The CSU mishandled sexual harassment complaints. Two bills are aimed at protecting students

After the California State University system failed to investigate sexual misconduct, the system vowed to work through its systematic obstacles.

But lawmakers say the California State University system, which is the largest public institution in the state, needs to be held accountable. The result: two Assembly bills addressing faculty retreat rights and hiring practices.

Instances of Title IX violations from administrators and faculty have surfaced publicly across its campuses, causing the system to be audited last summer. This audit found that the CSU responded improperly to sexual misconduct complaints and allegations.

These bills, if passed and signed into legislation, would apply to California’s two other higher education systems: the California Community Colleges and the University of California, which have also had a history of sexual misconduct.

Assembly Bill 1905 and AB 810 are among a larger package of higher education bills addressing sexual misconduct and Title IX. Among several pieces of legislation, one bill seeks to implement a system wide Title IX office for the CSU, the University of California and California Community Colleges. Another aims to require the state auditor to review how each institution handles sexual misconduct complaints every three years.

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Disclosing history of sexual misconduct across systems

AB 810 would require faculty applying to any public higher education institution in California to disclose if they committed sexual misconduct.

This bill is in response to a complaints of “sexual harassment and improper behavior across the gamut of campuses,” said Assemblywoman Laura Friedman, D-Burbank. Friedman said colleges, in the past, have knowingly or unknowingly, hired professors who had committed sexual misconduct.

The bill was originally geared toward college athletics, after multiple instances occurred across the California State University system and nationwide. For example, Jason M. Hawkins, a former San Jose State University baseball coach, racially and sexually harassed players and staff, an EdSource investigation found. After Hawkins resigned from San Jose State, he volunteered at Feather River Community College in Plumas County.

But instances of sexual harassment, and even assault, expands beyond athletics, resulting in this proposed bill including faculty and staff. In one example, former Fresno State professor Tom Boroujeni was found to have committed “an act of sexual violence” by the university. The allegation was made by another professor, and the incident occurred while Boroujeni was a substitute instructor and graduate student in 2015, EdSource reported.

Around the same time, Boroujeni was a part-time instructor at Fresno City College and would continue to work there after the complaint of sexual violence was issued. The complaint from Fresno State would not follow him to the community college. The community college only became aware of the misconduct after the allege victim informed the school because she also worked there. Boroujeni would later receive a letter of reprimand for “unprofessional conduct,” on a separate issue, EdSource reported.

Because there is no system wide procedure to track sexual harassment, some professors could move to another campus with a clean slate, an audit from last summer found.

This bill aims to prevent faculty members with a history of sexual misconduct from doing those acts again, regardless of the campus, said Friedman. College students are vulnerable on campuses. She added that this legislation prioritizes their safety.

“These are the kind of environments where harassment happens the most, when there’s a power in balance,” Friedman said.

Prohibiting retreat rights, letters of recommendation

AB 1905 would prohibit public California university employees with a history of sexual harassment or Title IX violations from being eligible for retreat rights.

Retreat rights give a faculty member the opportunity to return to a previous campus if another position falls through. This can only be granted to faculty who gave up a tenure job to take an administrative role.

The California State University system currently prohibits administrators from receiving retreat rights if they have been terminated or have separated from a university due to sexual misconduct. But this policy has been “overlooked” by California State administration, said Anne Luna, the capitol chapter president of the California Faculty Association.

Time and time again, the California State University system did not comply with Title IX, Luna said. As a result, she said, they need to be held accountable by an outside agency.

“We do not want the CSU, the perpetrator of these bad actions, to be investigating themselves,” said Luna, who is also an associate sociology professor at Sacramento State. “It needs to be independent.”

AB 1905 would forbid faculty members who have committed sexual harassment from receiving positive letters of recommendation from anyone affiliated with their previous campus and university system.

Assemblywoman Dawn Addis, D-San Luis Obispo, who authored the bill, said this legislation aims to “empower survivors and help restore trust (in colleges) through accountability and transparency.”

This bill, she said, aims to act as a preventative measure for future instances of sexual harassment and hold perpetrators accountable.

“When survivors trust that the institution is going to do something, they’re more likely to come forward,” Addis said.

She continued, “And people who may be tempted to commit these kind of acts, now they’ll understand that there are actual consequences for them.”

The most notable instance of abusing retreat rights can be traced back to a USA TODAY investigation, which found that the former California State University Chancellor Joseph Castro mishandled sexual misconduct complaints while serving as president of Fresno State. During a six-year long period, Castro failed to address sexual harassment reports against Frank Lamas, a former Fresno State administrator.

After a formal complaint accused Lamas of telling an employee he would promote her in exchange for sexual favors, the university launched an internal investigation. Castro then asked Lamas to resign from Fresno State. Upon Lamas’ departure, Castro gave him a $260,000 settlement that forbade him from working in the California State University system, full retirement benefits and a positive letter of recommendation if he applied to another college.

For survivors, they’ve seen retreat rights and arrangements like legals settlements or letters of recommendations after the fact, used as a way to reward an abuser, Addis said.

“(Retreat rights) allows abusers to continue to have access to the very students and faculty they’ve already been abusing,” Addis said. “It makes everyone safer if they’re removed and unable to access a classroom or another position on campus.”

Lamas, who worked in the university’s student affairs department for 35 years, had a extensive history of sexual harassment from former employees and students.

Castro received seven complaints against Lamas, but failed to formally discipline him because he had retreat rights in his contract. Castro gave Lamas positive performance reviews and a lifetime achievement award.

“For survivors that sends a message that either nothing’s going to be done, or the very person who committed the crime is going to be uplifted,” Addis said.

This bill also aims to create a “safer environment” for students, Addis said, and to make sure “these bad actors aren’t in the classroom.”

A history of sexual misconduct

This isn’t the first time California public universities have mishandled sexual harassment and assault. In 2014, the state auditor found that staff lacked training on how to properly handle complaints of sexual harassment and assault, and they did not comply with state law and policy.

This report looked at complaints from the University of California, Berkeley, the University of California, Los Angeles, Chico State and San Diego State.

The audit urged California universities to respond, prevent and resolve incidents of sexual misconduct.

“We want to see real change on this,” Luna said. “This has been a horrible problem that’s been going on for a long time.”

In a statement released with last summer’s audit, the California State University said they are committed to making “impactful changes needed to transform (their) Title IX and other anti-discrimination policies, procedures, infrastructure, culture and climate.”