SECTIONS 66250-66252 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 66250-66252

66250. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the Equity
in Higher Education Act.

66251. It is the policy of the State of California to afford all
persons, regardless of disability, gender, nationality, race or
ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other basis that is
contained in the prohibition of hate crimes set forth in subdivision
(a) of Section 422.6 of the Penal Code, equal rights and
opportunities in the postsecondary institutions of the state. The
purpose of this chapter is to prohibit acts that are contrary to that
policy and to provide remedies therefor.

66252. (a) All students have the right to participate fully in the
educational process, free from discrimination and harassment.
(b) California's postsecondary educational institutions have an
affirmative obligation to combat racism, sexism, and other forms of
bias, and a responsibility to provide equal educational opportunity.
(c) Harassment on school grounds directed at an individual on the
basis of personal characteristics or status creates a hostile
environment and jeopardizes equal educational opportunity as
guaranteed by the California Constitution and the United States
Constitution.
(d) There is an urgent need to prevent and respond to acts of hate
violence and bias-related incidents that are occurring at an
increasing rate in California's public schools.
(e) There is an urgent need to teach and inform students in the
public schools about their rights, as guaranteed by the federal and
state constitutions, in order to increase students' awareness and
understanding of their rights and the rights of others, with the
intention of promoting tolerance and sensitivity in postsecondary
educational institutions and in society as a means of responding to
potential harassment and hate violence.
(f) It is the intent of the Legislature that each postsecondary
educational institution undertake educational activities to counter
discriminatory incidents on school grounds and, within constitutional
bounds, to minimize and eliminate a hostile environment on school
grounds that impairs the access of students to equal educational
opportunity.
(g) It is the intent of the Legislature that this chapter shall be
interpreted as consistent with Article 9.5 (commencing with Section
11135) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government Code, Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42
U.S.C. Sec. 1981, et seq.), Title IX of the Education Amendments of
1972 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1681, et seq.), Section 504 of the federal
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794(a)), the federal
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et
seq.), the federal Equal Educational Opportunities Act (20 U.S.C.
Sec. 1701, et seq.), the Unruh Civil Rights Act (Secs. 51 to 53,
incl., Civ. C.), and the Fair Employment and Housing Act (Pt. 2.8
(commencing with Sec. 12900), Div. 3, Gov. C.), except where this
chapter may grant more protections or impose additional obligations,
and that the remedies provided herein shall not be the exclusive
remedies, but may be combined with remedies that may be provided by
the above statutes.