(1)Existing federal law, known as Title IX, prohibits a person, on the basis of sex, from being excluded from participation in, being denied the benefits of, or being subject to discrimination under, any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. Existing state law, the Sex Equity in Education Act, requires public schools, private schools that receive federal funds and are subject to the requirements of Title IX, school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to post in a prominent and conspicuous location on their internet websites specified information relating to Title IX.

This bill would require the State Department of Education to, on or before January 1, 2028, review the existing California School Climate, Health, and Learning Surveys system to identify areas of the surveys where age-appropriate questions related to sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual abuse safety can be incorporated, as provided.

The bill would declare the first 2 full weeks in April and the first 2 full weeks second full week in September as Sexual Harassment Safety Weeks, Week, during which time the bill would require all public schools, including charter schools, to focus on fostering a safe and secure environment for all members of the school community and place an emphasis on preventing sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual abuse, as provided. By imposing new duties on schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would encourage public schools to host interactive activities that cover school policies related to preventing sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual abuse, and prominently post specified resources and information about preventing those acts on the schools digital platform, as provided. The bill would encourage school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to, in coordination with specified personnel, send a written notice to the school community highlighting the Sexual Harassment Safety Weeks. Week.

(2)Existing law establishes the Instructional Quality Commission and requires the commission to, among other things, recommend curriculum frameworks to the State Board of Education. Existing law, the California Healthy Youth Act, requires school districts, charter schools, county boards of education, county superintendents of schools, the California School for the Deaf, and the California School for the Blind to ensure that all pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, receive comprehensive sexual health education and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention education, as specified. The act requires that instruction to include, among other things, information about sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and human trafficking, as provided.

This bill would require the commission, when the Health Education Framework for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve is next revised on or after January 1, 2026, to consider including in that curriculum framework information related to, among other things, the Uniform Complaint Procedures, Title IX, and what a pupil should do if they believe another pupil has been subjected to sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, or retaliation, as provided. The bill would encourage the same information to also be provided as part of the instruction required under the comprehensive sexual health education and HIV prevention education provisions.

(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)Existing federal law, known as Title IX, prohibits a person, on the basis of sex, from being excluded from participation in, being denied the benefits of, or being subject to discrimination under, any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. Existing state law, the Sex Equity in Education Act, requires public schools, private schools that receive federal funds and are subject to the requirements of Title IX, school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to post in a prominent and conspicuous location on their internet websites specified information relating to Title IX.

This bill would require the State Department of Education to (A) review specified training materials related to sexual harassment that were developed for use by pupils and pupils parents or guardians by the Redlands Unified School District pursuant to a stipulated judgment, (B) revise the training materials, as necessary, to make them appropriate for a statewide audience, and (C) make the revised training materials available on its internet website. The bill would require the department to, on or before January 1, 2028, review the existing California School Climate, Health, and Learning Surveys system to identify areas of the surveys where age-appropriate questions related to sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual abuse safety can be incorporated, as provided.

The bill would declare the first 2 full weeks in April and the first 2 full weeks in September as Sexual Harassment Safety Weeks, during which time the bill would require all public schools, including charter schools, to focus on fostering a safe and secure environment for all members of the school community and place an emphasis on preventing sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual abuse, as provided. By imposing new duties on schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would encourage public schools to host interactive activities that cover school policies related to preventing sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual abuse, and prominently post specified resources and information about preventing those acts on the schools digital platform, as provided. The bill would encourage school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to, in coordination with specified personnel, send a written notice to the school community highlighting the Sexual Harassment Safety Weeks.

(2)Existing law establishes the Instructional Quality Commission and requires the commission to, among other things, recommend curriculum frameworks to the State Board of Education. Existing law, the California Healthy Youth Act, requires school districts, charter schools, county boards of education, county superintendents of schools, the California School for the Deaf, and the California School for the Blind to ensure that all pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, receive comprehensive sexual health education and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention education, as specified. The act requires that instruction to include, among other things, information about sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and human trafficking, as provided.

This bill would require the commission, when the Health Education Framework for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve is next revised on or after January 1, 2026, to consider including in that curriculum framework information related to, among other things, the Uniform Complaint Procedures, Title IX, and what a pupil should do if they believe another pupil has been subjected to sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, or retaliation, as provided. The bill would encourage the same information to also be provided as part of the instruction required under the comprehensive sexual health education and HIV prevention education provisions.

(3)Existing law prohibits a pupil from being suspended from school or recommended for expulsion, unless the superintendent of the school district or the principal of the school in which the pupil is enrolled determines that the pupil has committed an act from a list of specified acts, including acts of sexual harassment and sexual assault, as provided.

This bill would require school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to, in order to identify ways to achieve rehabilitative outcomes, periodically review consequences that the local educational agency may impose on a pupil for carrying out acts of (A) committing or attempting to commit a sexual assault or committing a sexual battery, (B) cyber sexual bullying, or (C) sexual harassment, as provided. By imposing new duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(4)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)Existing federal law, known as Title IX, prohibits a person, on the basis of sex, from being excluded from participation in, being denied the benefits of, or being subject to discrimination under, any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. Existing state law, the Sex Equity in Education Act, requires public schools, private schools that receive federal funds and are subject to the requirements of Title IX, school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to post in a prominent and conspicuous location on their internet websites specified information relating to Title IX.

This bill would, upon approval by the Attorney General, would require the department State Department of Education to make available on a certain internet website and update, as necessary, (A) review specified training materials related to sexual harassment that were developed for use by pupils and pupils parents or guardians by the Redlands Unified School District pursuant to a stipulated judgment, as provided. (B) revise the training materials, as necessary, to make them appropriate for a statewide audience, and (C) make the revised training materials available on its internet website. The bill would require the department to, on or before January 1, 2028, (A) review the existing California School Climate, Health, and Learning Surveys system to identify areas of the surveys where age-appropriate questions related to Title IX sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual abuse safety can be incorporated, as provided, and (B) evaluate and assess the regulations pertaining to uniform complaint procedures to ensure the regulations provide for efficient and transparent processes for whistleblowers to elevate Title IX concerns to the department for investigation. provided.

The bill would declare the first 2 full weeks in April and the first 2 full weeks in September as Title IX Sexual Harassment Safety Weeks, during which time the bill would require all public schools, including charter schools, to focus on fostering a safe and secure environment for all members of the school community with and place an emphasis on Title IX safety, resources, and awareness. preventing sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual abuse, as provided. By imposing new duties on schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would encourage public schools to host interactive activities that cover school policies related to Title IX preventing sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual abuse, and prominently post specified resources and information about Title IX safety preventing those acts on the schools digital platform, as provided. The bill would encourage school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to, in coordination with their Title IX coordinator, specified personnel, send a written notice to the school community highlighting the Title IX Sexual Harassment Safety Weeks.

(2)Existing law establishes the Instructional Quality Commission and requires the commission to, among other things, recommend curriculum frameworks to the State Board of Education. Existing law, the California Healthy Youth Act, requires school districts, charter schools, county boards of education, county superintendents of schools, the California School for the Deaf, and the California School for the Blind to ensure that all pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, receive comprehensive sexual health education and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention education, as specified. The act requires that instruction to include, among other things, information about sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and human trafficking, as provided.

This bill would require the commission, when the Health Education Framework for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve is next revised on or after January 1, 2026, to consider including in that curriculum framework information related to, among other things, the Uniform Complaint Procedures, Title IX, and what a pupil should do if they believe another pupil has been subjected to sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, or retaliation, as provided. The bill would encourage the same information to also be provided as part of the instruction required under the comprehensive sexual health education and HIV prevention education provisions.

(3)Existing law prohibits a pupil from being suspended from school or recommended for expulsion, unless the superintendent of the school district or the principal of the school in which the pupil is enrolled determines that the pupil has committed an act from a list of specified acts, including acts of sexual harassment and sexual assault, as provided.

This bill would require school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to, in order to identify ways to achieve rehabilitative outcomes, periodically review consequences that the local educational agency may impose on a pupil for carrying out acts of (A) committing or attempting to commit a sexual assault or committing a sexual battery, (B) cyber sexual bullying, or (C) sexual harassment, as provided. By imposing new duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(4)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)Existing federal law, known as Title IX, prohibits a person, on the basis of sex, from being excluded from participation in, being denied the benefits of, or being subject to discrimination under, any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. Existing state law, the Sex Equity in Education Act, requires public schools, private schools that receive federal funds and are subject to the requirements of Title IX, school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to post in a prominent and conspicuous location on their internet websites specified information relating to Title IX.

This bill would, upon approval by the Attorney General, require the department to make available on a certain internet website and update, as necessary, specified training materials related to sexual harassment that were developed for use by pupils and pupils parents or guardians by the Redlands Unified School District pursuant to a stipulated judgment, as provided. The bill would require the department to, on or before January 1, 2028, (A) review the existing California School Climate, Health, and Learning Surveys system to identify areas of the surveys where age-appropriate questions related to Title IX safety can be incorporated, as provided, and (B) evaluate and assess the regulations pertaining to uniform complaint procedures to ensure the regulations provide for efficient and transparent processes for whistleblowers to elevate Title IX concerns to the department for investigation.

(2)Existing law establishes the Instructional Quality Commission and requires the commission to, among other things, recommend curriculum frameworks to the State Board of Education. Existing law, the California Healthy Youth Act, requires school districts, charter schools, county boards of education, county superintendents of schools, the California School for the Deaf, and the California School for the Blind to ensure that all pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, receive comprehensive sexual health education and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention education, as specified. The act requires that instruction to include, among other things, information about sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and human trafficking, as provided.

This bill would require the commission, when the Health Education Framework for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve is next revised on or after January 1, 2026, to consider including in that curriculum framework information related to, among other things, the Uniform Complaint Procedures, Title IX, and what a pupil should do if they believe another pupil has been subjected to sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, or retaliation, as provided. The bill would encourage the same information to also be provided as part of the instruction required under the comprehensive sexual health education and HIV prevention education provisions.

Existing federal law, known as Title IX, prohibits a person, on the basis of sex, from being excluded from participation in, being denied the benefits of, or being subject to discrimination under, any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. Existing state law, the Sex Equity in Education Act, requires public schools, private schools that receive federal funds and are subject to the requirements of Title IX, school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to post in a prominent and conspicuous location on their internet websites specified information relating to Title IX.

This bill would, upon approval by the Attorney General, require the department to make available on a certain internet website specified training materials related to sexual harassment that were developed for use by pupils and pupils parents or guardians by the Redlands Unified School District pursuant to a stipulated judgment, as provided.

Existing law establishes the Instructional Quality Commission and requires the commission to, among other things, recommend curriculum frameworks to the State Board of Education. Existing law, the California Healthy Youth Act, requires school districts, charter schools, county boards of education, county superintendents of schools, the California School for the Deaf, and the California School for the Blind to ensure that all pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, receive comprehensive sexual health education and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention education, as specified. The act requires that instruction to include, among other things, information about sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and human trafficking, as provided.

This bill would require the commission, when the Health Education Framework for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve is next revised on or after January 1, 2026, to consider including in that curriculum framework information related to, among other things, the Uniform Complaint Procedures, Title IX, and what a pupil should do if they believe another pupil has been subjected to sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, or retaliation, as provided. The bill would encourage the same information to also be provided as part of the instruction required under the comprehensive sexual health education and HIV prevention education provisions.

Date of Hearing: August 20, 2025

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Buffy Wicks, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 334

Author:(Reyes) – As Amended Ver:July 7, 2025

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: Yes

SUMMARY:

This bill requires the California Department of Education (CDE), on or before January 1, 2028, to review the existing California School Climate, Health, and Learning Surveys system (CalSCHLS) to identify areas of the surveys administered through this system where age-appropriate questions related to sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual abuse safety may be incorporated.

The bill also requires the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC), upon the next revision of the Health Education Framework, to consider including information regarding sexual harassment and associated disciplinary consequences, the Uniform Complaint Procedures (UCP), and Title IX. Lastly, the bill establishes the second full week of September as Sexual Harassment Safety Week and encourages public schools to provide for increased focus, resources, and information regarding sexual harassment, abuse, and assault prevention.

FISCAL EFFECT:

1. Ongoing Proposition 98 General Fund cost pressures of an unknown but likely significant amount, potentially in the millions of dollars, for local educational agencies (LEAs) to provide additional training, activities, and resources and periodically conduct policy review during the annual Sexual Harassment Safety Week.
2. Ongoing General Fund costs of approximately $300,000 for the CDE to hire additional staff to create and maintain CDE webpages addressing sexual abuse prevention resources and training along with necessary technical assistance for LEAs, and perform review of the survey.
3. Negligible costs for the IQC to add consideration of sexual harassment and associated disciplinary consequence information to IQC’s next Health Education Framework revision.

If the Commission on State Mandates determines the bill’s requirements to be a reimbursable state mandate, the state would need to reimburse these costs to LEAs or provide funding through the K-12 Mandate Block Grant.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. According to the author:

I am deeply concerned by the repeated failure to protect our students from sexual harassment. One striking example took place at Redlands USD in my district, where the California Department of Justice determined that the District systemically violated laws in place to protect against and address complaints related to sexual assault, harassment, and abuse, including Title IX, the Child Abuse and Neglect and Reporting Act (CANRA), and provisions of the California Education Code. Furthermore, the US Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights also “identified several areas needing improvement regarding their Title IX processes” and entered into an agreement responding to 35 identified reports of sexual harassment at the school district. There have also been other instances recently in other school districts in California.

1. Background. Recent Department of Justice (DOJ) Investigation. Pursuant to a 2024 stipulated judgement, the Redlands Unified School district must address “critical and system shortfalls in the District's policies and practices regarding their response to allegations and complaints of sexual harassment, assault, and abuse of students.” This judgement results from a civil rights investigation into the district’s handling of these complaints involving sexual abuse of minor students by the district’s personnel.  

The investigation found that the district failed to follow several laws and regulations regarding a Title IX Coordinator’s duties, responding adequately to allegations of sexual harassment, assault, and abuse of students, promulgation of procedures and policies governing the district’s response to such allegations, and proper dissemination of policies on nondiscrimination and sexual harassment. As part of the judgement, the district will be overseen for five years by the court, and the Attorney General, and must undertake various reforms ensuring it respond in a legally adequate manner to promptly prevent, stop, and remedy sexual harassment, assault, or abuse on its campus. Such remedies include development of an electronic centralized tracking and response system for all oral and written reports and complaints of sexual harassment, abuse, and assault, provision of compensatory education and mental health services to victims, provision of an anonymous climate survey at the end of each academic semester, and timely proof of compliance with all provisions of the judgement to the DOJ.

Health Education Framework. Adopted by the SBE on May 6, 2019, the Health Education Framework includes information about how students can learn about healthy relationships, child sexual abuse, and human trafficking, which includes sex trafficking (in age-appropriate ways), and learn about related topics, such as affirmative consent, relationship violence, bullying, sexual harassment, and media influences. The framework specifically includes definitions, examples, and impacts related to sexual assault and sexual harassment. However, it does not include information specific to the topics required by this bill, such as the Uniform Complaint Procedures, the authority of the federal Office for Civil Rights, and other information about Title IX. This bill requires the IQC to consider including in the next revision of the Health Framework information about what a student should do if they believe another student has been subjected to sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, or retaliation, including how to make a report and how to file a complaint with the local educational agency’s Title IX coordinator.

Analysis Prepared by: Aaron Heredia / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: SB 334

Author: Reyes (D)

Amended: 5/23/25

Vote: 21

SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 6-0, 4/2/25

AYES: Pérez, Ochoa Bogh, Cabaldon, Cortese, Gonzalez, Laird

NO VOTE RECORDED: Choi

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 6-0, 5/23/25

AYES: Caballero, Seyarto, Cabaldon, Grayson, Richardson, Wahab

NO VOTE RECORDED: Dahle

SUBJECT: Pupil instruction: sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual abuse prevention: safety

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST:

This bill (1) Requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to review, by January 1, 2028, the existing “California School Climate, Health, and Learning Survey System” to identify areas of the surveys where age-appropriate questions related to sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual abuse safety can be incorporated in order to ensure a safe campus climate; (2) establishes the first two full weeks in April and the first two full weeks in September as “Sexual Harassment Safety Weeks”; (3) requires the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) to consider including in the next revision of the Health Education Framework information on procedures for complaints and investigations relative to sexual harassment and abuse; (4) encourages school districts to provide, as part of sexual health education, instruction that includes information on procedures for complaints and investigations relative to sexual harassment and abuse; and, (5) states intent that every high school provide an annual training for high school students related to sexual harassment prevention.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Requires each educational institution in California (K-12 and postsecondary education) to have a written policy on sexual harassment and:
   
   1. Display the policy in a prominent location in the main administrative building or other area of the campus or schoolsite;
      
   2. Provide the policy as part of any orientation program for new students, and provide it to each faculty member, administrative staff and support staff; and,
      
   3. Place the policy in any publication of the school that sets forth the rules, regulations, procedures and standards of conduct. (Education Code (EC) § 231.5 and § 66281.5)
      
2. Requires school districts that require completion of a course in health education for graduation from high school to include instruction in sexual harassment and violence. (EC § 51225.36)
   
3. Requires the State Board of Education (SBE), based upon recommendations by the IQC, consider including information in sexual abuse and sexual assault awareness and prevention in the Health Framework when next revised (after 2014). (EC § 51900.6)
   
4. Requires each school district to ensure that all students in grades 7 to 12 receive comprehensive sexual health education and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) prevention education from instructors trained in the appropriate courses. Each student must receive this instruction at least once in junior high or middle school and at least once in high school. Specified topics must be included in the instruction. (EC § 51934)
   
5. Provides the option for a parent or guardian with the right to excuse their child from all or part of comprehensive sexual health education, HIV prevention education, and assessments related to that education through a passive consent (“opt-out”) process. A school district shall not require active parental consent (“opt-in”) for comprehensive sexual health education and HIV prevention education. (EC § 51938)

This bill:

1. Requires CDE to review, by January 1, 2028, the existing “California School Climate, Health, and Learning Survey System” to identify areas of the surveys where age-appropriate questions related to sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual abuse safety can be incorporated in order to ensure a safe campus climate.
   
2. Requires LEAs, in order to identify ways to achieve rehabilitative outcomes, to periodically review consequences (including suspensions and alternatives to suspensions) that the LEA may impose on a student for carrying out any of the acts described in # 5 g) below.
   
3. Establishes the first two full weeks in April and the first two full weeks in September as “Sexual Harassment Safety Weeks,” during which time schools shall focus on fostering a safe and secure environment for all members of the school community, with emphasis on preventing sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual abuse.
   
4. Encourages schools to do the following throughout their Sexual Harassment Safety Weeks:
   
   1. Host interactive activities that cover school policies related to preventing sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual abuse, which may include any of the following:
      
      1. A meeting or listening session between students and administrators to facilitate conversation on the prevention of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual abuse, including how to prevent grooming, reviewing the school’s sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual abuse prevention policies, and reviewing the school’s UCP and Title IX complaint procedures.
         
      2. Guest speaker events in collaboration with experts in the subject of prevention of sexual harassment/assault/abuse, school staff, and trusted community leaders and organizations.
         
      3. Student assemblies or guided classroom presentations with compliance and Title IX coordinators, and school resource officers regarding sexual abuse.
         
      4. Engagement with parents or guardians and providing a space for feedback, such as a sexual harassment/assault/abuse prevention community oversight committee or a school climate advisory committee.
         
   2. Prominently post resources and information about preventing sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual abuse throughout the campus and on the school’s digital platform, as specified.
      
   3. Encourages LEAs to, in coordination with their Title IX coordinator and the person/employee/agency position/unit that is responsible for receiving UCP complaints, to send a written notice to the school community highlighting the Sexual Harassment Safety Weeks.
5. Requires the IQC, when the “Health Education Framework for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve” (Health Framework) is next revised after January 1, 2026, to consider including in that curriculum framework all of the following information:
   
   1. The Uniform Complaint Procedures (UCP) and Title IX.
      
   2. The authority of CDE and the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights to investigate and enforce the UCP and Title IX, respectively.
      
   3. The definition of sexual harassment and legal prohibitions regarding that term.
      
   4. What a student should do if they believe another student has been subjected to sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, or retaliation, including how to make a report, how to file a complaint with the local educational agency’s Title IX coordinator, and how to file a complaint through a LEA’s UCP process with the person, employee, agency position, or unit that is responsible for receiving UCP complaints..
      
   5. Any interim and supportive measures available to students who report sexual harassment or retaliation for reporting an incident and the remedies available to them following a finding of sexual harassment or retaliation.
      
   6. The positive outcomes associated with reporting incidents, including creating a safer school environment and changing the school culture.
      
   7. Information about the range of disciplinary consequences that may be imposed on a student for carrying out any of the following acts in order to deter such behavior:
      
      • 1. Committing or attempting to commit a sexual assault or committing a sexual battery.
           
        2. Cyber sexual bullying.
           
        3. Sexual harassment.
6. Encourages school districts to provide, as part of comprehensive sexual health education and HIV prevention education, instruction that includes all of the information described in # 5 g) above.
   
7. States legislative intent that every high school in the state provide an annual training for high school students related to sexual harassment prevention.

Comments

1. Health Education Framework. The Health Education Framework was last updated and adopted by the State Board of Education on May 6, 2019. While there is not a set timeframe in which curricular frameworks are updated, frameworks were historically revised on an eight-year cycle.
   
   In 2015, legislation was enacted to require the SBE to consider including information in sexual abuse and sexual assault awareness and prevention in the Health Framework when next revised. The current Health Education Framework includes information about how students can learn about healthy relationships, child sexual abuse, and human trafficking, which includes sex trafficking (in age-appropriate ways), and learn about related topics, such as affirmative consent, relationship violence, bullying, sexual harassment, and media influences., and specifically includes definitions, examples, and impacts related to sexual assault and sexual harassment. This information was included in the 2019 Health Framework. https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/he/cf/documents/healthedframework2019.pdf

While the current Health Framework contains some information students can learn related to sexual harassment, it does not include information specific to the topics required by this bill, such as the Uniform Complaint Procedures, the authority of the federal Office for Civil Rights, and other information about sexual harassment, sexual assault, or sexual abuse.

1. Instruction about sexual harassment. Existing law requires school districts that require completion of a course in health education for graduation from high school to include instruction in sexual harassment and violence.
   
   In 2015, legislation was enacted to require the SBE to consider including information in sexual abuse and sexual assault awareness and prevention in the Health Framework when next revised. The Health Framework was revised and adopted in 2019, with the inclusion of information about how students can learn about healthy relationships, child sexual abuse, and human trafficking, which includes sex trafficking (in age-appropriate ways), and learn about related topics, such as affirmative consent, relationship violence, bullying, sexual harassment, and media influences, and specifically includes definitions, examples, and impacts related to sexual assault and sexual harassment.
   
   This bill does not require instruction relative to sexual harassment, and instead states legislative intent that every high school in the state provide an annual training for high school students that is related to sexual harassment prevention. This bill encourages instruction about sexual harassment as part of sexual health education courses, and encourages specified activities during Sexual Harassment Safety Weeks.
   
2. Training for K-12 students and school employees. Existing law requires each educational institution in California K-12 and postsecondary education to have a written policy on sexual harassment and, among other things, provide the policy as part of any orientation program for new students, and provide it to each faculty member, administrative staff and support staff. State law does not require any training for students relative to sexual harassment.
   
   This bill does not require training, and instead states legislative intent that every high school in the state provide an annual training for high school students related to sexual harassment prevention.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes

According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

• The bill includes several provisions that are permissive, but could result in additional, unknown cost pressures for LEAs. These provisions include legislative intent for school districts to provide annual training for high school students related to sexual harassment prevention.
  
• The bill’s requirement for LEAs to periodically review consequences that they may impose on students for carrying out acts of sexual assault or harassment, as specified, could result in a reimbursable state mandate. The extent of these costs is unknown, but could be in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.
  
• The bill’s requirement for the IQC to consider including information on procedures for complaints and investigations relative to sexual harassment and abuse is not expected to result in additional costs to the state.

SUPPORT: (Verified 5/23/25)

American Association of University Women - California
California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls
California State PTA
California Women’s Law Center
Californians for Justice
CFT- A Union of Educators & Classified Professionals,
Children’s Law Center of California
Courage California
Los Angeles County Office of Education
Stop Sexual Assault in Schools
Together for Redlands
Voices for Progress

OPPOSITION: (Verified 5/23/25)

None received

Prepared by: Lynn Lorber / ED. / (916) 651-4105

5/27/25 11:17:10

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Senator Anna Caballero, Chair

2025 - 2026 Regular Session

SB 334 (Reyes) - Pupil instruction: sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual abuse prevention: safety

Bill Summary:

This bill requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to review the public training materials that were developed by the Redlands Unified School District pursuant to the stipulated judgment, as specified, for use by students and parents or guardians. This bill also requires the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) to consider including in the next revision of the Health Education Framework information on procedures for complaints and investigations relative to sexual harassment and abuse.

*********** ANALYSIS ADDENDUM – SUSPENSE FILE ***********

The following information is revised to reflect amendments

adopted by the committee on May 23, 2025

Fiscal Impact:

• The bill includes several provisions that are permissive, but could result in additional, unknown cost pressures for local educational agencies (LEAs). These provisions include legislative intent for school districts to provide annual training for high school students related to sexual harassment prevention.
• The bill’s requirement for LEAs to periodically review consequences that they may impose on students for carrying out acts of sexual assault or harassment, as specified, could result in a reimbursable state mandate. The extent of these costs is unknown, but could be in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.
• The bill’s requirement for the IQC to consider including information on procedures for complaints and investigations relative to sexual harassment and abuse is not expected to result in additional costs to the state.

Author Amendments:

Remove the requirements for CDE to review, update, and post on its website the training materials related to sexual harassment that were developed by the Redlands Unified School Districts.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Senator Anna Caballero, Chair

2025 - 2026 Regular Session

SB 334 (Reyes) - Pupil instruction: sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual abuse prevention: safety

Bill Summary:

This bill requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to review the public training materials that were developed by the Redlands Unified School District pursuant to the stipulated judgment, as specified, for use by students and parents or guardians. This bill also requires the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) to consider including in the next revision of the Health Education Framework information on procedures for complaints and investigations relative to sexual harassment and abuse.

Fiscal Impact:

• The CDE estimates one-time General Fund costs of approximately $1 million to comply with the bill’s requirements. This estimate includes $300,000 for a consultant over a three-year period to work on sexual harassment materials and about $210,000 for two analysts to assist with the project and post the materials on CDE’s website. This estimate also includes $500,000 for external consultants to enlist support from other entities that specialize in sexual harassment to ensure that the material is appropriate.
• The bill includes several provisions that are permissive, but could result in additional, unknown cost pressures for local educational agencies (LEAs). These provisions include legislative intent for school districts to provide annual training for high school students based on the materials developed by Redlands Unified and encouragement to host interactive activities regarding their Title IX policies.
• The bill’s requirement for LEAs to periodically review consequences that they may impose on students for carrying out acts of sexual assault or harassment, as specified, could result in a reimbursable state mandate. The extent of these costs is unknown, but could be in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.
• The bill’s requirement for the IQC to consider including information on procedures for complaints and investigations relative to sexual harassment and abuse is not expected to result in additional costs to the state.

Background:

Existing law, under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 to the 1964 civil Rights Act, provides 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.” Enforcement of compliance is initiated upon the filing of a complaint alleging a violation of Title IX. The law also requires each school district and county office of education, or a local public or private agency that receives funding from the state or federal government, to designate a person to serve as the Title IX compliance coordinator to enforce compliance at the local level, including coordinating any complaints of non-compliance.

Existing law requires public schools, private schools that receive federal funds and are subject to the requirements of Title IX, school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to post in a prominent and conspicuous location on their websites all of the following:

• 1. The name and contact information of the Title IX coordinator for that public school, private school, school district, county office of education, or charter school, which shall include the Title IX coordinator’s phone number and email address.
     
  2. The rights of a student and the public and the responsibilities of the public school, private school, school district, county office of education, or charter school under Title IX, which shall include but not be limited to, web links to information about those rights and responsibilities located on CDE’s Office for Equal Opportunity’s website and the United States Department of Education Office of Civil Rights’ website, and the list of specified rights which are based on the relevant provisions of the federal regulations implementing Title IX.
  3. A description of how to file a complaint under Title IX, as specified.

Proposed Law:

This bill requires CDE to review the public training materials that were developed by the Redlands Unified School District pursuant to the stipulated judgment entered into on June 10, 2024 for use by students and parents or guardians. The bill also provides that CDE shall, after the review, revise the training materials to make them appropriate for a statewide audience and make them available on its website. The bill requires CDE to update the training materials to ensure the materials are up to date and reflect changes in law. This bill states legislative intent that every high school in the state provide an annual training for high school students that is based on the training materials.

This bill requires CDE to review, by January 1, 2028, the existing “California School Climate, Health, and Learning Survey System” to identify areas of the surveys where age-appropriate questions related to Title IX safety can be incorporated in order to ensure a safe campus climate.

This bill requires the IQC, when the “Health Education Framework for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve” (Health Framework) is next revised after January 1, 2026, to consider including in that curriculum framework specified information related to, among other things, the UCP, Title IX, the authority of CDE and the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights to investigate and enforce the UCP and Title IX, respectively, and the definition of sexual harassment and legal prohibitions regarding that term.

This bill requires LEAs, in order to identify ways to achieve rehabilitative outcomes, to periodically review consequences, including suspensions and alternatives to suspensions, that the LEA may impose on a student for carrying out any of the following acts: committing or attempting to commit a sexual assault or committing a sexual battery; cyber sexual bullying; and sexual harassment.

This bill establishes the first two full weeks in April and the first two full weeks in September as “Title IX Safety Weeks,” during which time schools shall focus on fostering a safe and secure environment for all members of the school community, with emphasis on preventing sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual abuse. This bill also encourages schools, during the Title IX Safety Weeks, to host interactive activities that cover school policies related to Title IX, as specified, and prominently post resources and information about Title IX safety throughout the campus and on the school’s digital platform, as specified.

This bill encourages LEAs to, in coordination with their Title IX coordinator and the person, employee, agency position, or unit that is responsible for receiving UCP complaints, send a written notice to the school community highlighting the Sexual Harassment Safety Weeks. This bill also encourages LEAs to include specified information as part of their comprehensive sexual health education and HIV prevention education instruction, including UCP and Title IX, the authority of CDE and the US Department’s Office for Civil Rights to investigate and enforce the UCP and Title IX, and the definition of sexual harassment. The bill authorizes LEAs to provide comprehensive sexual health education or HIV prevention education consisting of age-appropriate instruction earlier than grade 7 using instructors trained in the appropriate courses and also provide age appropriate and medically accurate information on any of the general topics regarding comprehensive sexual health education or HIV prevention education, as specified.

Related Legislation:

AB 2961 (Addis, 2024) required minors who obtain a work permit to receive training on sexual harassment prevention, retaliation, and reporting resources using the online training course made available on the Civil Rights Department’s website, by expanding the “intent to employ a minor” notification that a prospective employer must send to the school official who issued the work permit to include certification that the minor has completed the training. AB 2961 was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Staff Comments:

On May 29, 2024, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced that the California Department of Justice (DOJ) has entered into a proposed stipulated judgment with the Redlands Unified School District “to address critical and systemic shortfalls in the District's policies and practices regarding their response to allegations and complaints of sexual harassment, assault, and abuse of students. The stipulated judgment is the result of a comprehensive civil rights investigation into the District’s handling of these complaints. The investigation followed concerning reports raised in a number of high-profile cases involving sexual abuse of minor students by the District’s personnel, several of whom have been convicted of related offenses.”

A five-year plan memorialized in the stipulated judgment requires Redlands Unified to, among other things, hire, train, and provide appropriate oversight authority to an Assistant Superintendent of Compliance and Sexual Harassment Prevention to investigate and resolve complaints and establish prevention systems; develop an electronic centralized tracking and response system/database for all oral and written reports and complaints of sexual harassment, abuse, and assault, including those submitted anonymously; and revise policies and procedures for responding to a notice or complaints of sexual harassment, assault, or abuse to comply with law and regulation.

This bill requires CDE to post the training materials developed by the Redlands Unified School District relative to training materials that are age-appropriate and related to sexual harassment on its website as a resource for students and parents. The bill also includes legislative intent that every high school in the state provide an annual training for high school students that is based on the training materials. While this provision is permissive, it could result in annual cost pressures for school districts that elect to provide the training each year.

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SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Senator Sasha Renée Pérez, Chair

2025 - 2026 Regular

Bill No: SB 334 Hearing Date: April 2, 2025

Subject: Pupil instruction: sexual harassment: Title IX.

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 (1) requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to post on its website specified training materials relative to Title IX that were developed pursuant to an agreement between the Attorney General and Redlands Unified School District; (2) encourages school districts to provide, as part of sexual health education, instruction that includes information on procedures for complaints and investigations relative to sexual harassment and abuse; (3) requires the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) to consider including in the next revision of the Health Education Framework information on procedures for complaints and investigations relative to sexual harassment and abuse; and, (4) establishes the first two full weeks in April and the first two full weeks in September as “Title IX Safety Weeks.”

BACKGROUND

Existing law:

Title IX

1. Provides 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.” Enforcement of compliance is initiated upon the filing of a complaint alleging a violation of Title IX. (Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 to the 1964 Civil Rights Act)
   
2. Requires each school district and county office of education, or a local public or private agency that receives funding from the state or federal government, to designate a person to serve as the Title IX compliance coordinator to enforce compliance at the local level, including coordinating any complaints of non-compliance. (Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 to the 1964 Civil Rights Act)
   
3. Requires public schools, private schools that receive federal funds and are subject to the requirements of Title IX, school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to post in a prominent and conspicuous location on their websites all of the following:
   
   1. The name and contact information of the Title IX coordinator for that public school, private school, school district, county office of education, or charter school, which shall include the Title IX coordinator’s phone number and email address.
      
   2. The rights of a student and the public and the responsibilities of the public school, private school, school district, county office of education, or charter school under Title IX, which shall include but not be limited to, web links to information about those rights and responsibilities located on CDE’s Office for Equal Opportunity’s website and the United States Department of Education Office of Civil Rights’ website, and the list of specified rights which are based on the relevant provisions of the federal regulations implementing Title IX.
      
   3. A description of how to file a complaint under Title IX, which shall include all of the following:
      
      1. An explanation of the statute of limitations within which a complaint must be filed after an alleged incident of discrimination has occurred, and how a complaint may be filed beyond the statute of limitations.
         
      2. An explanation of how the complaint will be investigated and how the complainant may further pursue the complaint, including but not limited to, web links to this information on the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights’ website.
         
      3. A web link to the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights complaints form, and the contact information for the office, which shall include the phone number and email address for the office. (Education Code (EC) § 221.61)
         

Sexual harassment

1. Requires each educational institution in California (K-12 and postsecondary education) to have a written policy on sexual harassment and:
   
   1. Display the policy in a prominent location in the main administrative building or other area of the campus or schoolsite;
      
   2. Provide the policy as part of any orientation program for new students, and provide it to each faculty member, administrative staff and support staff; and,
      
   3. Place the policy in any publication of the school that sets forth the rules, regulations, procedures and standards of conduct. (EC § 231.5 and § 66281.5)
      
2. Requires each high school to create a poster that notifies students of the applicable written policy on sexual harassment, and requires the poster to display, at a minimum, all of the following:
   
   1. The rules and procedures for reporting a charge of sexual harassment.
      
   2. The name, phone number, and email address of an appropriate schoolsite official to contact to report a charge of sexual harassment.
      
   3. The rights of the reporting student, the complainant, and the respondent, and the responsibilities of the schoolsite in accordance with the applicable written policy on sexual harassment. (EC § 231.6)
      
3. Requires the poster to be prominently and conspicuously displayed in each bathroom and locker room at the schoolsite, and authorizes the poster to be prominently and conspicuously displayed in public areas at the schoolsite that are accessible to, and commonly frequented by, students, including but not limited to, classrooms, classroom hallways, gymnasiums, auditoriums, and cafeterias. (EC § 231.6)
   
4. Requires school districts that require completion of a course in health education for graduation from high school to include instruction in sexual harassment and violence. (EC § 51225.36)
   
5. Requires the State Board of Education (SBE), based upon recommendations by the IQC, consider including information in sexual abuse and sexual assault awareness and prevention in the Health Framework when next revised (after 2014). (EC § 51900.6)
   

Comprehensive sexual health education

1. Requires each school district to ensure that all students in grades 7 to 12 receive comprehensive sexual health education and HIV prevention education from instructors trained in the appropriate courses. Each student must receive this instruction at least once in junior high or middle school and at least once in high school. Specified topics must be included in the instruction. (EC § 51934)
   
2. Provides the option for a parent or guardian with the right to excuse their child from all or part of comprehensive sexual health education, HIV prevention education, and assessments related to that education through a passive consent (“opt-out”) process. A school district shall not require active parental consent (“opt-in”) for comprehensive sexual health education and HIV prevention education. (EC § 51938)

ANALYSIS

Attorney General and Redlands Unified

1. Requires CDE to post on its website related to gender equity and Title IX the training materials that were developed by the Redlands Unified School District, once approved by the Attorney General, pursuant to the stipulated judgment entered into on June 10, 2024, between the Attorney General and the Redlands Unified School District that required the district to provide draft training materials that are age-appropriate and related to sexual harassment for use by students and parents or guardians.
   
2. Requires CDE to update these materials, as necessary, to ensure the materials are up to date and reflect changes in law.
   
3. States legislative intent that every high school in the state provide an annual training for high school students that is based on the training materials described in #1.
   

Sexual health education

1. Encourages school districts to provide, as part of comprehensive sexual health education and HIV prevention education, instruction that includes all of the following information:
   
   1. The Uniform Complaint Procedures (UCP), Title IX, and any policy regarding adult-student boundaries, including where to locate the relevant procedures on the local educational agency’s internet website.
      
   2. The authority of CDE and the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights to investigate and enforce the UCP and Title IX, respectively.
      
   3. The definition of sexual harassment and any legal prohibitions regarding that term.
      
   4. What a student should do if they believe another student has been subjected to sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, or retaliation, including how to make a report and how to file a complaint with the local educational agency’s Title IX coordinator.
      
   5. Any interim and supportive measures available to students who report sexual harassment or retaliation for reporting an incident and the remedies available to them following a finding of sexual harassment or retaliation.
      
   6. The positive outcomes associated with reporting incidents, including creating a safer school environment and changing the school culture.
      
   7. Information about the range of disciplinary consequences that may be imposed on a student for carrying out any of the following acts in order to deter such behavior:
      
      • 1. Committing or attempting to commit a sexual assault or committing a sexual battery.
           
        2. Cyber sexual bullying.
           
        3. Sexual harassment.
           

Health framework

1. Requires the IQC, when the “Health Education Framework for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve” (Health Framework) is next revised after January 1, 2026, to consider including in that curriculum framework all of the following information:
   
   1. The UCP and Title IX.
      
   2. The authority of CDE and the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights to investigate and enforce the UCP and Title IX, respectively.
      
   3. The definition sexual harassment and legal prohibitions regarding that term.
      
   4. What a student should do if they believe another student has been subjected to sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, or retaliation, including how to make a report and how to file a complaint with the local educational agency’s Title IX coordinator.
      
   5. Any interim and supportive measures available to students who report sexual harassment or retaliation for reporting an incident and the remedies available to them following a finding of sexual harassment or retaliation.
      
   6. The positive outcomes associated with reporting incidents, including creating a safer school environment and changing the school culture.
      
   7. Information about the range of disciplinary consequences that may be imposed on a student for carrying out any of the following acts in order to deter such behavior:
      
      • 1. Committing or attempting to commit a sexual assault or committing a sexual battery.
           
        2. Cyber sexual bullying.
           
        3. Sexual harassment.
           

Reviews of regulations, surveys, and consequences

1. Requires CDE to evaluate and assess, by January 1, 2028, the regulations pertaining to the UCP to ensure the regulations provide for efficient and transparent processes for whistleblowers to elevate Title IX concerns to CDE for investigation.
   
2. Requires CDE to review, by January 1, 2028, the existing “California School Climate, Health, and Learning Survey System” to identify areas of the surveys where age-appropriate questions related to Title IX safety can be incorporated in order to ensure a safe campus climate.
   
3. Requires LEAs, in order to identify ways to achieve rehabilitative outcomes, to periodically review consequences (including suspensions and alternatives to suspensions) that the LEA may impose on a student for carrying out any of the following acts:
   
   1. Committing or attempting to commit a sexual assault or committing a sexual battery.
      
   2. Cyber sexual bullying.
      
   3. Sexual harassment.

Title IX Safety Weeks

1. Establishes the first two full weeks in April and the first two full weeks in September as “Title IX Safety Weeks,” during which time schools shall focus on fostering a safe and secure environment for all members of the school community, with emphasis on Title IX safety, resources, and awareness.
   
2. Encourages schools to do the following throughout their Title IX Safety Weeks:
   
   1. Host interactive activities that cover school policies related to Title IX, which may include any of the following:
      
      1. A meeting or listening session between students and administrators to facilitate conversation on Title IX culture and policy on campus.
         
      2. Guest speaker events in collaboration with experts in the subject of Title IX, school staff, and trusted community leaders and organizations.
         
      3. Title IX student assemblies or guided classroom presentations with Title IX representatives and school resource officers.
         
      4. Engagement with parents or guardians and providing a space for feedback, such as a Title IX community oversight committee or a school climate advisory committee.
         
   2. Prominently post resources and information about Title IX safety throughout the campus and on the school’s digital platform, as specified.

STAFF COMMENTS

1. Need for the bill. According to the author, “Title IX education, particularly focused on sexual harassment prevention, is crucial for our students. SB 334 would empower them with knowledge about their rights and the protections they are entitled to under the law. By understanding Title IX, students can recognize and address instances of sexual harassment, creating a safer and more supportive environment.
   
   “I am deeply concerned by the repeated failure to protect our students from sexual harassment. One striking example took place at Redlands USD in my district, where the California Department of Justice determined that the District systemically violated laws in place to protect against and address complaints related to sexual assault, harassment, and abuse, including Title IX, the Child Abuse and Neglect and Reporting Act (CANRA), and provisions of the California Education Code. Furthermore, the US Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights also “identified several areas needing improvement regarding their Title IX processes” and entered into an agreement responding to 35 identified reports of sexual harassment at the school district. There have also been other instances recently in other school districts in California.
   
   “What has taken place here must be stopped and prevented from continuing anywhere in the state. I believe that incorporating into the Health and Education Curriculum Framework information about Title IX resources, the Uniform Complaint Procedures, expanded definitions related to sexual harassment, and how students can respond to such instances, will create a safer and healthier school environment.”
   
2. Redlands Unified stipulated judgment. On May 29, 2024, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced that the California Department of Justice (DOJ) has entered into a proposed stipulated judgment with the Redlands Unified School District “to address critical and systemic shortfalls in the District's policies and practices regarding their response to allegations and complaints of sexual harassment, assault, and abuse of students. The stipulated judgment is the result of a comprehensive civil rights investigation into the District’s handling of these complaints. The investigation followed concerning reports raised in a number of high-profile cases involving sexual abuse of minor students by the District’s personnel, several of whom have been convicted of related offenses.”
   
   A five-year plan memorialized in a stipulated judgment that enjoins Redlands Unified from violating any law or regulation and requires Redlands Unified to, among other things:
   
   1. Hire, train, and provide appropriate oversight authority to an Assistant Superintendent of Compliance and Sexual Harassment Prevention to investigate and resolve complaints and establish prevention systems.
      
   2. Develop an electronic centralized tracking and response system/database for all oral and written reports and complaints of sexual harassment, abuse, and assault, including those submitted anonymously.
      
   3. Provide DOJ all oral and written complaints regarding sexual harassment, assault, and abuse and the District’s responses to all oral and written complaints for DOJ to review to ensure legal compliance.
      
   4. Revise policies and procedures for responding to a notice or complaints of sexual harassment, assault, or abuse to comply with law and regulation.
      
   5. Provide compensatory education and mental health services to victims.
      
   6. Provide age-appropriate annual training to students and parents on how to report sexual assault, harassment, and abuse and their right to a prompt and effective response and a discrimination-free school environment.
      
   7. Provide annual training to staff and investigators regarding their duties to address reports of sexual assault, harassment, and abuse.
      
   8. Provide an anonymous Climate Survey at the end of each academic semester to assess students’ experiences with sexual harassment, assault, and abuse and use the results to further strengthen prevention and response.
      
   9. Establish a School Climate Advisory Committee that will study the District’s efforts to prevent and respond to sexual harassment, abuse, and assault and make recommendations to the District for improving those efforts.
      
   10. Provide timely proof of compliance with all provisions of the judgment to DOJ to establish compliance.
       
   11. Provide DOJ with an affirmation from all District administrators, including the Superintendent, that they understand and will follow the requirements of the Child Abuse and Neglect and Reporting Act.
       
   12. Implement an auditing process at schools to ensure that all required notices, policies, and posters informing students and staff about their rights and responsibilities are in all required locations. https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/Notice%20of%20Entry%20of%20Judgment%20-%2024STCV13334.pdf

This bill requires CDE to post on its website the training materials developed by the Redlands Unified School District, once approved by the Attorney General, relative to training materials that are age-appropriate and related to sexual harassment for use by students and parents or guardians.

This bill states legislative intent that every high school in the state provide an annual training for high school students that is based on the training materials.

1. Training for K-12 students and school employees. Existing law requires each educational institution in California (K-12 and postsecondary education) to have a written policy on sexual harassment and, among other things, provide the policy as part of any orientation program for new students, and provide it to each faculty member, administrative staff and support staff. State law does not require any training for students relative to sexual harassment.
   
   This bill does not require training, and instead states legislative intent that every high school in the state provide an annual training for high school students that is based on the training materials developed by Redlands Unified. This bill encourages instruction about sexual harassment as part of sexual health education courses, and encourages specified activities during Title IX Safety Weeks.
   
2. Instruction about sexual harassment. Existing law requires school districts that require completion of a course in health education for graduation from high school to include instruction in sexual harassment and violence.
   
   In 2015, legislation was enacted to require the SBE to consider including information in sexual abuse and sexual assault awareness and prevention in the Health Framework when next revised. The Health Framework was revised and adopted in 2019, with the inclusion of information about how students can learn about healthy relationships, child sexual abuse, and human trafficking, which includes sex trafficking (in age-appropriate ways), and learn about related topics, such as affirmative consent, relationship violence, bullying, sexual harassment, and media influences, and specifically includes definitions, examples, and impacts related to sexual assault and sexual harassment.
   
   This bill does not require instruction relative to sexual harassment, and instead states legislative intent that every high school in the state provide an annual training for high school students that is based on the training materials developed by Redlands Unified. This bill encourages instruction about sexual harassment as part of sexual health education courses, and encourages specified activities during Title IX Safety Weeks.
   
   This bill encourages instruction that includes information about what a student should do if they believe another student has been subjected to sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, or retaliation, including how to make a report and how to file a complaint with the local educational agency’s Title IX coordinator. The author may wish to consider clarifying that the information is to cover situations where a student believes they have been subjected to sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, or retaliation (in addition to when a student believes that another student has been victimized).
   
3. Health Education Framework. The Health Education Framework was last updated and adopted by the State Board of Education on May 6, 2019. While there is not a set timeframe in which curricular frameworks are updated, frameworks were historically revised on an eight-year cycle.
   
   In 2015, legislation was enacted to require the SBE to consider including information in sexual abuse and sexual assault awareness and prevention in the Health Framework when next revised. The current Health Education Framework includes information about how students can learn about healthy relationships, child sexual abuse, and human trafficking, which includes sex trafficking (in age-appropriate ways), and learn about related topics, such as affirmative consent, relationship violence, bullying, sexual harassment, and media influences., and specifically includes definitions, examples, and impacts related to sexual assault and sexual harassment. This information was included in the 2019 Health Framework. https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/he/cf/documents/healthedframework2019.pdf

While the current Health Framework contains some information students can learn related to sexual harassment, it does not include information specific to the topics required by this bill, such as the Uniform Complaint Procedures, the authority of the federal Office for Civil Rights, and other information about Title IX.

This bill requires the Instructional Quality Commission to consider including in the next revision of the Health Framework information about what a student should do if they believe another student has been subjected to sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, or retaliation, including how to make a report and how to file a complaint with the local educational agency’s Title IX coordinator. The author may wish to consider clarifying that the information is to cover situations where a student believes they have been subjected to sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, or retaliation (in addition to when a student believes that another student has been victimized).

1. Surveys. This bill requires CDE to periodically review the existing “California School Climate, Health, and Learning Survey System” to identify areas to incorporate age-appropriate questions related to Title IX safety and ensuring a safe campus climate.
   
   The survey system includes the California Healthy Kids Survey, California School Staff Survey, and School Parent Survey. There has been some concern with the Healthy Kids Survey because it asks about drug use and sexual activity, among other topics. Existing law requires parental consent before this survey may be administered (and any survey that asks about personal beliefs or practices that include health behavior and risks).  The CDE recommends that this survey be administered to students in grades 5-12; school districts that receive Tobacco-Use Prevention Education funding are required to conduct the Healthy Kids Survey biennially. The state does not provide funding specifically for schools to administer these surveys.
   
   The state has identified priorities as part of the Local Control Funding Formula to inform and support Local Control and Accountability Plans. Priority 6 is School Climate, which is measured by suspension and expulsion rates, and local measures that may include surveys.  Schools are encouraged, but not required, to conduct school climate surveys.  This bill does not require schools to administer any surveys.
   
2. Title IX Safety Week. This bill declares the first two full weeks in April and the first two full weeks in September as “Title IX Safety Weeks,” requires all public schools to focus on fostering a safe and secure environment, and encourages schools to undertake certain activities and share the specified information throughout their Title IX Safety Weeks. This bill appears to require all schools to participate in Title IX Safety Weeks, as it requires all public schools to focus on fostering a safe and secure environment for all members of the school community with an emphasis on Title IX safety, resources, and awareness.
   
   The Education Code identifies the following as weeks of special significance:
   
   1. The last two full weeks in April and the last two full weeks in September shall be known as “high school voter education weeks,” during which time persons authorized by the county elections official shall be allowed to register students and school personnel on any high school campus in areas designated by the administrator of the high school, or his or her designee, which are reasonably accessible to all students.
      
   2. In observance of the importance of educational leadership at the school, school district, and county levels, the second full week in the month of October of each year shall be designated as “Week of the School Administrator.” Schools, school districts, and county superintendents of schools are encouraged to observe the week with public recognition of the contribution that school administrators make to successful pupil achievement.
      
   3. The third full week in May is designated as Classified School Employee Week. All public schools shall annually observe that week in recognition of classified school employees and the contributions they make to the educational community. The observances required by this section shall be integrated into the regular school program. All community colleges shall annually observe that week in recognition of classified school employees and the contributions they make to the educational community. The observances required by this section shall be integrated into the regular community college program.
      
   4. The week of each year that includes April 28, shall be known as “Workplace Readiness Week.” All public high schools, including charter schools, shall annually observe that week by providing information to pupils on their rights as workers, as specified.
      
3. Related legislation.
   
   SB 848 (Pérez, 2025) among other things, strengthens policies around professional boundaries and adult-to-student interactions, addresses school employee misconduct and child abuse prevention, and improves oversight of staff conduct through clearer policy guidance and stronger administrative safeguards. SB 848 is pending in this committee.
   
4. Prior legislation.
   
   AB 2961 (Addis, 2024) required minors who obtain a work permit to receive training on sexual harassment prevention, retaliation, and reporting resources using the online training course made available on the Civil Rights Department’s website, by expanding the “intent to employ a minor” notification that a prospective employer must send to the school official who issued the work permit to include certification that the minor has completed the training. AB 2961 was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
   

SUPPORT

California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls
California State PTA
Californians for Justice
CFT- A Union of Educators & Classified Professionals, AFT, AFL-CIO
Children’s Law Center of California
Courage California
Los Angeles County Office of Education

OPPOSITION

None received

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