(OurNationNews.com) California State University is working to update policies and enforcement of sexual harassment and discrimination policies on campus following the passage of a bill that Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law on July 15. CSU has 23 campuses with over 450,000 students and more than 50,000 employees. The new law gives the university until July 1, 2026 to comply with the new requirements.
Assemblyman Damon Connolly, the author of the bill, said the new legislation will help to make sure sexual assault allegations don’t fall through the cracks without adequate investigation and accountability. The law requires changes to the university’s policies, including faster investigations and disciplinary actions. A spokesperson for the university said they are interested in improving their policies to protect campus students and employees. They are currently working on a time table to ensure they meet the deadline for the new policies to take effect.
CSU sexual harassment policies are currently more lax than federal policies. The university will be required to be more communicative with those that file claims and the people that are accused of harassment or assault. The university will prohibit the authoring of recommendation letters for employees that have been found credibly responsible for harassment or assault on campus.
An audit of 40 CSU complaints found that 11 were improperly closed without adequate investigation or reasoning. A male member of the faculty was determined to be responsible for sexual violence and stalking, but the slow investigation caused the statute of limitations to pass. The review of the university’s response to allegations found that they were inadequately staffed to handle the complaints. Despite that, the auditor said complying with the new guidelines would not be “unduly burdensome.”
The audit was completed regarding the university’s policies in 2023. The auditor gave a total of 16 recommendations and has asked for all of them, except four, to be completed within the month, but the law gives them until July 2026.
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