonably predicted to have one or more of specified effects.
- “Cyber stalking” means stalking by means of an electronic communication device.
- “Digitized sexually explicit material” means any portion of a visual or audiovisual work created or substantially altered through digitization, including an image, that shows the depicted individual in the nude or appearing to engage in, or being subjected to, sexual conduct.
- Requires the governing board or governing body of a postsecondary educational institution, as a condition to receive state funds for student financial assistance, to update any institutional policy pertaining to the adjudication of complaints of sexual harassment, the prevention of sexual harassment, or any policy pertaining to sexual harassment, to include all of the following:
- A prohibition on the public disclosure of the creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material without the written consent of the depicted individual or individuals.
- A policy that the disclosure of digitized sexually explicit material without the written consent of the depicted individual or individuals is sexual exploitation and a violation of the institution’s policy, and subject to disciplinary sanctions.
- A list of organizations to assist students and employees with the removal of digitized sexually explicit material from digital platforms. The list shall include, but is not limited to, specified organizations, including organizations that specialize in assisting in the removal of digitized sexually explicit material from digital platforms.
- Information on the federal and state rights afforded to someone who has been subjected to the nonconsensual sharing of digitized sexually explicit material.
- Contact information for legal firms who may assist the student in filing a civil or criminal case for the removal of the digitized sexually explicit material.
- Campus resources available to the student who is a victim of sexual harassment or sexual exploitation due to the digitized sexually explicit material.
- Requires postsecondary educational institutions to update their trainings and educational material to include the new categories of sexual harassment.
COMMENTS
- Sexual harassment on campuses in the digital age
Technology-driven sexual harassment has become a documented and growing crisis on college campuses. A study of U.S. college students found that 70 percent of respondents reported facing at least one form of technology-facilitated abuse, with over half of students facing image-based experiences such as nonconsensual posting or sharing of unwanted messages, pictures, and videos online.[1]
On sextortion specifically, the FBI has tracked a sharp escalation tied to AI. The Bureau reported a 322 percent increase in nationally reported sextortion cases between February 2022 and February 2023, attributing the rise to AI-doctored images, and noted that perpetrators use content manipulation technology to turn photos and videos pulled from social media into sexually explicit material.[2] There are serious harms that result:
Since 2021, online sextortion has led to tens of thousands of cases and more than $65 million in losses, according to the FBI. More tragically, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children reports, it has led to over three dozen suicides.
And that's just the ones they know about.[3]
On the impact of online violence for women and girls, Amnesty International writes:
When women, girls and LGBTI people are targeted with technology-facilitated gender-based violence, it is more dangerous for them to engage and participate in online conversations and benefit from digital technologies.
It can also lead to severe psychological harms that impact their mental health. This includes conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder, paranoia, depression, and anxiety, which can lead to self-harm. For instance, a higher proportion of transgender and gender-diverse people reported that being targeted online very negatively impacted their desire to live.
…
Being a target of technology-facilitated gender-based violence can also result in economic harms as women, girls and LGBTI people are forced to minimize their digital footprint. It also affects their access to a range of information and services and can lead to attacks and instances of violation and abuse in the offline world as well.[4]
Lawmakers have begun responding. In May 2025, Congress enacted the TAKE IT DOWN Act, which makes it illegal to knowingly publish or threaten to publish nonconsensual sexual images, and beginning in May 2026, requires a website or social media company to remove such material within 48 hours’ notice from a victim.[5] The TAKE IT DOWN Act was inspired in part by a teen whose classmates posted deepfake images of her to Snapchat, which Snapchat refused to take down for nearly a year.[6] Separately, many states are taking action:
In 2025, at least half the states enacted legislation addressing the use of generative AI to create seemingly realistic, but fabricated, images and sounds, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Some of the laws address simulated child sexual abuse material.
Students also have been prosecuted in Florida and Pennsylvania and expelled in places like California. One fifth grade teacher in Texas also was charged with using AI to create child pornography of his students.[7]
One study of college students in California found that technology-facilitated sexual violence is “an emerging crisis that current policies fail to address” with 1 in 7 survivors of sexual violence reporting experiencing online sexual harm. LGBTQIA+ survivors were nearly twice as likely to experience online sexual harm when compared to cisgender, heterosexual survivors.[8] The study also found that trainings on campuses are ineffective and that many students were ill-informed of the resources available.
Together, these sources point to the same conclusion: campus sexual harassment is no longer confined to physical encounters; it now follows students through their phones, social feeds, and increasingly, AI-fabricated images of themselves they never consented to. College students are often targets of this technology-based harassment, and current systems are ineffective at dealing with it.
- Responding to the crisis
This bill updates the definition of “sexual harassment” in the postsecondary Education Code to account for modern digital technologies, and requires California’s higher education institutions to develop and publish policies, and update trainings, addressing technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
According to the author:
The definition of “sexual harassment” in California’s Education Code was developed before generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools became widely available. As a result, higher education institutions lack uniform standards for defining, investigating, and remediating technology-facilitated sexual harassment. AB 2212, the HEAR Survivors Act, updates the definition of “sexual harassment” in the Education Code to account for modern digital technologies, and requires that California’s higher education institutions adopt and publish policies addressing technology-facilitated sexual harassment. Updating these terms and policies in the Education Code promotes consistent campus responses, reduces stigma, and reinforces that digital abuse is no less serious than offline misconduct.
It should be noted that the bill imposes the obligation to update any institutional policy pertaining to the adjudication of complaints of sexual harassment, the prevention of sexual harassment, or any policy pertaining to sexual harassment to include specified information and elements, on independent postsecondary institutions and the University of California system using state funds as the hook. The list of required inclusions is also extremely granular, including specific organizations that must be listed and specific policies that must be incorporated.
- Stakeholder positions
A coalition of groups, including the sponsor of this bill, Survivors + Allies, writes in support:
As generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) becomes widely available across California’s college campuses, image generation tools are increasingly putting women and LGBTQIA+ students at risk of technology-facilitated sexual harassment. A 2025 study of college students found that 70% of survivors of online sexual harm did not seek support from their home institutions, reporting that they “felt [they] would not be taken seriously” and were “not aware [they] could reach out to a resource.” The definition of “sexual harassment” in California’s Education Code was developed before the widespread use of GenAI tools, and does not explicitly address harassment that occurs through, or is facilitated by, digital technologies.
AB 2212 updates the definition of “sexual harassment” in the Education Code to account for modern digital technologies and requires California’s higher education institutions to adopt and publish policies addressing technology-facilitated sexual harassment. Clear standards, transparent reporting mechanisms, and modernized definitions are essential to ensuring that students experiencing sexual harassment can access meaningful support. Updating institutional policies to explicitly address technology-facilitated sexual harassment will promote consistent campus responses, reduce stigma, and reinforce that digital abuse is no less serious than offline misconduct.
AB 2212 protects students by acknowledging and addressing the issue of technology-facilitated sexual harassment on California’s college campuses.
Writing in opposition, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression lays out a series of constitutional concerns and suggests amendments to address those issues:
[S]ection 66286(b)(1-2) is both constitutionally overbroad and inconsistent with California law. It requires public colleges seeking state funds for student financial assistance to prohibit the public disclosure of “digitized sexually explicit material” without the written consent of the depicted individual. This prohibition reaches all digitized “visual or audiovisual work” that depicts a person “appearing to engage in, or being subjected to, sexual conduct.” It applies regardless of the material’s context, purpose, or effect, including circumstances where a person is engaged in core political speech.…
We appreciate the importance of preventing discriminatory conduct in education, but to avoid crossing constitutional lines and minimize the risk of costly litigation, we strongly suggest revising AB 2212 so that it includes carveouts for protected speech and uses the Davis standard of harassment. This standard is tried and tested in practice and in court.
In response to concerns, the author has agreed to amendments that remove Sections 4, 5, and 6 of the bill.
SUPPORT
Survivors + Allies (sponsor)
ASUC Sexual Violence Commission
CA Commission on the Status of Women and Girls
California Women's Law Center
Courage California
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Kapor Center Advocacy
Public Counsel
UC Student Association
Ultraviolet Action
Valor US
Young Data Scientists League
OPPOSITION
Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
RELATED LEGISLATION
AB 2392 (Fong, 2026) requires the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and requests the University of California, to convene a working group to develop standards for GenAI training and procurement, to provide said training, and to report to the Legislature, as specified. AB 2392 is set to be heard in this Committee the same day as this bill.
PRIOR VOTES:
Senate Judiciary Committee (Ayes 13, Noes 0)
Senate Education Committee (Ayes 6, Noes 0)
Assembly Floor (Ayes 78, Noes 0)
Assembly Appropriations Committee (Ayes 11, Noes 0)
Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee (Ayes 15, Noes 0)
Assembly Higher Education Committee (Ayes 9, Noes 0)
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Naman Gupta, et al., A Critical Analysis of the Prevalence of Technology-Facilitated Abuse in US College Students (May 2024) Extended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, https://dl.acm.org/doi/epdf/10.1145/3613905.3652036. All internet citations are current as of June 23, 2026. ↑
Kendall Tietz, FBI warns of AI deepfakes being used to create 'sextortion' schemes (July 6, 2023) Fox News, https://www.foxnews.com/media/fbi-warns-ai-deepfakes-being-create-sextortion-schemes. ↑
Dan Wetzel, The predatory web of sextortion increasingly ensnares young athletes (August 10, 2025) ESPN, https://www.espn.com/high-school/story/_/id/45852691/fbi-extortion-online-youth. ↑
Online Violence, Amnesty International, https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/technology/online-violence/. ↑
Pub. L. No. 119-12 (May 19, 2025) 139 Stat. 55. ↑
Ortutay, President Trump signs Take It Down Act, addressing nonconsensual deepfakes. What is it? (May 20, 2025) AP News, https://apnews.com/article/take-it-down-deepfake-trump-melania-first-amendment-741a6e525e81e5e3d8843aac20de8615. ↑
Heather Hollingsworth, AP report: Rise of deepfake cyberbullying poses a growing problem for schools (January 2, 2026) PBS, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/ap-report-rise-of-deepfake-cyberbullying-poses-a-growing-problem-for-schools. ↑
Dreaming Together: California Student Survivors Reimagining Campus Responses to Sexual Violence (2026) Survivors + Allies, https://csw.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Survivors_Allies_Final_Report.pdf. ↑
Senator Thomas Umberg, Chair
2025-2026 Regular Session
Bill No: AB 2212 (Author:Bauer-Kahan)
Version: May 18, 2026
Hearing Date: June 23, 2026
Fiscal: Yes
Urgency: No
Consultant: ME
SUBJECT
Postsecondary education: sexual harassment, harassment, intimidation, and bullying policies: student orientation and training
DIGEST
This bill updates the definition of “sexual harassment” in the Education Code to account for modern digital technologies, and requires California’s postsecondary educational institutions to adopt and publish policies, and update trainings, addressing technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This bill amends the Education Code to update the definition of sexual harassment by, in part, including technology-facilitated sexual harassment, which includes newly defined conduct such as “cyber sexual bullying,” “cyber stalking,” “sextortion,” and “doxing.” The bill further requires postsecondary educational institutions to update and create an array of policies pertaining to sexual harassment to address the new categories. College students are facing alarming rates of technology-facilitated harassment on college campuses.[1] For people from prior generations, it is nearly impossible to fathom what being a college student today would be like. Today’s college students face the possibility of being sexually harassed during all 24 hours of a day. Sexual harassment is facilitated through digital technologies and harassing content is easy to create through the use of AI. This bill updates the definition of sexual harassment in the Equity in Higher Education Act (Education Code Sections §§ 66250-66294) to accurately protect college students in today’s reality.
The bill is sponsored by Survivors + Allies. It is supported by various organizations, including the University of California Student Association, the California Women’s Law Center, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. No timely opposition has been received by the Committee. The bill passed out of the Senate Education Committee on a vote of 6 to 0. If this bill passes this Committee, it will next be referred to the Senate Privacy, Digital Technologies, and Consumer Protection Committee.
PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE LAW
Existing federal law:
- Establishes “Title IX,” which provides that no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. (20 U.S.C. § 1681.)
- Provides that sex-based harassment prohibited by Title IX is a form of sex discrimination and means sexual harassment and other harassment on the basis of sex, including sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, quid pro quo harassment, and hostile environment harassment. (34 C.F.R. § 106.2.)
- Requires schools and other educational institutions covered by Title IX to maintain written grievance procedures that provide a prompt, fair, and impartial process for investigating and resolving complaints of sex discrimination, including sex-based harassment. The regulation requires equitable treatment of complainants and respondents, notice of allegations, an objective investigation, access to relevant evidence, a determination based on the evidence, and opportunities for appeal where applicable. (34 C.F.R. § 106.45.)
Existing state law:
- Defines “sexual harassment” as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature, made by someone from or in the work or educational setting, under any of the following conditions:
- Submission to the conduct is explicitly or implicitly made a term or a condition of an individual’s employment, academic status, or progress.
- Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis of employment or academic decisions affecting the individual.
- The conduct has the purpose or effect of having a negative impact upon the individual’s work or academic performance, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or educational environment.
- Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis for any decision affecting the individual regarding benefits and services, honors, programs, or activities available at or through the educational institution. (Ed. Code § 212.5.)
- Provides that sexual harassment of students is a form of sex discrimination. (Ed. Code § 66270.)
- Requires the Trustees of the California State University and the governing board of each community college district to adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying, and shall include these policies within the rules and regulations governing student behavior within their respective segments of public postsecondary education. The University of California is requested to comply with this section. (Ed. Code § 66302.)
- Places requirements on California’s institutions of higher education to include educational and preventive information about the above topics to students at all campuses of their respective segments during orientations, to post such information on their websites, and to conduct relevant trainings. (Ed. Code §§ 66302.5 & 67385.7.)
This bill:
- Updates the definition of “sexual harassment” in the Equity in Higher Education Act (Ed. Code §§ 66250-66294) to include:
- “Technology-facilitated sexual harassment,” including “cyber sexual bullying,” “cyber stalking,” “sextortion,” and “doxing.”
- “Sexual exploitation” as newly defined to include such things as the creation, generation, or distribution of digitized sexually explicit materials without the distinct and separate written consent of the depicted individual.
- Defines the key terms, including:
- “Technology-facilitated sexual harassment” means sexual harassment that occurs on, or is facilitated by, digital platforms or digital technologies including cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, sextortion, and doxing.
- “Cyber sexual bullying” means the dissemination of, or the solicitation or incitement to disseminate, a photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording by means of an electronic act that has or can be reasonably predicted to have, one or more of specified effects.
- “Cyber stalking” means stalking by means of an electronic communication device.
- “Digitized sexually explicit material” means any portion of a visual or audiovisual work created or substantially altered through digitization, including an image, that shows the depicted individual in the nude or appearing to engage in, or being subjected to, sexual conduct.
- Specifies that “cyber sexual bullying” does not include a depiction, portrayal, or image that has any serious literary, artistic, educational, political, or scientific value or that involves athletic events or sanctioned activities by the educational institution.
- Requires the governing board or governing body of a postsecondary educational institution, as a condition to receive state funds for student financial assistance, to update any institutional policy pertaining to the adjudication of complaints of sexual harassment, the prevention of sexual harassment, or any policy pertaining to sexual harassment, to include all of the following:
- A prohibition on the public disclosure of the creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material without the written consent of the depicted individual or individuals.
- A policy that the disclosure of digitized sexually explicit material without the written consent of the depicted individual or individuals is sexual exploitation and a violation of the institution’s policy, and subject to disciplinary sanctions.
- A list of organizations to assist students and employees with the removal of digitized sexually explicit material from digital platforms. The list shall include, but is not limited to, specified organizations, including organizations that specialize in assisting in the removal of digitized sexually explicit material from digital platforms.
- Information on the federal and state rights afforded to someone who has been subjected to the nonconsensual sharing of digitized sexually explicit material.
- Contact information for legal firms who may assist the student in filing a civil or criminal case for the removal of the digitized sexually explicit material.
- Campus resources available to the student who is a victim of sexual harassment or sexual exploitation due to the digitized sexually explicit material.
- Requires postsecondary educational institutions to update their trainings and educational material to include the new categories of sexual harassment.
COMMENTS
- Stated need for the bill
According to the author:
The definition of “sexual harassment” in California’s Education Code was developed before generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools became widely available. As a result, higher education institutions lack uniform standards for defining, investigating, and remediating technology-facilitated sexual harassment. AB 2212, the HEAR Survivors Act, updates the definition of “sexual harassment” in the Education Code to account for modern digital technologies, and requires that California’s higher education institutions adopt and publish policies addressing technology-facilitated sexual harassment. Updating these terms and policies in the Education Code promotes consistent campus responses, reduces stigma, and reinforces that digital abuse is no less serious than offline misconduct.
AB 2212 adds “technology-facilitated sexual harassment” to the definition of sexual harassment for purposes of the Equity in Higher Education Act (Ed. Code §§ 66250-66294). Under the bill, technology-facilitated sexual harassment includes but is not limited to, cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, sextortion, and doxing. A definition of “cyber sexual bullying” is in the Education Code. It is an act, in the Education Code, that can result in a pupil being suspended or expelled from school. “Cyber stalking” is defined in the Penal Code. The definition of “sextortion” is in the Education Code. Similarly, doxing is already defined in the Civil Code. This bill also expands the definition of “sexual exploitation” to include such things as the creation, generation, or distribution of digitized sexually explicit materials without the distinct and separate written consent of the depicted individual.
2. The bill enjoys widespread support and is not opposed by any post-secondary institutions
This bill has received unanimous and bipartisan support in both houses of the Legislature. There have been no votes cast in opposition to this bill. This clearly shows a strong commitment by the Legislature to protect people from sexual harassment in the postsecondary space. The Committee has not received any timely opposition to the bill. However, as explained in the Senate Education analysis for this bill:
Ongoing discussions on implementation concerns. Though the intent of the legislation is well-understood, some concerns have been raised about the feasibility of implementation of this bill on college and university campuses. Committee staff understands the author’s office continues to have ongoing conversations with the postsecondary educational institutions about striking a balance between addressing the problems of technology-driven sexual harassment and ensuring that campuses can effectively implement this bill. These discussions have also touched on the definitions themselves and whether they need to be further refined or aligned with other federal or state law.
The author has expressed that her “office is actively working with stakeholders to address implementation concerns.” This collaboration is ongoing and not yet reflected in the bill in print. This bill was triple referred to the Senate Education Committee, the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the Senate Privacy, Digital Technologies, and Consumer Protection Committee.
ASUC Sexual Violence Commission, California Women’s Law Center, Courage California, Kapor Center Advocacy, Public Counsel, Survivors + Allies, UltraViolet Action, University of California Student Association, and the Young Data Scientists League write the following in support of the bill:
As generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) becomes widely available across California’s college campuses, image generation tools are increasingly putting women and LGBTQIA+ students at risk of technology-facilitated sexual harassment. A 2025 study of college students found that 70% of survivors of online sexual harm did not seek support from their home institutions, reporting that they “felt [they] would not be taken seriously” and were “not aware [they] could reach out to a resource.” The definition of “sexual harassment” in California’s Education Code was developed before the widespread use of GenAI tools, and does not explicitly address harassment that occurs through, or is facilitated by, digital technologies.
AB 2212 updates the definition of “sexual harassment” in the Education Code to account for modern digital technologies and requires California’s higher education institutions to adopt and publish policies addressing technology-facilitated sexual harassment. Clear standards, transparent reporting mechanisms, and modernized definitions are essential to ensuring that students experiencing sexual harassment can access meaningful support. Updating institutional policies to explicitly address technology-facilitated sexual harassment will promote consistent campus responses, reduce stigma, and reinforce that digital abuse is no less serious than offline misconduct.
AB 2212 protects students by acknowledging and addressing the issue of technology-facilitated sexual harassment on California’s college campuses. The CSU system has already invested millions of dollars in providing ChatGPT for free to all students and employees; they must also invest in protecting students from this new technology's harms. AB2212 is a practical and low-cost way for universities to keep pace with rapidly changing technology, bolstering protective measures for all students and increasing awareness about resources for survivors of technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
SUPPORT
Survivors + Allies (sponsor)
ASUC Sexual Violence
Commission California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls
California Women’s Law Center
Courage California
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Kapor Center Advocacy
Public Counsel
UltraViolet Action
University of California Student Association
ValorUS
Young Data Scientists League
OPPOSITION
None received
RELATED LEGISLATION
Pending Legislation: None known.
Prior Legislation:
AB 2932 (Patterson, Ch. 118, Stats. 2024) required the Instructional Quality Commission to consider, when the Health Framework is revised, on or after January 1, 2025, content on sextortion, as specified.
AB 2536 (Chau, Ch. 419, Stats. 2016) expanded the definition of electronic acts in relation to bullying to include cyber sexual bullying, and requires the California Department of Education to include information on cyber sexual bullying on a specified website.
PRIOR VOTES:
Senate Education Committee (Ayes 6, Noes 0)
Assembly Floor (Ayes 78, Noes 0)
Assembly Appropriations Committee (Ayes 11, Noes 0)
Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee (Ayes 15, Noes 0)
Assembly Higher Education Committee (Ayes 9, Noes 0)
**************
See Naman Gupta, et al., A Critical Analysis of the Prevalence of Technology-Facilitated Abuse in US College Students (May 2024) Extended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, https://dl.acm.org/doi/epdf/10.1145/3613905.3652036; Kendall Tietz, FBI warns of AI deepfakes being used to create 'sextortion' schemes (July 6, 2023) Fox News, https://www.foxnews.com/media/fbi-warns-ai-deepfakes-being-create-sextortion-schemes; Online Violence, Amnesty International, https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/technology/online-violence/; Heather Hollingsworth, AP report: Rise of deepfake cyberbullying poses a growing problem for schools (January 2, 2026) PBS, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/ap-report-rise-of-deepfake-cyberbullying-poses-a-growing-problem-for-schools. ↑
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Sasha Renée Pérez, Chair
2025 - 2026 Regular
Bill No: Hearing Date: June 17, 2026
Author: | |||
Version: |
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Urgency: | Fiscal: | ||
Consultant: | |||
Subject:
NOTE: This bill has been referred to the Committees on Education and Judiciary. A “do pass” motion should include referral to the Committee on Judiciary.
SUMMARY
This bill requires the governing body or board of a postsecondary educational institution, as a condition of receiving state funds for student financial assistance, to update any institutional policy relating to the adjudication and prevention of sexual harassment to 1) prohibit the public disclosure of the creation of digitized sexually explicit material without specified written consent and 2) include a policy that the disclosure of digitized sexually explicit material without specified written consent is sexual exploitation, a violation of the institution’s policy, and subject to disciplinary sanctions. This bill also expands the definition of sexual harassment by adding that it includes technology-facilitated sexual harassment, which includes, but is not limited to, cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, sextortion, and doxing.
BACKGROUND
Existing federal law:
- Establishes Title IX, providing that, in part, “no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” (United States Code (USC) Title 20, Chapter 38, § 1681 (commonly known as Title IX))
- Outlines the required response, pursuant to Title IX, of a postsecondary higher education institution when the institution is made aware of an alleged sexual harassment incident on campus, which include a requirement for a formal complaint, a grievance procedure for an investigation into whether the incident based on a standard of evidence occurred, a hearing by which advisors are provided an opportunity to cross-examine, and a method of appealing the outcome of the grievance process. (Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 34, Subtitle B, Chapter 1, Part 106, Subpart D, § 106.45)
- Defines sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination and as conduct on the basis of sex that satisfies at least one of the following:
- Quid pro quo harassment. An employee of the postsecondary education institution conditions aid, benefit, or services to a postsecondary education institution’s education program or activity on the individual’s participation in unwelcome sexual conduct.
- Hostile environment harassment. Unwelcome conduct determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the recipient’s education program or activity.
- Specific offenses. Sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking, as defined in the USC. (CFR, Title 34, Subtitle B, Chapter 1, Part 106, Subpart A, § 106.2)
Existing state law:
- Defines the following terms:
- “Sexual harassment” as unwelcomed sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature made by someone from or in the work or educational setting in which specific conditions are met. “Sexual harassment” also includes sexual battery, sexual violence, and sexual exploitation.
- “Sexual violence” as physical sexual acts perpetrated against a person without the affirmed consent of the person, and these acts include rape and sexual battery.
- “Sexual exploitation” means a person taking sexual advantage of another person for the benefit of anyone other than that person without that person’s consent, including, but not limited to:
- The prostituting of another person.
- The trafficking of another person, defined as the inducement of a person to perform a commercial sex act, or labor or services, through force, fraud, or coercion.
- The recording of images or audio of another person’s sexual activity or intimate parts, without that person’s consent.
- The distribution of images or audio of another person’s sexual activity or intimate parts, if the individual distributing the images or audio knows or should have known that the person depicted in the images or audio did not consent to the disclosure.
- The viewing of another person’s sexual activity or intimate parts, in a place where that other person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy, without that person’s consent, for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire. (Education Code (EC) § 66262.5)
- Requires each postsecondary educational institution that receives state financial assistance, beginning on September 1, 2024, to annually train its students on sexual violence and sexual harassment, and consider updating the annual training every two years thereafter beginning September 1, 2026. (EC § 67385.7)
- Requires the governing board of the community college district (CCD) and the Trustees of the California State University (CSU), and requests of the Regents of the University of California (UC) and governing boards of independent colleges and universities that receive state financial assistance, as part of the hiring process for an appointment to an academic, athletic, or administrative position with their respective campuses, to:
- Require an applicant to disclose any final administrative or judicial decision issued within the last 7 years from the date of submission of the application determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment, and permit applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer or with the United States Department of Education.
- Require the campuses, if an applicant reaches the final stages of the application process for the specified position, to use a specified signed release form to engage in a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct. (EC §§ 87604.5, 89521, 92612.1, and 66281.9)
- Requires the Trustees of the CSU and the governing board of each CCD, and requests of the UC, to adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying and to include these policies within the rules and regulations governing student behavior within their respective segments of public postsecondary education. (EC § 66302)
- Requires the Trustees of the CSU, and requests of the Regents of UC, to provide educational and preventive information about cyberbullying to students at all campuses of their respective segments, as part of established campus orientations. (EC § 66302.5)
ANALYSIS
This bill:
- Adds the following definitions and stipulations:
- “Cyber sexual bullying” means the dissemination of a photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording by means of an electronic act that has or can be reasonably predicted to have one or more of the following effects:
- Placing a reasonable person or persons in fear of harm to that person or persons or their property.
- Causing a reasonable person to experience a substantially detrimental effect on the person’s physical or mental health.
- Causing a reasonable person to experience substantial interference with the person’s academic performance, work, or employment.
- Causing a reasonable person to experience substantial interference with the person’s ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by an educational institution.
- Indicates that a photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording (in the definition for “cyber sexual bullying”) includes the depiction of a nude, seminude, or sexually explicit photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording of a person in which the person is identifiable from the specified media.
- Indicates that “cyber sexual bullying” does not include a depiction, portrayal, or image that has any serious literary, artistic, educational, political, or scientific value or that involves athletic events or sanctioned activities by the educational institution.
- “Cyber stalking” means stalking by means of an electronic communication device.
- “Depicted individual” means an individual who is portrayed in sexually explicit material.
- “Digitization” means a process by which any of the following are realistically depicted: i) the nude body parts of another human being as the nude body parts of the depicted individual, ii) computer-generated nude body parts as the nude body parts of the depicted individual, and iii) the depicted individual engaging in sexual conduct in which the depicted individual did not engage.
- “Digitized sexually explicit material” means any portion of a visual or audiovisual work created or substantially altered through digitization, including an image, that shows the depicted individual in the nude or appearing to engage in, or being subjected to, sexual conduct.
- “Doxing” means an act when a person—with intent to place another person or their immediate family in reasonable fear for their safety, by means of an electronic communication device, and without written consent of the other person, and, for the purpose of imminently causing that other person unwanted physical contact, injury, or harassment by a third party—electronically distributes as specified personal identifying information, including, but not limited to, a digital image of another person, or an electronic message of a harassing nature about another person, that would be likely to incite or produce that unwanted physical contact, injury, or harassment by a third party.
- “Electronic act” means the creation or transmission by means of an electronic device of any of the following: i) a message, text, sound, video, or image; b) a post on a social network platform, including, but not limited to, posting to or creating a burn page for the purpose of cyber sexual bullying, as specified; creating a credible impersonation of another person for the purpose of cyber sexual bullying, as specified; and an act of technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
- “Sextortion” means 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.
- “Sexual conduct” means any of the following: i) masturbation; ii) sexual intercourse; iii) sexual penetration of the vagina or rectum by, or with, an object; iv) the transfer of semen by means of sexual conduct from the penis directly onto the depicted individual as a result of ejaculation; and v) sadomasochistic abuse involving the depicted individual.
- Expands the definition of “sexual exploitation” by adding that it includes:
- The creation, generation, or distribution of digitized sexually explicit materials without the distinct and separate written consent of the depicted individual or individuals for each such act.
- The creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material of another person’s sexual activity or intimate parts, without that person’s written consent.
- The distribution of digitized sexually explicit material of another person’s sexual activity or intimate parts, if the individual distributing the digitized sexually explicit material knows or should have known that the person depicted in the digitized sexually explicit material did not provide written consent to the disclosure.
- Expands the definition of “sexual harassment” by adding that it includes technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including, but not limited to, cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, sextortion, and doxing.
- “Technology-facilitated sexual harassment” means sexual harassment that occurs on, or is facilitated by, digital platforms or digital technologies, and it includes, but is not limited to, cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, sextortion, and doxing.
- “Written consent” means an agreement written in plain language signed knowingly and voluntarily by the depicted individual that includes a general description of the digitized sexually explicit material and the visual or audiovisual work in which it will be incorporated.
- Permits a depicted individual to rescind consent by delivering written notice within three business days from the date consent was given to the person in whose favor consent was made, unless one of the following requirements is satisfied: i) the depicted individual is given at least 72 hours to review the terms of the agreement before signing the agreement, or ii) the depicted individual’s authorized representative provides written approval of the signed agreement.
- “Cyber sexual bullying” means the dissemination of a photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording by means of an electronic act that has or can be reasonably predicted to have one or more of the following effects:
- Requires the governing board or governing body of a postsecondary educational institution, as a condition to receive state funds for student financial assistance, to update any institutional policy pertaining to the adjudication of complaints of sexual harassment, the prevention of sexual harassment, or any policy pertaining to sexual harassment to include all of the following:
- A prohibition on the public disclosure of the creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material without the written consent of the depicted individual or individuals.
- A policy that the disclosure of digitized sexually explicit material without the written consent of the depicted individual or individuals is sexual exploitation and a violation of the institution’s policy, and subject to disciplinary sanctions.
- A list of organizations to assist students and employees with the removal of digitized sexually explicit material from digital platforms. The list shall include, but is not limited to, specified organizations, including organizations that specialize in assisting in the removal of digitized sexually explicit material from digital platforms.
- Information on the federal and state rights afforded to someone who has been subjected to the nonconsensual sharing of digitized sexually explicit material.
- Contact information for legal firms who may assist the student in filing a civil or criminal case for the removal of the digitized sexually explicit material.
- Campus resources available to the student who is a victim of sexual harassment or sexual exploitation due to the digitized sexually explicit material.
- Requires that the CSU and the UC incorporate the information from #2 into its single, systemwide nondiscrimination policy for their respective systems.
- Requires each CCC and CSU campus, and requests of each campus of an independent institution of higher education, a private postsecondary educational institution, and the UC, to post educational and preventive information on sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, in addition to sexual violence and sexual harassment, on its campus website.
- Requires the specified educational and preventive information include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
- Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, in addition to sexual violence and sexual harassment.
- What constitutes sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, in addition to sexual violence and sexual harassment.
- The availability of, and contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, in addition to sexual violence and sexual harassment.
- Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing acts of sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, in addition to sexual violence and sexual harassment.
- What constitutes digitized sexually explicit material, including information on the prohibition of the public disclosure of the creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material, as specified.
- What constitutes affirmative consent and written consent, as defined.
- Requires, beginning September 1, 2027, that specified annual training for students cover all of the following topics:
- Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
- What constitutes sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including information on how to file internal administrative complaints with the institution of higher education and how to file criminal charges with local law enforcement officials.
- The availability of, and contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
- Methods of encouraging peer support for victims and the imposition of sanctions on offenders.
- Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
- The contact information of a Title IX coordinator, or a similar position.
- The availability of, and contact information for, campus, community, and online resources for victims of sexual exploitation or technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including how to help take down digitized sexually explicit material.
- Requires CCC and CSU campuses, and requests of UC campuses, to develop policies to encourage students to report any campus crimes involving sexual assaults, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, or sexual harassment, in addition to sexual violence. Urges these specified campuses to adopt policies to eliminate barriers for victims who come forward to report sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, or sexual harassment, in addition to sexual assaults.
- Updates the definition of sexual harassment for purposes of requiring the governing board of CCDs and Trustees of the CSU, and requesting of the Regents of the UC and governing boards of independent colleges and universities to require that applicants to disclose if they have committed sexual harassment.
STAFF COMMENTS
- Need for the bill. According to the author, “The definition of “sexual harassment” in California’s Education Code was developed before generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools became widely available. As a result, higher education institutions lack uniform standards for defining, investigating, and remediating technology-facilitated sexual harassment. AB 2212, the HEAR Survivors Act, updates the definition of “sexual harassment” in the Education Code to account for modern digital technologies, and requires that California’s higher education institutions adopt and publish policies addressing technology-facilitated sexual harassment. Updating these terms and policies in the Education Code promotes consistent campus responses, reduces stigma, and reinforces that digital abuse is no less serious than offline misconduct.”
- This bill expands definitions of sexual harassment and sexual exploitation. AB 2212 intends to address sexual harassment that is aided or facilitated through the internet, smartphones, and the rise of generative artificial intelligence, including the availability of free and widespread text-to-image models that can quickly generate digital images with a written prompt.
This bill uses existing definitions from the Education Code and other Codes and consolidates them in one section under the Equity in Higher Education Act. Though many of these definitions are not new to state law or to the Education Code, this is the first time they are being considered as part of the definition of sexual harassment and sexual exploitation on college campuses.
At a high level, this bill expands the definitions of sexual harassment and sexual exploitation and requires these expanded definitions be included in a postsecondary educational institution’s policies on the adjudication and prevention of sexual harassment. This bill also requires annual training for students, updating and posting educational and preventive information, and updating employment and hiring processes using the updated definitions.
- For “sexual harassment”, AB 2212 expands the definition by adding a new type of sexual harassment called “technology-facilitated sexual harassment”, which includes, but is not limited to, “cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, sextortion, and doxing”.
- For “cyber sexual bullying”, this is defined elsewhere in the Education Code by AB 2536 (Chau, Chapter 419, Statutes of 2016), which includes cyber sexual bullying as an act for which a pupil may be suspended or expelled from school. This bill adds cyber sexual bullying as a form of sexual harassment.
- For “cyber stalking”, the terms “stalking” and “electronic communication device” are defined in the Penal Code. This bill adds cyber stalking as a form of sexual harassment.
- For “sextortion”, this is defined elsewhere in the Education Code by AB 2932 (Joe Patterson, Chapter 118, Statutes of 2024), which requires the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) to consider including content on sextortion in the health curriculum framework. This bill adds sextortion as a form of sexual harassment.
- For “doxing”, this is defined in the Civil Code. This bill adds doxing as a form of sexual harassment.
- For “sexual exploitation”, AB 2212 expands the definition by adding the creation, generation, or distribution of: i) digitized sexually explicit material of depicted individuals without written consent, and ii) digitized sexually explicit material of another person’s sexual activity or intimate parts without written consent.
- For “sexual harassment”, AB 2212 expands the definition by adding a new type of sexual harassment called “technology-facilitated sexual harassment”, which includes, but is not limited to, “cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, sextortion, and doxing”.
- Concerns about postsecondary institutions recommending a list of prescribed organizations and law firms. This bill requires the postsecondary institutions to include in their institutional policy pertaining to the adjudication and prevention of sexual harassment: a) a list of organizations to assist students and employees with the removal of digitized sexually explicit material from digital platforms (some of which are explicitly named in the bill), and b) contact information for legal firms who may assist the student in filing a civil or criminal case for the removal of the digitized sexually explicit material.
Some concerns have been raised about the postsecondary institutions providing an already prescribed list of organizations to assist with the removal of digitized sexually explicit material from digital platforms, as well as providing contact information for legal firms that can assist students in related matters. This has been described as unusual and can imply that these organizations and law firms are vetted and approved by the postsecondary institutions.
- Ongoing discussions on implementation concerns. Though the intent of the legislation is well-understood, some concerns have been raised about the feasibility of implementation of this bill on college and university campuses. Committee staff understands the author’s office continues to have ongoing conversations with the postsecondary educational institutions about striking a balance between addressing the problems of technology-driven sexual harassment and ensuring that campuses can effectively implement this bill. These discussions have also touched on the definitions themselves and whether they need to be further refined or aligned with other federal or state law. The Committee may wish to consider the following questions when discussing this bill:
- How do postsecondary educational institutions navigate the line between what is considered protected speech and the creation of digitized images that could constitute sexual harassment?
- What tools do postsecondary institutions have to prevent these forms of technology-driven sexual harassment and exploitation given the widespread availability of these platforms, how quickly information is disseminated, and the ever-increasing speed of technological change?
- If postsecondary institutions struggle with interpreting these definitions or preventing these types of acts, how will students interpret a potential failure to address these problems, and does it create liability issues for these institutions?
- Is written consent (as opposed to consent) an obtainable and/or reasonable expectation for the types of acts described in this bill? Would a text message or a direct message in a social media platform be considered written consent?
- Related and Prior Legislation.
AB 2932 (Joe Patterson, Chapter 118, Statutes of 2024) requires the IQC, when the health curriculum framework is next revised on or after January 1, 2025, to consider providing for inclusion, in that curriculum framework, content on sextortion, as defined.
AB 2536 (Chau, Chapter 419, Statutes of 2016) includes engaging in an act of cyber sexual bullying, as defined, as an act of bullying by means of an electronic act for which a pupil may be suspended or expelled from school.
SUPPORT
Survivors + Allies (sponsor)
OPPOSITION
None received
-- END --
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
ATR Bill Id:AB 2212
Author:(Bauer-Kahan)
As Amended Ver:May 18, 2026
Majority vote
SUMMARY
Amends the Education Code to include definitions of technology-facilitated sexual harassment and digitized sexually explicit materials; and, requires postsecondary education institutions to update and create an array of policies pertaining to sexual harassment to address the new definitions of technology-facilitated sexual harassment and digitized sexually explicit materials.
Major Provisions
- Repeals and replaces Education Code Section 66262.5 with expanded definitions for the Equity in Higher Education Act, including the Sex Equity. Defines the following terms: affirmed consent; cyber sexual bullying; cyber stalking; depicted individual; digitization, digitized sexually explicit material; doxing; electronic act; sextortion; sexual battery; sexual conduct; sexual exploitation; sexual harassment; technology-facilitated sexual harassment; and, written consent.
- Requires each state aided postsecondary education institution to update any institutional policy pertaining to sexual harassment to include the following:
- A prohibition on the public disclosure of the creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material without the written consent of the depicted individual(s); and,
- A policy that the disclosure of digitized sexually explicit material without the written consent of the depicted individual(s) is: sexual exploitation, a violation of the institution's policies, and will result in a disciplinary action.
- Requires the policy established in 2) to be incorporated in the California State University's (CSU) single, systemwide nondiscrimination policy.
- Requires the policy established in 2) to be incorporated in the University of California's (UC) single, systemwide nondiscrimination policy.
- Requires the California Community Colleges (CCC), CSU, and UC to do the following, if the institutions wish to receive state financial assistance (individually not collectively):
- Adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying;
- Include the policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying in the institution's code of conduct for students; and,
- Publish the policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying on the internet website of each CCC, CSU, and UC campus;
- Provide the policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying as part of the educational material for student orientations and,
- Include the policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying as part of any printed materials on the student's code of conduct.
- Requires each campus of the CCC and the CSU, and requests the UC, the independent institutions of higher education, and private postsecondary educational institutions, to post educational materials and prevention information on sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment on its campus internet website.
- Updates the educational and prevention information provided as part of student orientations or on the internet website of the postsecondary education institution to include specified information about sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, sexual harassment, and affirmed consent.
- Requires the existing annual prevention training on sexual harassment offered by CCC, CSU, independent institutions of higher education, and private postsecondary education institutions to be updated by September 1, 2027 to include specific information on sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, as prescribed.
- Requires the CCC and CSU, and request the UC, to develop policies to encourage students to report any campus crimes involving sexual assault, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, or sexual harassment to the appropriate campus authorities.
- Urges campuses to adopt policies to eliminate barriers for survivors who elect to report incidents of sexual assault, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, or sexual harassment and to advise students of these policies. The policies may include exempting the survivor from campus sanctions for being in violation of another campus policies at the time of the incident.
- Makes technical updates to the definition of sexual harassment for the following Education Code Section 92612.1, 89521, 87604.5, and 66281.8.
- Repeals Education Code Section 66302.5 as it will be made redundant.
COMMENTS
Technology – facilitated sexual harassment on college campuses. A study published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, presented research on college-age women's experiences with technology – facilitated sexual harassment. The study found in the online digital space 84% of college-age women received sexually inappropriate messages and 74% received sexist comments. Survivors + Allies published preliminary findings of 2025 Institutional Review Board approved research study on the impacts of technology – facilitated sexual harassment on college students at the CCC, CSU, and UC. The preliminary findings included:
- One in seven students who identified as experiencing sexual harassment reported experiencing online sexual harm; and,
- 70% of those survivors never reached out to their campus for support.
The prevalence of college – age individuals experiencing technology – facilitated sexual harassment aligns as this age group are the predominately users of digital platforms and generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools. However, higher education institutions have been slow to update policies and procedures regarding the permissive use of digital online platforms and GenAI tools by students and employees on campus.
Patsy Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act (Title IX) and technology-facilitated sexual harassment. The current regulations governing the implementation of the Title IX for postsecondary education institutions does not include a definition of technology-facilitated sexual harassment. The regulations require a postsecondary education institution to respond to an incident of sexual harassment if it occurs in an educational program or activity in the United States, if the institution had substantial control over both the respondent and the context in which the sexual harassment occurs (34 US Code of Regulations Part 106, Subpart D, Section 106.44). By this definition, one could assume Title IX does not include digital platforms or GenAI tools since the institutions does not have "substantial control" over the student's use.
In January 2025, the U.S. Department of Education published guidance on "Online or Digital Sexual Harassment under the 2020 Title IX Regulations." The guidance stated, "Title IX requires a school to address sexual harassment in its education program or activity, including harassment that occurs online or using technology." The guidance further contends "harassment can be carried out by school staff, a student, or another person. It can occur in-person or online, including emails, texts, or messages, apps, or other technologies." Examples of online harassment that would be covered by Title IX according to the guidance, includes:
- Unwelcome conduct on social media platforms that is sexually demeaning or containing threats of violence;
- Nonconsensual texting, posting, or otherwise sharing of intimate images of a person whether real, altered, or created through an AI generated tool; and
- Stalking using technology; which includes, creating fake social media accounts to harass another individual.
Based on the definitions and examples provided in the United States Department of Education's January 2025 Title IX guidance, the majority of the provisions in the measure should already be implemented by postsecondary education institutions in California. However, concerns have been raised that the federal definition of sexual harassment is too narrow in scope and does not cover every incident of sexual harassment on campus. Therefore, this measure is a necessary step in providing additional protections from technology-facilitated sexual harassment that are not currently provided within the scope of Title IX nor in the California's Higher Education Sex Equity Act.
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion of this bill.
According to the Author
According to the author, "the definition of 'sexual harassment' in California's Education Code was developed before generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools became widely available. As a result, higher education institutions lack uniform standards for defining, investigating, and remediating technology-facilitated sexual harassment. AB 2212, the HEAR Survivors Act, updates the definition of 'sexual harassment' in the Education Code to account for modern digital technologies, and requires that California's higher education institutions adopt and publish policies addressing technology-facilitated sexual harassment. Updating these terms and policies in the Education Code promotes consistent campus responses, reduces stigma, and reinforces that digital abuse is no less serious than offline misconduct."
Arguments in Support
ValorUS, a California sexual assault coalition representing 84 rape crisis centers and other organizations dedicated to ending sexual violence, is in support of AB 2212 because: "the definition of 'sexual harassment' in California's Education Code was developed before the widespread use of GenAI tools, and does not explicitly address harassment that occurs through, or is facilitated by, digital technologies. AB 2212 updates the definition of 'sexual harassment' in the Education Code to account for modern digital technologies and requires California's higher education institutions to adopt and publish policies addressing technology-facilitated sexual harassment. Clear standards, transparent reporting mechanisms, and modernized definitions are essential to ensuring that students experiencing sexual harassment can access meaningful support. Updating institutional policies to explicitly address technology-facilitated sexual harassment will promote consistent campus responses, reduce stigma, and reinforce that digital abuse is no less serious than offline misconduct."
The Cal State Student Association is in support, as "AB 2212 is a critical and timely measure that modernizes campus policies to address emerging forms of harassment and exploitation, particularly those facilitated by technology. The bill expands existing protections under the Equity in Higher Education Act by defining and prohibiting the nonconsensual creation and distribution of digitized sexually explicit material, recognizing such actions as sexual exploitation. These updates reflect the realities students face in an increasingly digital world, where harm can occur rapidly and at scale. Importantly, AB 2212 ensures that institutions receiving state financial aid funding adopt clear, enforceable policies and provide education and prevention information during student orientation and training. These requirements will help foster safer campus environments and ensure that students are aware of their rights and available resources from the moment they enroll…Additionally, AB 2212 invests in research to better understand campus climate and improve institutional responses to sexual harassment, violence, and exploitation. By supporting evidence-based strategies, California can continue to lead the nation in protecting student safety and well-being."
Arguments in Opposition
None on file.
FISCAL COMMENTS
According to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations:
- One-time Proposition 98 General Fund costs of an unknown but likely significant amount, possibly ranging from $1.3 million to $2.6 million, to community college districts (CCDs), collectively statewide, to update policies and add specified information to existing student orientations.
- Minor one-time and annual ongoing General Fund costs to the campuses of the UC and CSU to update campus orientations and training modules as appropriate. While the individual campus costs may be minor, cumulatively statewide the aggregate costs to the campuses of the CSU and UC may present significant General Fund costs of an unknown amount, possibly in the hundreds of thousands of dollars
VOTES
ASM HIGHER EDUCATION: 9-0-1
YES: Fong, DeMaio, Boerner, Jeff Gonzalez, Jackson, Muratsuchi, Patel, Sharp-Collins, Tangipa
ABS, ABST OR NV: Celeste Rodriguez
ASM PRIVACY AND CONSUMER PROTECTION: 15-0-0
YES: Bauer-Kahan, Macedo, Bryan, DeMaio, Hoover, Irwin, Lowenthal, McKinnor, Ortega, Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Ward, Wicks, Wilson
ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 11-0-4
YES: Wicks, Aguiar-Curry, Calderon, Caloza, Fong, Mark González, Krell, Pacheco, Pellerin, Sharp-Collins, Solache
ABS, ABST OR NV: Hoover, Dixon, Ta, Tangipa
UPDATED
VERSION: May 18, 2026
CONSULTANT: Ellen Cesaretti-Monroy / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960 FN: 0002874
Date of Hearing: May 6, 2026
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Buffy Wicks, Chair
ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2212
Author:(Bauer-Kahan) – As Amended Ver:April 23, 2026
Policy Committee: | Higher Education | Vote: | 9 - 0 |
Privacy and Consumer Protection | 15 - 0 | ||
|
|
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY:
This bill requires a postsecondary education institution to update its sexual harassment complaint adjudication policies and campus student orientation information and training to include information on various forms of sexual exploitation, harassment, intimidation, bullying, and technology-facilitated harassment, as specified.
The bill requires the UC Los Angeles Center for the Study of Women, contingent upon an appropriation, to facilitate research on the prevention of, and adjudication of, sexual harassment, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment at postsecondary educational institutions.
FISCAL EFFECT:
- One-time Proposition 98 General Fund costs of an unknown but likely significant amount, possibly ranging from $1.3 million to $2.6 million, to community college districts (CCDs), collectively statewide, to update policies and add specified information to existing student orientations.
- Minor one-time and annual ongoing General Fund costs to the campuses of the UC and CSU to update campus orientations and training modules as appropriate. While the individual campus costs may be minor, cumulatively statewide the aggregate costs to the campuses of the CSU and UC may present significant General Fund costs of an unknown amount, possibly in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
- One-time General Fund cost pressures of approximately $450,000 for the Legislature to appropriate funds for the UC Los Angeles Center for the Study of Women to conduct required research.
COMMENTS:
- Purpose. According to the author:
The definition of “sexual harassment” in California’s Education Code was developed before generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools became widely available. As a result, higher education institutions lack uniform standards for defining, investigating, and remediating technology-facilitated sexual harassment. AB 2212, the HEAR Survivors Act, updates the definition of “sexual harassment” in the Education Code to account for modern digital technologies, and requires that California’s higher education institutions adopt and publish policies addressing technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
- Background. Technology-facilitated gender-based violence or harassment can include cyberstalking, online harassment, death and rape threats, doxing, and the non-consensual sharing or threatened distribution of intimate images, including fake images. Most data suggest women and LBGTQIA+ individuals suffer this form of harassment at a disproportionate rate and demonstrate it can have real and lasting impacts on an individual’s mental health. The requirements of this bill come directly from an informational hearing held by the Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection committee in 2025, which solicited several recommendations from experts in online misogyny and online sexual violence with one expert testifying that women suffering image-based abuse, such as deepfakes, are more likely to leave their jobs or experience major disruptions in their education. Proponents of this bill, such as the sponsors, Survivors+Allies, contend “updating institutional policies to explicitly address technology-facilitated sexual harassment will promote consistent campus responses, reduce stigma, and reinforce that digital abuse is no less serious than offline misconduct.”
Analysis Prepared by: Aaron Heredia / APPR. / (916) 319-2081
Date of Hearing: April 21, 2026
Fiscal:
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PRIVACY AND CONSUMER PROTECTION
Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, Chair
ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2212 (
Author:Bauer-Kahan) – As Amended Ver:April 16, 2026
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS
SUBJECT: Postsecondary education: sexual harassment, harassment, intimidation, and bullying policies: student orientation and training
SYNOPSIS
Over the course of 11 days, between December 29, 2025, and January 8, 2026, men and boys around the world used the Artificial Intelligence tool, Grok, to create approximately 3 million fake, sexualized images of women and girls. It is estimated that 23,000 of those images depicted children. Men using sexual abuse images to harass, humiliate, and harm women and girls predates the internet. What is new is the ease with which the images can be created and that the abuse can spread further and faster. Image-based sexual abuse is a very old form of sexual degradation and violation that has taken on new significance with emerging technologies.
The online attacks on women and girls are far from harmless. The weaponizing of these images and videos by men and boys can destroy the lives of women and girls. Maintaining a “good” online identity has become essential in contemporary society. Applying for college or a job, online dating, even ordering an Uber or food delivery depends on a person’s ability to create a good online identity. Beyond the damage to their future, women and girls often face deep emotional and psychological harm.
There are a number of bills moving through the Legislature this year dealing with on-line sexual abuse, primarily when it comes to posting non-consensual sexual images. This bill is broader. It attempts to help college women cope with any type of on-line sexual abuse. Specifically, this bill amends the Education Code to include definitions of technology-facilitated sexual harassment and digitized sexually explicit materials; and requires postsecondary education institutions to update and create an array of policies pertaining to sexual harassment to address the new definitions of technology-facilitated sexual harassment and digitized sexually explicit materials. A Committee amendment, detailed in comment #8, adds “sextortion” to the definition of online sexual harassment.
This bill is sponsored by Survivors+Allies and is supported by approximately a dozen social justice and survivor organizations including Courage California and the Sexual Violence Prevention Association. There is no registered opposition.
This bill was previously heard by the Higher Education Committee, where it passed on a 9-0 vote.
EXISTING LAW:
- No person in the United States will, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance except for specified circumstances including membership of fraternities and sororities. (United States Code Title 20, Chapter 38, §1681 et seq (colloquially known as Title IX).)
- Outlines the required response pursuant to Title IX, of a postsecondary higher education institution when the institution is made aware of an alleged sexual harassment incident on campus. The regulations include a requirement for a formal complaint, a grievance procedure for an investigation into whether the incident based on a standard of evidence occurred, and a method of appealing the outcome of the grievance process. (Federal Code of Regulations Title 34, Subtitle B, Chapter 1, Subpart D, § 106.45.)
- Defines sexual harassment as conduct on the basis of sex that satisfies at least one of the following:
- An employee of the postsecondary education institution conditions aid, benefit, or services to a recipient on the individual’s participation in unwelcome sexual conduct.
- Unwelcome conduct determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the recipient’s education program or activity.
- Sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking, as defined in the United States Code. (Federal Code of Regulations, Title 34, Subpart D, § 106.30.)
- States that the term “electronic communication device” includes, but is not limited to, telephones, cellular phones, computers, video recorders, fax machines, or pagers. (Pen. Code § 646.9.)
- Defines sexual harassment and sexual violence as the following:
- “Sexual harassment” as sexual battery, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, and unwelcomed sexual advances, request for sexual favors and other verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature made by someone from or in the work or educational setting in which specific conditions are met. Clarifies sexual harassment of students is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by the Equity in Higher Education Act.
- “Sexual violence” as a physical sexual act perpetrated against a person without the affirmed consent of the survivor, as defined. Physical sexual acts include rape, sexual battery, sexual exploitation, prostituting another person, trafficking another person, recording images of the person during the act without consent, distributions of said images without consent, or viewing a person’s intimate moments in which privacy is expected without consent, as defined. (Ed. Code § 66262.5.).
- Mandates, the California Community Colleges (CCC), the California State University (CSU), and any independent institution of higher education or private postsecondary education institutions that receives state financial assistance to provide annual sexual harassment and sexual violence prevention training to students, as specified. Requests the UC to provide the annual training to students. (Ed. Code § 67385.7.)
- Requires the governing board of the CCC to adopt a standard of practice, when hiring for an academic, athletic, or administrative position that requires an applicant to disclose whether they have been the subject of any final administrative or judicial decision with regards to sexual harassment in the last seven years. Permits the applicant to also disclose whether they are appealing the decision to either their previous employer or the United States Department of Education. Authorizes the community college to ask for disclosure in the final stages of the employment process. Requires the CCC to conduct an employment background check to determine if the applicant has any substantiated allegations of misconduct with previous employers. (Ed. Code § 87604.5.)
- Requires the CSU to adopt a standard of practice, when hiring for an academic, athletic, or administrative position that requires an applicant to disclose whether they have been the subject of any final administrative or judicial decision with regards to sexual harassment in the last seven years. Permits the applicant to also disclose whether they are appealing the decision to either their previous employer or the United States Department of Education. Authorizes the CSU to ask for the disclosure in the final stages of the employment process. Requires the CSU to conduct an employment background check to determine if the applicant has any substantiated allegations of misconduct with previous employers. (Ed. Code § 89521.)
- Requests the University of California (UC) to adopt a standard of practice, when hiring for an academic, athletic, or administrative position that requires an applicant to disclose whether they have been the subject of any final administrative or judicial decision with regards to sexual harassment in the last seven years. Permits the applicant to also disclose whether they are appealing the decision to either their previous employer or the United States Department of Education. Authorizes the UC to ask for the disclosure in the final stages of the employment process. Requests the UC to conduct an employment background check to determine if the applicant has any substantiated allegations of misconduct with previous employers. (Ed. Code § 92612.1.)
- Requests the independent colleges and universities, which receive state financial aid to adopt a standard of practice, when hiring for an academic, athletic, or administrative position that requires an applicant to disclose whether they have been the subject of any final administrative or judicial decision with regards to sexual harassment in the last seven years. Permits the applicant to also disclose whether they are appealing the decision to either their previous employer or the United States Department of Education. Authorizes the independent colleges and universities, which receive state financial aid to ask for disclosure in the final stages of the employment process of independent colleges and universities, which receive state financial aid. Requests the independent colleges and universities to conduct an employment background check to determine if the applicant has any substantiated allegations of misconduct with previous employers. (Ed. Code § 66281.9.)
- Requires the CSU and the CCC to adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying. States it is the intent of the Legislature for these policies to be included on the internet website of each of the public higher education institution’s website and as part of the student code of conduct publications. Requests the UC to adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying. (Ed. Code § 66302.)
- Requires the CSU and requests the UC to provide educational materials on cyberbullying during their respective campus orientations. (Ed. Code § 66302.5.)
THIS BILL:
- Amends the Education Code to include definitions of technology-facilitated sexual harassment and digitized sexually explicit materials; and, requires postsecondary education institutions to update and create an array of policies pertaining to sexual harassment to address the new definitions of technology-facilitated sexual harassment and digitized sexually explicit materials.
- Defines the following:
- “Cyber sexual bullying” as:
- The dissemination of, or the solicitation or incitement to disseminate, a photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording by means of an electronic act that has or can be reasonably predicted to have one or more of the following effects:
- Placing a reasonable person in fear of harm to that person or their property.
- Causing a reasonable person to experience a substantially detrimental effect on the person’s physical or mental health.
- Causing a reasonable person to experience substantial interference with the person’s academic performance, work, or employment; and,
- Causing a reasonable person to experience substantial interference with the person’s ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by a higher education institution.
- A photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording that includes the depiction of a nude, seminude, or sexually explicit photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording of a person in which the person is identifiable from the photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, visual recording, or other electronic act.
- Not a depiction, portrayal, or image that has any serious literary, artistic, educational, political, or scientific value or that involves athletic events or sanctioned activities by a higher education institution.
- The dissemination of, or the solicitation or incitement to disseminate, a photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording by means of an electronic act that has or can be reasonably predicted to have one or more of the following effects:
- “Cyber stalking” as stalking by means of an electronic communication devise. For purposes of this definition, “stalking” and electronic device have the same definitions as the terms in Penal Code Section 646.9.
- “Depicted individual” as an individual who is portrayed in sexually explicit materials.
- Digitization” as a process where any of the below are realistically depicted:
- The nude body parts of another human being as the nude body parts of the depicted individual.
- Computer-generated nude body parts as the nude body parts of the depicted individual.
- The depicted individual engaging in sexual conduct in which the depicted individual did not engage.
- “Digitized sexual explicit materials” as any portion of a visual or audiovisual work created or substantially altered through digitization, including an image, that shows the depicted individual in the nude or appearing to engage in, or being subjected to, sexual conduct.
- “Doxing” as an act when a person, with intent to place another person in reasonable fear for their safety, or the safety of the other person’s immediate family, by means of an electronic communication device, and without written consent of the other person, and, for the purpose of imminently causing that other person unwanted physical contact, injury, or harassment by a third party, electronically distributes, publishes, emails, hyperlinks, or makes available for downloading, personal identifying information, including, but not limited to, a digital image of another person, or an electronic message of a harassing nature about another person, that would be likely to incite or produce that unwanted physical contact, injury, or harassment by a third party.
- “Electronic act” as the creation or transmission by means of an electronic device, including, but not limited to, a telephone, wireless telephone, or other wireless communication device, computer, or pager, of a communication, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
- A message, text, sound, video, or image.
- A post on a social network internet website or social media platform, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
- Posting to or creating a burn page. “Burn page” means an internet website created for the purpose of having one or more of the effects, as defined.
- Creating a credible impersonation of another actual person for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed as defined. “Credible impersonation” means to knowingly and without consent impersonate a person for the purpose of bullying the person such that another person would reasonably believe, or has reasonably believed, that the person was or is the person who was impersonated.
- Creating a false profile for the purpose of having one or more of the effects, as defined. “False profile” means a profile of a fictitious person or a profile using the likeness or attributes of an actual person other than the person who created the false profile.
- An act of technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
- “Written consent” means all the following:
- An agreement written in plain language signed knowingly and voluntarily by the depicted individual that includes a general description of the digitized sexually explicit material and the visual or audiovisual work in which it will be incorporated.
- A written notice of rescinded consent by a depicted individual within three business days from the date consent was given to the person in whose favor consent was made, unless one of the following requirements is satisfied:
- The depicted individual is given at least 72 hours to review the terms of the agreement before signing the agreement.
- The depicted individual’s authorized representative provides written approval of the signed agreement.
- “Cyber sexual bullying” as:
- Adds the following to the existing definition of “sexual exploitation”:
- The creation, generation, or distribution of digitized sexually explicit materials without the written consent of the depicted individual or individuals.
- The creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material of another person’s sexual activity or intimate parts, without that person’s written consent.
- The distribution of digitized sexually explicit material of another person’s sexual activity or intimate parts, if the individual distributing the digitized sexually explicit material knows or should have known that the person depicted in the digitized sexually explicit material did not provide written consent to the disclosure.
- Adds the following to the existing definition of “sexual harassment”:
- Technology facilitated sexual harassment including, but not limited to, cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, and doxing.
- “Technology-facilitated sexual harassment” as the following:
- Sexual harassment that occurs on, or is facilitated by, digital platforms or digital technologies.
- “Technology-facilitated sexual harassment” includes, but is not limited to, cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, and doxing.
COMMENTS:
1) Author’s statement. According to the author:
The definition of “sexual harassment” in California’s Education Code was developed before generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools became widely available. As a result, higher education institutions lack uniform standards for defining, investigating, and remediating technology-facilitated sexual harassment. AB 2212, the HEAR Survivors Act, updates the definition of “sexual harassment” in the Education Code to account for modern digital technologies, and requires that California’s higher education institutions adopt and publish policies addressing technology-facilitated sexual harassment. Updating these terms and policies in the Education Code promotes consistent campus responses, reduces stigma, and reinforces that digital abuse is no less serious than offline misconduct.
2) Background. According to information provided by the author, in a recent study with California higher education students, 70% of survivors of online sexual harm were women, and 72% were LGBTQIA+. In addition, more than two-thirds (69%) of survivors of online sexual harm were disabled students. These findings align with prior scholarship showing that these groups disproportionately experience sexual violence. Several peer-reviewed articles document the high rates of tech-facilitated sexual violence, particularly among women and LGBTQIA+ individuals. In California, a statewide study in 2025 of over 1,500 higher education students showed that 1 in 7 survivors that had experienced online sexual harm struggled to access support from their institutions. This research found that survivors of tech-facilitated sexual violence did not realize they could report or seek help for the incident or did not believe their university would take it seriously.
3) Online sexual abuse. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has defined technology-facilitated gender-based violence (GBV) as:
Any act of violence perpetrated by one or more individuals that is committed, assisted, aggravated and amplified in part or fully by the use of information and communication technologies or digital media, against a person on the basis of their gender.[1]
This violence can include cyberstalking; online harassment; death and rape threats; doxing[2]; and the non-consensual sharing or threatened distribution of intimate images, including those that are fake. This abuse is intertwined with misogyny driven hate speech and disinformation campaigns. It is particularly chilling to women and girls who are publicly outspoken in the fight against misogyny. Particularly, women politicians and journalists. That being said, online sexual assaults are part of the everyday lives of the majority of women and girls, with the attacks often being more frequent and worse for women and girls in historically excluded and underrepresented groups.
Men attacking women and girls online has become much more violent and threatening as technology advances. Someone intent on causing harm may use just one or several different approaches to attack their target. These include, for example: cyberstalking; doxing; death and rape threats; and the non-consensual sharing or threatened distribution of intimate images, including deepfake ‘pornography’ created or altered by generative AI. Whatever the method, data shows that women and girls are facing a barrage of attacks on a daily basis.
Just as women and girls have long had to deal with unwanted attention from men out in public as part of their everyday lives, including whistling, cat calls, unwelcome comments, groping, and aggressive sexual advances, now they must deal with the fact that they will be attacked online as well. According to law professor and director of the UK Centre for Protecting Women Online, Olga Jurasz, “We’re facing a barrage of online violence against women and girls. It’s no longer a new issue and what’s worse is that it’s become normalised,” she said. “Women, especially young women, assume that this will happen if they go online. They assume that they will be abused, attacked in one way or another, sent inappropriate messages or sexually explicit photographs.”[3]
In 2023, Open University surveyed 7,500 adults across the UK in the largest study to date on the experience of women online when it comes to cyber-violence. In the survey, over one in 10 women reported that they had experienced online violence and three in 10 had witnessed it. Even more significantly, those figures amongst young women age 16 to 25 increase to 25%, and for LGBTQ women, to 35%. Over one in eight women who experienced online violence said it had progressed to offline violence.[4]
Professor Jurasz, who led the project, noted:
Online violence against women and girls can take many forms such as trolling, threats, abuse, unwanted sexual remarks, non-consensual sharing of intimate photos and messages, among many other examples and it disproportionately effects women. This can have a serious impact on women’s wellbeing and their behaviour, including a negative impact on mental and physical health, having to implement measures to protect themselves from abuse, and a change in willingness or ability to express views online.[5]
In a global survey in 2020, with a smaller sample size, The Economist Intelligence Unit reported that more than half of the survey respondents who had experienced online violence knew the perpetrator. In addition, 74% expressed concern about online abuse escalating to offline violence. Online violence against women discourages their online engagement. Nearly nine out of 10 women report restricting their online activity, which limits the access to employment, education, healthcare, and community.[6]
The Most Common Types of Online Sexual Abuse
Source: Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security
4) The impact of online sexual abuse. Technology-facilitated GBV targets all women who use technology. Certain groups of women are more prone to this type of violence because of their activities, identities, or access to specific information and services. Notably, human rights defenders, journalists, lawmakers, politicians, women activists, feminists, academics, and young people face increased rates of violence. For example, according to the United Nations Regional Information Center for Western Europe, 73% of women journalists experience online violence in the course of their work.[7]
A 2023 study of young women in the UK revealed that their happiness is at the lowest point that it has been since 2009. Approximately 37% of girls and young women aged 11-21 have been sent upsetting photos or content by people they know, up from 17% 10 years ago. For many young women, being attacked online leads to them losing confidence, and withdrawing from posting or getting involved in debates. Instead, they become more passive consumers: 37% of women aged 16 to 24 said online violence had left them feeling less able to express themselves online.[8]
The online attacks on women and girls are far from harmless. Studies show that it can impact both their physical and mental health. In addition, silencing women online diminishes their engagement in public and political life, while reinforcing patriarchal roles and norms that serve as a significant obstacle to gender equality.
On the impact of online violence for women and girls, Amnesty International writes:
When women, girls and LGBTI people are targeted with technology-facilitated gender-based violence, it is more dangerous for them to engage and participate in online conversations and benefit from digital technologies.
It can also lead to severe psychological harms that impact their mental health. This includes conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder, paranoia, depression, and anxiety, which can lead to self-harm. For instance, a higher proportion of transgender and gender-diverse people reported that being targeted online very negatively impacted their desire to live.
The intensely pervasive and consuming nature of gender-based violence online leads many people, including human rights defenders, to isolate themselves from online communities altogether. This makes online violence not only an issue of discrimination but also something that infringes on people’s freedom of expression and their political participation.
Being a target of technology-facilitated gender-based violence can also result in economic harms as women, girls and LGBTI people are forced to minimize their digital footprint. It also affects their access to a range of information and services and can lead to attacks and instances of violation and abuse in the offline world as well. [9]
The impact of sexual abuse imagery on women and girls. Regardless of the form the image-based sexual abuse takes, the weaponizing of these images and videos can destroy the lives of women and girls. Maintaining a “good” online identity has become essential in contemporary society. Applying for college or a job, online dating, even ordering an Uber or food delivery depend on a person’s ability to create a good online identity.[10] Beyond the damage to their future, women and girls often face deep emotional and psychological harm. Thirty years after the theft of her intimate video with her husband, Pamela Anderson, a rape survivor, equates the theft and release of the tape to being raped again.[11]
Other women who have experienced image-based sexual abuse, whether deepfakes or otherwise, also compare the experience to being sexually assaulted. Women have reported feeling so much shame about their body because of deepfake images that they couldn’t look in a mirror. One woman reported that she could not shower for days after she discovered deepfaked images of her online because she felt “so gross” and “didn’t want to see her body.” The first time she showered, “[when] she took her clothes off, and she walked past the mirror in the bathroom she just sobbed.”[12]
According to various experts, post-traumatic stress disorder is common among victims who often “can’t reach a place of psychological safety because their images are never fully deleted.”[13] Studies of victims indicate that these women and girls suffer other severe mental health affects as well, including anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and difficulty trusting loved ones. They are at increased risk of substance abuse, eating disorders, and self-harm. They are more likely to leave their jobs and they are more likely to experience major disruptions in their education.[14] The vulnerability of women and girls and their inability to protect themselves from the threat of image-based sexual abuse stops them from being able to fully and equally participate in public life, chilling their fundamental rights of association and free speech.
5) Why do men and boys commit this type of abuse. Moira Donegan, Writer in Residence at the Michelle R. Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University, testified in 2025 at an informational hearing held by this Committee on technology-facilitated male violence against women and girls:
One investigation by a researcher at Michigan State University found that perpetrators cite three types of motivation: to show off; to bully; and to seek revenge. . . Nonconsensual pornography aims to punish women for a perceived grievance men have against them, or to discipline a perceived transgression on the women’s part. It is wielded against women and girls who break up with men in whom they were no longer romantically interested, enforcing a punishment for defying men’s wishes. It is wielded against women who speak or behave in ways that men disagree with, enforcing a punishment for defying men’s standards.
In all cases, the message sent by nonconsensual pornography is one of men’s social domination over women. The message is that women and men are not equals, but that women must defer to men and that those who do not will be humiliated and made to suffer. And the infliction of this suffering is very much deliberate.[15]
One could argue that for many perpetrators, causing women and girls trauma and humiliating them is the point.
6) What this bill would do. This updates the definition of “sexual harassment” in the postsecondary Education Code to account for modern digital technologies, and requires California’s higher education institutions to develop and publish policies addressing technology-facilitated sexual harassment.
7) Analysis. In 2025, this Committee held an informational hearing on technology-facilitated male violence against women and girls. In the hearing, the Committee heard from experts on online misogyny and online sexual violence. This bill is one of several bills moving through the Legislature this year that addresses various aspects of this type of male violence, primarily as it pertains to nonconsensual deepfake sexual images.
While broader in terms of the types of technology-facilitated sexual abuse it addresses, it is narrower in that it is endeavoring to assist college students who are dealing with this abuse virtually every day and do not realize their school can help them. As noted earlier by the author, 1 in 7 survivors of online sexual abuse who were in college struggled to access support from their institutions. This research found that survivors of tech-facilitated sexual violence did not realize they could report or seek help for the incident or did not believe their university would take it seriously. Among the harms that this type of sexual assault is dropping out of school. Making sure that colleges are taking this kind of violence seriously and helping young women navigate this type of assault, could have a profound impact on the futures of these women.
As it pertains to this bill, the question before this Committee is whether the definitions in the bill adequately capture this particular type of violence. This bill covers the following types of online sexual violence:
- Cyber-sexual bullying
- Cyber stalking
- Digitized sexually explicit material
- Doxing
In addition, the definition of “technology-facilitated sexual harassment” broadly enough to cover other existing types of online sexual abuse and any additional ones as technology advances and becomes weaponized. However, one of the more prevalent types of online sexual violence is “sextortion.” Given the fact that is fairly common, the author has agreed to add the definition to the bill.
8) Amendments. The author has agreed to an amendment adding the following definition of “sextortion” to the definition of sexual harassment:
For the purposes of this section, “sextortion” means 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.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: Survivors+Allies, sponsors of the bill, write in support:
As generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) becomes widely available across California’s college campuses, image generation tools are increasingly putting women and LGBTQIA+ students at risk of technology-facilitated sexual harassment. Our 2025 study of California college students found that 70% of survivors of online sexual harm did not seek support from campus resources, reporting that they “felt [they] would not be taken seriously” and were “not aware [they] could reach out to a resource.” The definition of “sexual harassment” in California’s Education Code was developed before the widespread use of GenAI tools, and does not explicitly address harassment that occurs through, or is facilitated by, digital technologies.
AB2212 updates the definition of “sexual harassment” in the Education Code to account for modern digital technologies, and requires California’s higher education institutions to adopt and publish policies addressing technology-facilitated sexual harassment. Clear standards, transparent reporting mechanisms, and modernized definitions are essential to ensuring that students experiencing sexual harassment can access meaningful support. Updating institutional policies to explicitly address technology-facilitated sexual harassment will promote consistent campus responses, reduce stigma, and reinforce that digital abuse is no less serious than offline misconduct.
We hope that AB 2212 will also pave the way to provide more resources and information to students about how they can access support if they, or a peer, experiences tech-facilitated sexual violence. Our research shows that survivors overwhelmingly prefer confidential resources (such as survivor advocates) over reporting resources (such as the Title IX office), and that most survivors go to a peer for support first after experiencing sexual violence. By including tech-facilitated sexual violence in Education Code language and requiring universities to update their trainings and Title IX policies, we hope institutions will increase general student knowledge and awareness of the issue of tech-facilitated sexual violence and ensure students know how to access the resources that are right for them. Ultimately we hope AB 2212 will increase survivors’ autonomy and their sense of control over how they seek support for tech-facilitated sexual violence.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Survivors + Allies (Sponsor)
ASUC Sexual Violence Commission
Cal State Student Association
California Women's Law Center
Courage California
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Equal Rights Advocates
Sexual Violence Prevention Association
TechTonic Justice
The Survivors Pro Bono
University of California Student Association
Valor US
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by: Julie Salley / P. & C.P. / (916) 319-2200
United Nations Population Fund, State of World Population (April, 2021) accessed at https://aa.unfpa.org/sowp-2021. ↑
There are two ways of spelling “doxing.” It is often spelled with one x, as it is in this paper, but it can also be spelled with two xxs, as in “doxxing.” Both are correct. The Committee has chosen to use “doxing” in keeping with the way a similar word, “boxing”, is spelled. ↑
Kate Gibbons, “Women now ‘expect to be abused online,’” The Times of London (Feb. 28, 2024) accessed at https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/women-now-expect-to-be-abused-online-76gqg6wht?region=global ↑
Katy Shelton, OU research reveals shocking level of online violence experienced by women and girls across the UK, The Open University, accessed at https://research.open.ac.uk/news/ou-research-reveals-shocking-level-online-violence-experienced-women-and-girls-across-uk. ↑
Ibid. ↑
“Measuring the prevalence of online violence against women,” The Economist (Mar. 1, 2021) accessed at https://onlineviolencewomen.eiu.com/ ↑
How Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence Impacts Women and Girls, United Nations Regional Information Centre of Western Europe (Nov. 11, 2023) accessed at https://unric.org/en/how-technology-facilitated-gender-based-violence-impacts-women-and-girls/ ↑
Hannah Moore. “‘We get bombarded’: study reveals ‘shocking’ impact of online abuse on girls,” The Guardian, (Sep. 15, 2023) accessed at https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/sep/15/girlguiding-study-reveals-shocking-impact-of-online-abuse-on-girls ↑
Online Violence, Amnesty International accessed at https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/technology/online-violence/ ↑
Sophie Maddocks, Image-Based Abuse: A Threat to Privacy, Safety, and Speech, MediaWell (Mar. 15, 2023) https://mediawell.ssrc.org/research-reviews/image-based-abuse-a-threat-to-privacy-safety-and-speech/. ↑
PAMELA a love story, 2023, available on Netflix. ↑
Jess Davies. “I investigated deepfake technology and found hundreds of men using it to create non-consensual porn,” Glamour UK (Feb. 6, 2024) https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/deepfake-porn-twitch-scandal ↑
Sophie Maddocks (2023) ↑
Testimony by Moira Donegan before this Committee on February 25, 2025. ↑
Testimony taken from an automatically generated transcript of Ms. Donegan’s testimony. https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/hearings/258546. ↑
Date of Hearing: April 14, 2026
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Mike Fong, Chair
ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2212 (
Author:Bauer-Kahan) – As Amended Ver:April 6, 2026
[Note: This bill is double referred to the Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protections, where the Committee will hear it as it relates to issues under its jurisdiction.]
SUBJECT: Postsecondary education: sexual harassment, harassment, intimidation, and bullying policies: student orientation and training
SUMMARY: Amends the Education Code to include definitions of technology-facilitated sexual harassment and digitized sexually explicit materials; and, requires postsecondary education institutions to update and create an array of policies pertaining to sexual harassment to address the new definitions of technology-facilitated sexual harassment and digitized sexually explicit materials. Specifically, this bill:
- Repeals and replaces Education Code Section 66262.5 with expanded definitions for the Equity in Higher Education Act, including the Sex Equity Act. Defines the following terms:
- “Affirmative consent” as affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity. It is the responsibility of each person involved in the sexual activity to ensure that each person has provided affirmative consent to all those engaged in the sexual activity. The lack of protest or resistance of a person does not mean consent nor does silence mean consent. Affirmative consent must be provided throughout the sexual activity and can be revoked by any person at any time. The existence between the persons involved, or any past sexual relations, should never by itself be assumed to be an indicator of consent;
- “Cyber sexual bullying” as:
- The dissemination of, or the solicitation or incitement to disseminate, a photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording by means of an electronic act that has or can be reasonably predicted to have one or more of the following effects:
- Placing a reasonable person in fear of harm to that person or their property;
- Causing a reasonable person to experience a substantially detrimental effect on the person’s physical or mental health;
- Causing a reasonable person to experience substantial interference with the person’s academic performance, work, or employment; and,
- Causing a reasonable person to experience substantial interference with the person’s ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by a higher education institution;
- A photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording that includes the depiction of a nude, seminude, or sexually explicit photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording of a person in which the person is identifiable from the photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, visual recording, or other electronic act; and,
- Not a depiction, portrayal, or image that has any serious literary, artistic, educational, political, or scientific value or that involves athletic events or sanctioned activities by a higher education institution;
- The dissemination of, or the solicitation or incitement to disseminate, a photograph, digitized sexually explicit material, or other visual recording by means of an electronic act that has or can be reasonably predicted to have one or more of the following effects:
- “Cyber stalking” as stalking by means of an electronic communication devise. For purposes of this definition, “stalking” and electronic device have the same definitions as the terms in Penal Code Section 646.9;
- “Depicted individual” as an individual who is portrayed in sexually explicit materials;
- Digitization” as a process where any of the below are realistically depicted:
- The nude body parts of another human being as the nude body parts of the depicted individual;
- Computer-generated nude body parts as the nude body parts of the depicted individual; and,
- The depicted individual engaging in sexual conduct in which the depicted individual did not engage;
- “Digitized sexual explicit materials” as any portion of a visual or audiovisual work created or substantially altered through digitization, including an image, that shows the depicted individual in the nude or appearing to engage in, or being subjected to, sexual conduct.
- “Doxing” as an act when a person, with intent to place another person in reasonable fear for their safety, or the safety of the other person’s immediate family, by means of an electronic communication device, and without written consent of the other person, and, for the purpose of imminently causing that other person unwanted physical contact, injury, or harassment by a third party, electronically distributes, publishes, emails, hyperlinks, or makes available for downloading, personal identifying information, including, but not limited to, a digital image of another person, or an electronic message of a harassing nature about another person, that would be likely to incite or produce that unwanted physical contact, injury, or harassment by a third party.
- “Electronic act” as the creation or transmission by means of an electronic device, including, but not limited to, a telephone, wireless telephone, or other wireless communication device, computer, or pager, of a communication, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
- A message, text, sound, video, or image;
- A post on a social network internet website or social media platform, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
- Posting to or creating a burn page. “Burn page” means an internet website created for the purpose of having one or more of the effects, as defined.
- Creating a credible impersonation of another actual person for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed as defined. “Credible impersonation” means to knowingly and without consent impersonate a person for the purpose of bullying the person such that another person would reasonably believe, or has reasonably believed, that the person was or is the person who was impersonated; and,
- Creating a false profile for the purpose of having one or more of the effects, as defined. “False profile” means a profile of a fictitious person or a profile using the likeness or attributes of an actual person other than the person who created the false profile; and,
- An act of technology-facilitated sexual harassment;
- “Sexual battery” as the intentional touching of another person’s intimate parts without consent, intentionally causing a person to touch the intimate parts of another without consent, or using a person’s own intimate part to intentionally touch another person’s body without affirmative consent.
- “Sexual conduct” as any of the following:
- Masturbation;
- Sexual intercourse, including genital, oral, or anal, whether between persons regardless of sex or gender or between humans and animal;
- Sexual penetration of the vagina or rectum by, or with, an object;
- The transfer of semen by means of sexual conduct from the penis directly onto the depicted individual as a result of ejaculation; and,
- Sadomasochistic abuse involving the depicted individual;
- “Sexual exploitation” as a person taking sexual advantage of another person for the benefit of anyone other than that person without that person’s affirmative consent, including, but not limited to, any of the following acts:
- The prostituting of another person;
- The trafficking of another person, defined as the inducement of a person to perform a commercial sex act, or labor or services, through force, fraud, or coercion;
- The recording of images, including video or photograph, or audio, of another person’s sexual activity or intimate parts, without that person’s affirmative consent;
- The distribution of images, including video or photograph, or audio, of another person’s sexual activity or intimate parts, if the individual distributing the images, video, photograph, or audio knows or should have known that the person depicted in the images, video, photograph, or audio did not provide affirmative consent to the disclosure;
- The viewing of another person’s sexual activity or intimate parts in a place where that other person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy, without that person’s affirmative consent, for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire;
- The creation, generation, or distribution of digitized sexually explicit materials without the written consent of the depicted individual or individuals;
- The creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material of another person’s sexual activity or intimate parts, without that person’s written consent; and,
- The distribution of digitized sexually explicit material of another person’s sexual activity or intimate parts, if the individual distributing the digitized sexually explicit material knows or should have known that the person depicted in the digitized sexually explicit material did not provide written consent to the disclosure.
- “Sexual harassment” as the following:
- Sexual exploitation, sexual violence and, sexual battery;
- Technology facilitated sexual harassment including, but not limited to: cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, and doxing;
- A form of sex discrimination prohibited by Section 66270; and,
- Any unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature, made by someone from or in a work or educational setting, under any of the following conditions:
- Submission to the conduct is explicitly or implicitly made a term or a condition of an individual’s employment, academic status, or progress;
- Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis of employment or academic decisions affecting the individual;
- The conduct has the purpose or effect of having a negative impact upon the individual’s work or academic performance, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or educational environment; and,
- Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis for a decision affecting the individual regarding benefits and services, honors, programs, or activities available at or through the educational institution;
- “Sexual violence” as a physical sexual act perpetrated against a person without the person’s affirmative consent. Physical sexual acts include both of the following:
- Rape, defined as penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any part or object, or oral copulation of a sex organ by another person, without the affirmative consent of the victim; and,
- Sexual battery;
- “Technology-facilitated sexual harassment” as the following:
- Sexual harassment that occurs on, or is facilitated by, digital platforms or digital technologies; and,
- “Technology-facilitated sexual harassment” includes, but is not limited to, cyber sexual bullying, cyber stalking, and doxing;
- “Written consent” means all of the following:
- An agreement written in plain language signed knowingly and voluntarily by the depicted individual that includes a general description of the digitized sexually explicit material and the visual or audiovisual work in which it will be incorporated;
- A written notice of rescinded consent by a depicted individual within three business days from the date consent was given to the person in whose favor consent was made, unless one of the following requirements is satisfied:
- The depicted individual is given at least 72 hours to review the terms of the agreement before signing the agreement; and,
- The depicted individual’s authorized representative provides written approval of the signed agreement.
- Requires each state aided postsecondary education institution to update any institutional policy pertaining to sexual harassment to include the following:
- A prohibition on the public disclosure of the creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material without the written consent of the depicted individual(s); and,
- A policy that the disclosure of digitized sexually explicit material without the written consent of the depicted individual(s) is: sexual exploitation, a violation of the institution’s policies, and will result in a disciplinary action.
- Requires the policy established in (2) to be incorporated in the California State University’s single, systemwide nondiscrimination policy.
- Requires the policy established in (2) to be incorporated in the University of California’s single, systemwide nondiscrimination policy.
- Finds and declares in the absences of federal funding on the impacts of sexual harassment, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, the Legislature finds it a moral imperative for the State to address this gap in research funding.
- Authorizes the University of California, Los Angeles Center for the Study of Women (Center), upon an appropriation from the budget act, to facilitate research on the quality of life of students at public postsecondary education institutions. The Center is to award grants to universities, institutions, and organization to conduct research on the prevention of, and adjudication of reports of, sexual harassment, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment on campus. The research will include, but is not limited to the following:
- A comprehensive statewide study of student’s experience with campus climate, campus safety, and the institution’s grievance procedures for a sexual harassment complaint at the University of California (UC), the California State University (CSU), and the California Community Colleges (CCC);
- The prevalence of digitized sexually explicit materials on CCC, CSU, and UC campuses; and the best practices to prevent and address digitized sexually explicit materials at the CCC, CSU, and UC; and,
- The prevalence of technology-facilitated sexual harassment on CCC, CSU, and UC campuses; and the best practices to prevent and address technology-facilitated sexual harassment at the CCC, CSU, and UC.
- Requires the CCC, CSU, and UC to do the following, if the institutions wish to receive state financial assistance (individually not collectively):
- Adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying;
- Include the policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying in the institution’s code of conduct for students; and,
- Publish the policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying on the internet website of each CCC, CSU, and UC campus;
- Provide the policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying as part of the educational material for student orientations and,
- Include the policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying as part of any printed materials on the student’s code of conduct.
- Requires each campus of the CCC and the CSU, and requests the UC, the independent institutions of higher education, and private postsecondary educational institutions, to post educational materials and prevention information on sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment on its campus internet website.
- Updates the educational and prevention information provided as part of student orientations or on the internet website of the postsecondary education institution to include all of the following:
- Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment;
- What is considered sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment, including information on how to file campus-based sexual harassment complaints and how to file criminal charges with law enforcement;
- The contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment;
- Methods of providing peer support for survivors and the type of sanctions for respondents;
- Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing acts of sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, and sexual harassment;
- What is digitized sexually explicit material, including information on the prohibition of the public disclosure of the creation or generation of digitized sexually explicit material to the campus’ policies; and,
- What constitutes affirmative consent and written consent as defined in Section 66262.5.
- Requires the existing annual prevention training on sexual harassment offered by CCC, CSU, independent institutions of higher education, and private postsecondary education institutions to be updated by September 1, 2027 to include:
- Common facts and myths about the causes of sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment;
- Definitions for sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including information on how to sexual harassment complaints with campus and how to file criminal charges with law enforcement;
- The contact information for, campus and community resources for students who are victims of sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment;
- Methods of providing peer support for survivors and the type of sanctions for respondents;
- Information regarding campus, criminal, and civil consequences of committing sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated sexual harassment;
- The contact information of a Title IX coordinator, or a similar position; and,
- The contact information for, campus, community, and online resources for victims of sexual exploitation or technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including how to help take down digitized sexually explicit material.
- Requires the CCC and CSU, and request the UC, to develop policies to encourage students to report any campus crimes involving sexual assault, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, or sexual harassment to the appropriate campus authorities.
- Urges campuses to adopt policies to eliminate barriers for survivors who elect to report incidents of sexual assault, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, technology-facilitated sexual harassment, or sexual harassment and to advise students of these policies. The policies may include exempting the survivor from campus sanctions for being in violation of another campus policies at the time of the incident.
- Makes technical updates to the definition of sexual harassment for the following Education Code Section:
- Education Code Section 92612.1;
- Education Code Section 89521;
- Education Code Section 87604.5; and,
- Education Code Section 66281.8.
- Repeals Education Code Section 66302.5 as it will be made redundant.
- Makes technical and confirming changes to the Education Code.
- States if the Commission on State Mandates determines there is a cost associated with the implementation of the measure, the State will reimburse local agencies and school districts for the determined cost.
EXISTING LAW: Federal law.
- No person in the United States will, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance except for specified circumstances including membership of fraternities and sororities (United States Code Title 20, Chapter 38, Section 1681… colloquially known as Title IX).
- Outlines the required response pursuant to Title IX, of a postsecondary higher education institution when the institution is made aware of an alleged sexual harassment incident on campus. The regulations include a requirement for a formal complaint, a grievance procedure for an investigation into whether the incident based on a standard of evidence occurred, and a method of appealing the outcome of the grievance process (Federal Code of Regulations Title 34, Subtitle B, Chapter 1, Subpart D, Section 106.45).
- Defines sexual harassment as conduct on the basis of sex that satisfies at least one of the following:
- An employee of the postsecondary education institution conditions aid, benefit, or services to a recipient on the individual’s participation in unwelcome sexual conduct;
- Unwelcome conduct determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the recipient’s education program or activity; and,
- Sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking, as defined in the United States Code (Federal Code of Regulations, Title 34, Subpart D, Section 106.30).
State law.
- Defines sexual harassment and sexual violence as the following:
- “Sexual harassment” as sexual battery, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, and unwelcomed sexual advances request for sexual favors and other verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature made by someone from or in the work or educational setting in which specific conditions are met. Clarifies sexual harassment of students is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by the Equity in Higher Education Act; and,
- “Sexual violence” as a physical sexual act perpetrated against a person without the affirmed consent of the survivor, as defined. Physical sexual acts include rape, sexual batter, sexual exploitation, prostituting another person, trafficking another person, recording images of the person during the act without consent, distributions of said images without consent, or viewing a person’s intimate moments in which privacy is expected without consent, as defined (Education Code (EDC) Section 66262.5).
- Mandates, the CCC, the CSU, and any independent institution of higher education or private postsecondary education institutions that receives state financial assistance to provide annual sexual harassment and sexual violence prevention training to students, as specified. Requests the UC to provide the annual training to students (EDC Section 67385.7).
- Requires the governing board of the CCC to adopt a standard of practice, when hiring for an academic, athletic, or administrative position that requires an applicant to disclose whether they have been the subject of any final administrative or judicial decision with regards to sexual harassment in the last seven years. Permits the applicant to also disclose whether they are appealing the decision to either their previous employer or the United States Department of Education. Authorize the community college to ask for disclosure in the final stages of the employment process. Requires the CCC to conduct an employment background check to determine if the applicant has any substantiated allegations of misconduct with previous employers (EDC Section 87604.5).
- Requires the CSU to adopt a standard of practice, when hiring for an academic, athletic, or administrative position that requires an applicant to disclose whether they have been the subject of any final administrative or judicial decision with regards to sexual harassment in the last seven years. Permits the applicant to also disclose whether they are appealing the decision to either their previous employer or the United States Department of Education. Authorize the CSU to ask for the disclosure in the final stages of the employment process. Requires the CSU to conduct an employment background check to determine if the applicant has any substantiated allegations of misconduct with previous employers (EDC Section 89521).
- Requests the UC to adopt a standard of practice, when hiring for an academic, athletic, or administrative position that requires an applicant to disclose whether they have been the subject of any final administrative or judicial decision with regards to sexual harassment in the last seven years. Permits the applicant to also disclose whether they are appealing the decision to either their previous employer or the United States Department of Education. Authorize the UC to ask for the disclosure in the final stages of the employment process. Requests the UC to conduct an employment background check to determine if the applicant has any substantiated allegations of misconduct with previous employers (EDC Section 92612.1).
- Requests the independent colleges and universities, which receive state financial aid to adopt a standard of practice, when hiring for an academic, athletic, or administrative position that requires an applicant to disclose whether they have been the subject of any final administrative or judicial decision with regards to sexual harassment in the last seven years. Permits the applicant to also disclose whether they are appealing the decision to either their previous employer or the United States Department of Education. Authorize the independent colleges and universities, which receive state financial aid to ask for the disclosure in the final stages of the employment process independent colleges and universities, which receive state financial aid. Requests the independent colleges and universities to conduct an employment background check to determine if the applicant has any substantiated allegations of misconduct with previous employers (EDC Section 66281.9).
- Requires the CSU and the community college to adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying. States it is the intent of the Legislature for these policies to be included on the internet website of each of the public higher education institution’s website and as part of the student code of conduct publications. Request the UC to adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying (EDC Section 66302).
- Requires the CSU and requests the UC to provide educational materials on cyberbullying during their respective campus orientations (EDC Section 66302.5).
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS: Author’s statement. According to the author, “the definition of ‘sexual harassment’ in California’s Education Code was developed before generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools became widely available. As a result, higher education institutions lack uniform standards for defining, investigating, and remediating technology-facilitated sexual harassment. AB 2212, the HEAR Survivors Act, updates the definition of ‘sexual harassment’ in the Education Code to account for modern digital technologies, and requires that California’s higher education institutions adopt and publish policies addressing technology-facilitated sexual harassment. Updating these terms and policies in the Education Code promotes consistent campus responses, reduces stigma, and reinforces that digital abuse is no less serious than offline misconduct.”
Purpose of the measure. The HEAR Survivors Act or AB 2212 (Bauer-Kahan) intends to do the following:
- Update the definitions of the Equity in Higher Education Act to include a definition of technology-facilitated sexual harassment and to update the definitions of sexual exploitation to include the generation, creation, and distribution of digitized sexually explicit materials without consent. By amending the definition section, any reference to sexual harassment in the Sex Equity Act will now include technology-facilitated sexual harassment and the new definition of sexual exploitation.
Therefore, AB 2212 (Bauer-Kahan) requires all postsecondary education institutions to update any policy regarding sexual harassment to include the new definitions;
- Requires each postsecondary institution to update their policies on the prevention of sexual harassment to include a prohibition on the public disclosure of digitized sexually explicit materials;
- Authorizes the UCLA Center for the Study of Women to conduct research on student’s experiences with a postsecondary education institution’s sexual harassment grievance procedure. The research will also include the prevalence of digitized sexually explicit materials and technology-facilitated sexual harassment;
- Updates the education and prevention information provided to students during orientation and available on postsecondary education institution’s websites to include information on technology-facilitated sexual harassment;
- Updates sexual harassment prevention trainings provided to students to include information on technology-facilitated sexual harassment; and,
- Requires the CCC, CSU, and UC to adopt policies on bullying, harassment, and intimidation. The policies will be incorporated into the educational material provided at orientation and will be displayed on each campus’ internet websites.
While this measure adds a myriad of new terms to the Equity in Higher Education Act, only the inclusion of “technology-facilitated sexual harassment” and the edits to “sexual exploitation” would constitute as new language being introduced to the California law. Below is the array of “new” definitions to the Equity in Higher Education Act and their originating source in the California Code:
Term | Location in California Code Sections |
Affirmative Consent | EDC Section 67388 |
Cyber sexual bullying | EDC Section 48900 |
Cyber stalking | Civil Code Section 646.9 |
Depicted individual, Digitization, Digitized sexually explicit material, Written consent, and Sexual conduct | Civil Code Section 1708.86 |
Doxing | Civil Code Section 1708.89 |
Electronic Act | EDC Section 48900 |
Sexual conduct | EDC Section 66262.5 |
Sexual harassment | A combination of EDC 66262.5 and 212.5 |
Sexual violence | EDC Section 66262.5 |
Sexual battery | EDC Section 66262.5 |
What is technology – facilitated sexual harassment? The United Nations Population Fund identifies technology – facilitated sexual harassment as “an act of violence perpetrated by one or more individuals that is committed, assisted, aggravated, or amplified in part or fully by the use of information and communication technologies or digital media against a person on the basis of gender.”[1] The act of technology – facilitated sexual harassment can take many forms including “sextortion (blackmail by threatening to publish sexual information, photos or videos); image-based abuse (sharing intimate photos without consent); doxxing (publishing private personal information); cyberbullying; online gender and sexual harassment; cyberstalking; online grooming for sexual assault; hacking; hate speech; online impersonation; and using technology to locate survivors of abuse in order to inflict further violence.”1 A correlation exists between the increase in societies dependence on technology and the increase in the frequency that women experience online sexual violence.
On February 25, 2025, the Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Affairs (Privacy) held a hearing on “Technology-facilitated male violence against women and girls.” Included in the background document completed by the Privacy staff was the following:
“In 2023, Open University surveyed 7,500 adults across the UK in the largest study to date on the experience of women online when it comes to cyber-violence. In the survey, over one in 10 women reported that they had experienced online violence and three in 10 had witnessed it. Even more significantly, those figures amongst young women age 16 to 25 increase to 25%, and for LGBTQ women, to 35%. Over one in eight women who experienced online violence said it had progressed to offline violence. In a global survey in 2020, with a smaller sample size, The Economist Intelligence Unit reported that more than half of the survey respondents who had experienced online violence knew the perpetrator. In addition, 74% expressed concern about online abuse escalating to offline violence. Online violence against women discourages their online engagement. Nearly nine out of 10 women report restricting their online activity, which limits the access to employment, education, healthcare, and community.”[2]
The prevalence of technology – facilitated sexual harassment is not limited to women and girls. The Journal of Child Sexual Abuse published a peer-reviewed paper entitled “Rates, Risk Factors, and Consequences of Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence in the U.S. Population: A Survey Study.”[3] Researchers surveyed 943 adults in the United States and determined there was no significant difference in gender of the person who identified as experiencing technology – facilitated sexual harassment. Furthermore, the study found the populations of LGBTQ+ and Hispanic/Latino survey respondents were more likely to experience technology – facilitated sexual harassment. 67.9% of survey respondents experienced a form of technology – facilitated sexual harassment and the majority of respondents found the incident “deeply upsetting.”3 The paper urged lawmakers to adopt policies aimed at (1) defining technology – facilitated sexual harassment, (2) increasing educational programs to raise awareness of technology – facilitated sexual harassment, and (3) integrating technology – facilitated sexual harassment into existing sexual harassment laws to provide justice and protections for survivors of the harassment.[4]
AB 2212 (Bauer-Kahan) seeks to implement the key recommendations as identified by researchers as elemental in preventing and reversing the adverse impacts of technology – facilitated sexual harassment upon society.
Technology – facilitated sexual harassment policies on college campuses. A study published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, presented research on college-age women’s experiences with technology – facilitated sexual harassment. The study found in the online digital space 84% of college-age women received sexually inappropriate messages and 74% received sexist comments.[5] Survivors + Allies published preliminary findings of 2025 Institutional Review Board approved research study on the impacts of technology – facilitated sexual harassment on college students at the CCC, CSU, and UC. The preliminary findings included:
- 1 in 7 students who identified as experiencing sexual harassment reported experiencing online sexual harm; and,
- 70% of those survivors never reached out to their campus for support.[6]
The prevalence of college – age individuals experiencing technology – facilitated sexual harassment aligns as this age group are the predominately users of digital platforms and generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools. However, higher education institutions have been slow to update policies and procedures regarding the permissive use of digital online platforms and GenAI tools by students and employees on campus.
In August 2025, the Assembly Committee on Higher Education (AHED) held a joint oversight hearing with the Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protections to discuss “California State University’s Artificial Intelligence-Empowered Initiatives.” Testimony was provided by students and faculty on the impact of the contract with ChatGPT Edu. The testimony provided during the hearing demonstrated the CSU had not adequately provided training to staff and students on how to appropriately use the generative AI technology in a way that is conducive to a safe and equitable learning environment. Students and staff provided evidence of how easy the tool could be used as a platform for technology-facilitated sexual harassment. The Chair of the AHED asked how a student could report technology-facilitated sexual harassment to the institution and who would be responsible for taking corrective action and the answer was murky at best.
After the hearing, additional documentation was provided to AHED Committee staff by the CSU with answer to some of the questions postulated during the hearing. The following is the CSU’s response to the institution’s responsibilities in addressing technology-facilitated sexual harassment:
“State law (SB 926, Wahab, 2024) already makes it illegal to create and distribute sexually explicit images of a real person that appear authentic, when intended to cause that person serious emotional distress. If a CSU student uses AI to do this they would be subject to both criminal investigations and their university’s code of conduct (and possibly subject to the CSU’s nondiscrimination policy). After the student conduct investigation and hearings, sanctions can include everything from removal from student organizations to denial of access to campus to expulsion.”
In preparation for this analysis, AHED Committee staff examined the systemwide nondiscrimination policies of the CSU and UC in search of language regarding technology-facilitated sexual harassment or online sexual harassment. The UC did not include technology-facilitated sexual harassment definitions in their sexual harassment and sexual violence policies.[7] The CSU included a very limited definition of technology-facilitated sexual harassment in the institution’s definition of sexual exploitation: “The distribution of images, including video or photographs, or audio of another person's sexual activity or private body parts, if the individual distributing the images or audio knows or should have known that the person depicted in the images or audio did not consent to the disclosure. This includes distribution of digitally altered or artificial-intelligence-generated images, video, and audio.”[8]
Committee staff note the CCC system does not have a systemwide nondiscrimination policy and each community college district is authorized to adopt its own policy in compliance with state and federal law.
Committee staff reviewed the policies of a sampling of community college districts located throughout the state and only one of the community college district reviewed included online harassment in their nondiscrimination policies and procedures.
AB 2212 (Bauer-Kahan) rectifies the absence of technology-facilitated sexual harassment prohibitions in postsecondary education institution’s policies by requiring campuses to update their policies to reflect the new definitions.
Patsy Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act (Title IX) and technology-facilitated sexual harassment. The current regulations governing the implementation of the Title IX for postsecondary education institutions does not include a definition of technology-facilitated sexual harassment. The regulations require a postsecondary education institution to respond to an incident of sexual harassment if it occurs in an educational program or activity in the United States, if the institution had substantial control over both the respondent and the context in which the sexual harassment occurs (34 US Code of Regulations Part 106, Subpart D, Section 106.44). By this definition, one could assume Title IX does not include digital platforms or GenAI tools since the institutions does not have “substantial control” over the student’s use.
In January 2025, the U.S. Department of Education published guidance on “Online or Digital Sexual Harassment under the 2020 Title IX Regulations.” The guidance stated, “Title IX requires a school to address sexual harassment in its education program or activity, including harassment that occurs online or using technology.”[9] The guidance further contends “harassment can be carried out by school staff, a student, or another person. It can occur in-person or online, including emails, texts, or messages, apps, or other technologies.”9 Examples of online harassment that would be covered by Title IX according to the guidance, includes:
- Unwelcome conduct on social media platforms that is sexually demeaning or containing threats of violence;
- Nonconsensual texting, posting, or otherwise sharing of intimate images of a person whether real, altered, or created through an AI generated tool; and
- Stalking using technology; which includes, creating fake social media accounts to harass another individual.
Based on the definitions and examples provided in the U.S. Department of Education’s January 2025 Title IX guidance, the majority of the provisions in AB 2212 (Bauer-Kahan) should already be implemented by postsecondary education institutions in California. However, concerns have been raised that federal definition of sexual harassment is narrow in scope and does not cover every incident of sexual harassment on campus. Therefore, AB 2212 (Bauer-Kahan) is a necessary step in providing additional protections from technology-facilitated sexual harassment that are not currently provided within the scope of Title IX nor in the California’s Higher Education Sex Equity Act.
Arguments in support. ValorUS, a California sexual assault coalition representing 84 rape crisis centers and other organizations dedicated to ending sexual violence, is in support of AB 2212 because: “the definition of ‘sexual harassment’ in California’s Education Code was developed before the widespread use of GenAI tools, and does not explicitly address harassment that occurs through, or is facilitated by, digital technologies. AB 2212 updates the definition of ‘sexual harassment’ in the Education Code to account for modern digital technologies and requires California’s higher education institutions to adopt and publish policies addressing technology-facilitated sexual harassment. Clear standards, transparent reporting mechanisms, and modernized definitions are essential to ensuring that students experiencing sexual harassment can access meaningful support. Updating institutional policies to explicitly address technology-facilitated sexual harassment will promote consistent campus responses, reduce stigma, and reinforce that digital abuse is no less serious than offline misconduct.”
The California’s Women Law Center states their support for the measure, as they “support policies that strengthen institutional accountability, promote survivor access to support, and respond to evolving forms of sexual harassment. AB 2212 advances these goals by updating the definition of sexual harassment in California’s Education Code to reflect technology-facilitated harm and by requiring higher education institutions to adopt and publish policies addressing this conduct.”
The Cal State Student Association is in support, as “AB 2212 is a critical and timely measure that modernizes campus policies to address emerging forms of harassment and exploitation, particularly those facilitated by technology. The bill expands existing protections under the Equity in Higher Education Act by defining and prohibiting the nonconsensual creation and distribution of digitized sexually explicit material, recognizing such actions as sexual exploitation. These updates reflect the realities students face in an increasingly digital world, where harm can occur rapidly and at scale. Importantly, AB 2212 ensures that institutions receiving state financial aid funding adopt clear, enforceable policies and provide education and prevention information during student orientation and training. These requirements will help foster safer campus environments and ensure that students are aware of their rights and available resources from the moment they enroll…Additionally, AB 2212 invests in research to better understand campus climate and improve institutional responses to sexual harassment, violence, and exploitation. By supporting evidence-based strategies, California can continue to lead the nation in protecting student safety and well-being.”
Committee comments. In the last decade, California has been a leader in addressing forms of discrimination on collegiate campuses. Whether it was adopting definitions of informed consent or updating definitions to guarantee all forms of sexual harassment are addressed by higher education institutions, California has always sought to require policies that are trauma-informed and focused on imposing accountability with a focus on prevention of future incidents.
AB 2212 (Bauer-Kahan) is reflective of California’s moral imperative to provide equitable access to education by ensuring all forms of sexual harassment whether they occur in the digital space or in-person are addressed by higher education institutions.
To provide clarity on the author’s intentions for the measure, the Committee has suggested and the author has accepted the following amendments:
- Amends the definition of sexual exploitation to reinforce the author’s intent that clear and distinct consent should be provided for the generation, creation, and distribution of digitized sexually explicit materials. Amends Section 66262.5, subdivision (k), paragraph (6) to read as follows:
(6) The creation, generation, or distribution of digitized sexually explicit materials without the distinct and separate written consent of the depicted individual or individuals for each such act.
- Amends to require postsecondary education institutions to provide a list of organizations to assist students and staff with the removal of digitized sexually explicit materials from digital platforms. Adds Section 66286, subdivision (b) to include paragraph (3) to read as follows:
(3) A list of organizations to assist students and employees with the removal of digitized sexually explicit material from digital platforms. The list shall include, but is not limited to all of the following:
(A) Contact information for the Cyber Civil Rights Legal Project.
(B) Information on organizations that specialize in assisting in the removal of digitized sexually explicit material from digital platforms, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(i) Take It Down.
(ii) Stop Non-Consensual Intimate Image Abuse (StopNCII.org).
(iii) Revenge Porn Helpline.
(iv) South West Grid for Learning - Safe, Secure, Online.
(C) Information on the federal and state rights afforded to someone who has been subjected to the nonconsensual sharing of digitized sexually explicit material.
(D) Contact information for legal firms who may assist the student in filing a civil or criminal case for the removal of the digitized sexually explicit material.
(E) Campus resources available to the student who is a victim of sexual harassment or sexual exploitation due to the digitized sexually explicit material.
- Amends to address concerns raised on how UCLA’s Center for the Study of Women is to distribute the grants for research. Amends Section 66293.5 to read as follows:
66293.5. (a) In the absence of federal funding to examine the quality of life of students, faculty, and staff on campuses for the purpose of evaluating incidents of sexual harassment, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment for the expressed purpose of improving campus-based resources, services, and communications available to victims, the Legislature finds and declares that it is a moral imperative for the state to address this gap in funding for research.
(b) Upon an appropriation in the annual Budget Act, the University of California, Los Angeles Center for the Study of Women shall facilitate research on the prevention of and the adjudication of reports of sexual harassment, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment at postsecondary education institutions. The research shall include, but is not limited to all of the following: on the quality of life of students at public postsecondary educational institutions by awarding grants to universities, institutes, and organizations to conduct research on the prevention of, and adjudication of reports of, sexual harassment, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment on campus. The research shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(1) A comprehensive study of a student’s sense of safety on campus and interactions with campus resources that serve survivors of sexual harassment, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including but not limited to Title IX offices and confidential advocates. 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 of a complaint as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.) or state law, across the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges.
(2) The prevalence of digitized sexually explicit materials at postsecondary educational institutions and best practices to prevent and address digitized sexually explicit materials at postsecondary educational institutions.
(3) The prevalence of technology-facilitated sexual harassment at postsecondary educational institutions and best practices to prevent and address technology-facilitated sexual harassment at postsecondary educational institutions.
(c) For purposes of this section, “postsecondary educational institution” means a community college, a campus of the California State University, a campus of the University of California, or the College of the Law, San Francisco.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
ASUC Sexual Violence Commission
Cal State Student Association
California Women's Law Center
Courage California
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Equal Rights Advocates
Kapor Center Advocacy
Sexual Violence Prevention Association
Survivors + Allies
Techtonic Justice
The Survivors Pro Bono
University of California Student Association
Valor US
Vera Institute of Justice
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by: Ellen Cesaretti-Monroy / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960
https://www.unfpa.org/TFGBV ↑
https://apcp.assembly.ca.gov/media/866 ↑
Sorochinski, M., & Wall, A. K. (2025). Rates, Risk Factors, and Consequences of Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence in the U.S. Adult Population: A Survey Study. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 34(4), 424–445. https://doi-org.castatelib.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/10538712.2025.2517546 ↑
Sorochinski, M., & Wall, A. K. (2025). Rates, Risk Factors, and Consequences of Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence in the U.S. Adult Population: A Survey Study. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 34(4), 424–445. https://doi-org.castatelib.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/10538712.2025.2517546 ↑
Salerno-Ferraro, A. C., Erentzen, C., & Schuller, R. A. (2022). Young Women’s Experiences With Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence From Male Strangers. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(19-20), NP17860-NP17885. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/08862605211030018 ↑
https://csw.ucla.edu/research/sexual-violence-and-intersectionality/survivors-allies/ ↑
https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4000385/SVSH ↑
https://calstate.policystat.com/policy/17647883/latest/ ↑
https://www.ed.gov/media/document/digital-sexual-harassment-under-2020-title-ix-regulations-109318.pdf ↑
Discussed in Hearing
1MIN
Assembly Floor
2MIN
Senate Floor
10MIN
Senate Standing Committee on Privacy, Digital Technologies, and Consumer Protection
8MIN
Senate Standing Committee on Judiciary
5MIN
Senate Standing Committee on Education
43SEC
Assembly Floor
6MIN
Assembly Standing Committee on Higher Education
Bill Author
