New California Law Will Require Stronger Protections Against Sexual Harassment at CSU
Credit: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images- California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill strengthening sexual harassment protections across the California State University (CSU) system.
- The new law requires the CSU to implement recommendations from a 2023 state audit that found the university system had not “adequately or consistently” addressed sexual harassment claims.
- The legislation is part of a 12-bill package aimed at combatting sex discrimination and harassment at California’s public colleges and universities.
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:
- Establishing consistent guidelines for investigating sexual harassment claims
- Creating a system for tracking timelines of cases on each campus
- Creating a policy for handling unprofessional behavior that isn’t sexual harassment
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:
- AB 2047: Creates a systemwide Office of Civil Rights to oversee policies at the CSU and the University of California (UC) and establish Title IX offices on each UC and CSU campus
- AB 810: Requires institutions to conduct employment verification checks to determine if applicants for athletic, academic, or administrative positions have any confirmed misconduct allegations from previous employers
- AB 2048: Requires the California Community Colleges system to create a community college sexual harassment and Title IX working group to review existing policies and procedures and provide recommendations for preventing sex discrimination
“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.