California Attorney General Issues Guidance on Sexual Assaults on College Campuses

Yesterday, the Attorney General of California issued guidance on two new California laws that impose new requirements for how colleges and universities in California must respond to reports of sexual misconduct on their campuses.

Broadly speaking, AB 1433 requires California colleges to report to local law enforcement reports of violent crimes, hate crimes, or sexual assaults.

SB 967 is the well publicized "affirmative consent" law that requires California colleges to require "affirmative consent" as the standard for consent on their campuses.

“Affirmative consent” is defined as an affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity. Under the law, neither the lack of protest or resistance nor silence constitutes consent, and consent may be withdrawn at any time. Affirmative consent must be given by all parties to sexual activity.

The law also requires campuses to use the preponderance of the evidence standard in evaluating reports, which is codifies into state law the guidance issued by the US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights.

Many of SB 967's requirements track obligations already in place under the Clery Act, so the Attorney General's description of the California law may offer insights for institutions of higher education outside of California's borders.

As always, read the whole thing for the full story: New and Amended Campus Safety Laws; Points of Collaboration between Campus Personnel and Law Enforcement