(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. § 1981, et seq.), Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. § 1681, et seq.), Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. § 794(a)), the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq.), the federal Equal Educational Opportunities Act (20 U.S.C. § 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.

(Added by Stats. 1998, Ch. 914, Sec. 49. Effective January 1, 1999.)