Student safety: human trafficking

The law makes human trafficking an explicit part of employee training, campus policies, crime records, and law-enforcement coordination at covered postsecondary institutions.

What the law does ​

• Requires covered colleges to train every employee annually on recognizing, preventing, and reporting human trafficking.
• Requires campuses to post the state model human-trafficking notice online and in a prominent campus location.
• Adds reported on-campus human-trafficking crimes to required campus crime records.
• Requires campus and local law-enforcement agreements to assign responsibility for investigating on-campus human-trafficking cases and be reviewed by July 1, 2027, then every five years.
• Requires institutions receiving state student-aid funds to adopt human-trafficking policies and promptly forward qualifying victim reports to law enforcement without identifying victims unless they consent.
• Applies student-safety requirements to all community colleges regardless of whether dedicated state funding is available.

Who it affects ​

• Employees, students, faculty, and staff at University of California, California State University, California Community Colleges, and covered private and independent colleges.
• Campus security authorities, campus law enforcement, and local law-enforcement agencies.
• Community college districts and governing boards responsible for campus-safety compliance.

Context ​

An employee's failure to report trafficking alone does not make the institution liable.

Breakdown ​

Human Trafficking Employee Training ​

The bill requires covered colleges and universities to add specified human trafficking information to employee training. It also requires every employee to complete the training each year. An institution cannot be held liable solely because an employee failed to report human trafficking to the institution or local law enforcement.

Key takeaways

• Covered postsecondary institutions must include specified information about human trafficking in employee training.
• Each employee at a covered institution must complete the training annually.
• The new training requirement applies to the institutions covered by the Equity in Higher Education Act, including public, private, and independent colleges receiving state financial assistance.
• For the University of California, these requirements apply only if the Regents adopt a resolution making them applicable.
• An institution is not liable solely because one of its employees fails to report human trafficking to the institution or local law enforcement.

Campus Human Trafficking Records ​

The bill requires covered college and university campuses to keep records of reported campus crimes involving human trafficking. It also makes student-safety requirements apply to all community colleges even if the Legislature has not provided specific funding for those duties.

Key takeaways

• Campus crime records must now include reported crimes involving human trafficking.
• The requirement applies to the listed public higher-education systems and postsecondary institutions that receive public student-financial-aid funds.
• All community colleges must comply with these student-safety requirements regardless of whether the Legislature has provided funding for the purpose.

Campus Human Trafficking Investigations ​

The bill expands required campus agreements with local law enforcement to cover who is responsible for investigating human trafficking on campus. It also broadens the crimes covered by community college agreements and sets a regular schedule for reviewing and updating these agreements.

Key takeaways

• Campus agreements with local law enforcement must clarify responsibility for investigating on-campus human trafficking.
• Community college agreements with local law enforcement must also cover additional on-campus crimes.
• The affected colleges and universities must review and update their agreements as needed by July 1, 2027.
• The agreements must be reviewed and updated as needed every five years after that.

Human Trafficking Policies at Colleges ​

The bill requires community colleges, CSU, UC, and eligible independent colleges to adopt a policy on human trafficking incidents involving students, faculty, or staff as a condition of receiving state student financial-aid funds. The policy must state that human trafficking is a crime under state and federal law and identify physical and mental signs that may indicate trafficking.

Key takeaways

• Covered postsecondary institutions must add human trafficking to their required student-safety policies.
• The requirement applies to incidents involving students, faculty, or staff.
• Institutions must state in the policy that human trafficking is a crime under both California and federal law.
• The policy must describe physical and mental signs that may indicate human trafficking is occurring.
• The requirement is tied to eligibility for state funds for student financial assistance.

College Human Trafficking Reporting ​

By July 1, 2027, colleges and universities participating in the Cal Grant Program must update their written reporting policies to include human trafficking. Reports of human trafficking received by campus security authorities from victims for notification purposes must be sent to the appropriate law enforcement agency as soon as required under the existing reporting process.

Key takeaways

• The requirement applies to California community colleges, California State University, the University of California, and participating private or independent postsecondary institutions.
• Institutions must revise their written policies and procedures by July 1, 2027.
• The revised policies must treat human trafficking as a reportable offense alongside the crimes already covered by the policy.
• When a victim makes a qualifying human trafficking report to a campus security authority, the report must be forwarded to the appropriate law enforcement agency immediately or as soon as practicably possible.