Senate Bill 1375 / Title IX Notifications (K-12) - School & College Legal Services of California

The Governor has signed California Senate Bill (“SB”) 1375, attached, which adds section 221.61 to the Education Code, imposing new requirements on all public schools, county offices of education, charter schools, and private schools which are subject to Title IX requirements (herein, “education entities”). New section 221.61 requires these education entities to post information relating to Title IX on their websites in a “prominent and conspicuous location” no later than July 1, 2017. Education entities that do not have websites are not required to establish websites for this section, but if they do not have websites then the required information must be posted on the district website or the county office of education website.

LEGAL UPDATE

October 20, 2016

To: Superintendents, Member School Districts (K-12)

From: Mia N. Robertshaw, Assistant General Counsel

Subject: Senate Bill 1375 / Title IX Notifications

Memo No. 37-2016

Posted information must include:

1. The name and contact information of the Title IX Coordinator, including the Title IX Coordinator’s telephone number and email address.

2. The rights of the pupil and responsibilities of the education entity under Title IX, including the list of rights in Education Code section 221.8 as well as links to relevant websites of the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights and the California Department of Education’s Office for Equal Opportunity.

3. A description of how to file a Title IX complaint, including:

“(A) 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.

(B) An explanation of how the complaint will be investigated and how the complainant may further pursue the complaint, including, but not limited to, Internet Web links to this information on the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights’ Internet Web site.

(C) An Internet 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.”

If a district’s schools have their own websites, this information must be posted on the school website in addition to the district website. The district website should specify that the Title IX information provided on the district website applies to every school site (if this is true). If a school site has its own Title IX Coordinator, the school Title IX Coordinator and the district lead Title IX Coordinator should both be listed on both the school and district websites.

Finally, SB 1375 provides that if the Commission on State Mandates determines that SB 1375 imposes state-mandated costs, these costs may be reimbursed to local agencies and school districts pursuant to Government Code section 17500 et seq.

All education entities should add the required information to their websites promptly and no later than July 1, 2017. Every education entity should ensure that it has a designated Title IX Coordinator who is trained and has proper authority to oversee the entity’s efforts to comply with Title IX. School & College Legal Services is offering a Title IX Coordinator 101 workshop on April 21, 2017 at the Sonoma County Office of Education. Please visit www.sclscal.org/workshops for more information and to register.

Please contact our office with questions regarding this Legal Update or any other legal matter.

The information in this Legal Update is provided as a summary of law and is not intended as legal advice. Application of the law may vary depending on the particular facts and circumstances at issue. We, therefore, recommend that you consult legal counsel to advise you on how the law applies to your specific situation.

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