The law comes a year after a state audit found "numerous problems" in how the university system handled sexual harassment complaints against employees.
Margaret Attridge Margaret Attridge Read Full BioMargaret Attridge is a news reporter for BestColleges focusing on higher education news stories in California. She graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park in May 2022 with a BA in journalism and government and politics.
Published on July 19, 2024 Darlene Earnest Darlene Earnest Read Full BioDarlene Earnest is a copy editor for BestColleges. She has had an extensive editing career at several news organizations, including The Virginian-Pilot and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She also has completed programs for editors offered by the D.
Learn more about our editorial process Margaret Attridge Margaret Attridge Read Full BioMargaret Attridge is a news reporter for BestColleges focusing on higher education news stories in California. She graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park in May 2022 with a BA in journalism and government and politics.
Darlene Earnest Darlene Earnest Read Full BioDarlene Earnest is a copy editor for BestColleges. She has had an extensive editing career at several news organizations, including The Virginian-Pilot and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She also has completed programs for editors offered by the D.
Published on July 19, 2024 Learn more about our editorial process
A new bill California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed will require the California State University (CSU) system to strengthen protections against sexual harassment and revise its procedures for handling sexual harassment complaints and allegations.
The legislation follows a state audit report from 2023 that found that the 23-campus university system had not "adequately or consistently" addressed sexual harassment claims. The report identified several issues with how the campuses handled complaints, such as not offering clear reasons for closing cases, submitting reports with deficiencies, and failing to implement corrective measures.
Assembly Bill 1790 will require the CSU to adopt the recommendations from the audit report, including:
Additionally, the CSU will have to create a policy to ensure that current and former employees found to have engaged in sexual harassment do not receive positive references for future employment.
Assemblymembers Damon Connolly, D-San Rafael, and Mike Fong, D-Alhambra, sponsored the bill.
"This legislation will ensure that survivors are heard, perpetrators are held accountable, and our educational institutions uphold the highest standards of justice and support," Connolly said in a press release.
"By strengthening protections against sexual assault and sexual harassment, we can make our California State Universities safer for students and faculty by ensuring that allegations of sexual harassment are not wrongfully dismissed."
In a statement to BestColleges, a CSU spokesperson said that the university has "embraced" the recommendations in the state audit and that protecting students and employees from discrimination and harassment is "one of our highest priorities."
"We are actively working to meet and where possible exceed the recommendations and become a national leader in building a culture of care and trust through greater training and consistent and compassionate practices for handling and resolving complaints," the statement read.
The bill was one of 12 pieces of legislation in the "Call to Action" legislative package focused on combating and preventing sex discrimination and sexual harassment at California's public colleges and universities.
Other bills included in the legislative package include:
"Each bill in the 'A Call to Action' Legislative Package is vital to creating fundamental change at California's higher education institutions, and AB 1790 is a critical first step to establish accountability to address and prevent sex discrimination and harassment at the CSU," Fong said in the release.
The CSU will be required to submit two reports to the Legislature regarding the implementation status of recommendations: an initial report before July 1, 2025, and a final report before Dec. 1, 2026.
Last October, Newsom signed a bill requiring the CSU to publicly report the investigations and outcomes of sexual harassment reports and formal complaints each year.
