S-1546

AN ACT Relating to gender equity in higher education; amending RCW 28B.15.455, 28B.15.460, 28B.15.465, 28B.15.470, and 28B.110.040; repealing RCW 28B.15.480; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 28B.15.455 and 1989 c 340 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

Institutions of higher education shall strive to accomplish the following goals by June 30, 2002:

(1) Provide the following benefits and services equitably to male and female athletes participating in intercollegiate athletic programs: Equipment and supplies; medical services; services and insurance; transportation and per diem allowances; opportunities to receive coaching and instruction; scholarships and other forms of financial aid; conditioning programs; laundry services; assignment of game officials; opportunities for competition, publicity, and awards; and scheduling of games and practice times, including use of courts, gyms, and pools. Each institution which provides showers, toilets, lockers, or training room facilities for athletic purposes shall provide access to comparable facilities for both males and females.

(2) Provide equitable intercollegiate athletic opportunities for male and female students including opportunities to participate and to receive the benefits of the services listed in subsection (1) of this section.

(3) Provide participants with female and male coaches and administrators to act as role models.

Sec. 2. RCW 28B.15.460 and 1989 c 340 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) An institution of higher education shall not grant any waivers for the purpose of achieving gender equity until the 1991-92 academic year, and may grant waivers for the purpose of achieving gender equity in intercollegiate athletic programs as authorized in RCW 28B.15.740, for the 1991-92 academic year only if the institution's governing board has adopted a plan for complying with the provisions of RCW 28B.15.455 and submitted the plan to the higher education coordinating board.

(2)(a) Beginning in the 1992-93 academic year, an institution of higher education shall not grant any waiver for the purpose of achieving gender equity in intercollegiate athletic programs as authorized in RCW 28B.15.740 unless the institution's plan has been approved by the higher education coordinating board.

(b) Beginning in the 1999-2000 academic year, an institution that did not provide, by June 30, 1998, athletic opportunities for an historically underrepresented gender class at a rate that meets or exceeds the current rate at which that class participates in high school athletics in Washington state shall have a new institutional plan approved by the higher education coordinating board before granting further waivers.

(c) Beginning in the 2003-04 academic year, an institution of higher education that was not within five percent of the ratio of undergraduates described in RCW 28B.15.470 by June 30, 2002, shall have a new plan for achieving gender equity in intercollegiate athletic programs approved by the higher education coordinating board before granting further waivers.

(3) The plan shall include, but not be limited to:

(a) For any institution with an historically underrepresented gender class described in subsection (2)(b) of this section, provisions that ensure that by July 1, ((~~1994~~)) 2000, the institution shall provide athletic opportunities for the underrepresented gender class at a rate that meets or exceeds the current rate at which that class participates in high school interscholastic athletics in Washington state not to exceed the point at which the underrepresented gender class is no longer underrepresented;

(b) For any institution with an underrepresented gender class described in subsection (2)(c) of this section, provisions that ensure that by July 1, 2004, the institution will have reached substantial proportionality in its athletic program;

(c) Activities to be undertaken by the institution to increase participation rates of any underrepresented gender class in interscholastic and intercollegiate athletics. These activities may include, but are not limited to: Sponsoring equity conferences, coaches clinics and sports clinics; and taking a leadership role in working with athletic conferences to reduce barriers to participation by those gender classes in interscholastic and intercollegiate athletics;

((~~(c)~~)) (d) An identification of barriers to achieving and maintaining equitable intercollegiate athletic opportunities for men and women; and

((~~(d)~~)) (e) Measures to achieve institutional compliance with the provisions of RCW 28B.15.455.

Sec. 3. RCW 28B.15.465 and 1989 c 340 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The higher education coordinating board shall report ((~~biennially~~)) every four years, beginning December ((~~1992~~)) 1998, to the governor and the house of representatives and senate committees on higher education, on institutional efforts to comply with the requirements of RCW 28B.15.740, 28B.15.455, and 28B.15.460. Each report shall include recommendations on measures to assist institutions with compliance. ((~~The first report shall also include a recommendation on whether to grant this waiver authority to community college governing boards.~~))

(2) Before the board makes its report in December ((~~1994~~)) 2006, the board shall assess the extent of institutional compliance with the requirements of RCW 28B.15.740, 28B.15.455, and 28B.15.460. ((~~The 1994 report shall include a recommendation on whether to continue this waiver authority.~~))

(3) The report in this section may be combined with the report required in RCW 28B.110.040(3).

Sec. 4. RCW 28B.15.470 and 1989 c 340 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) As used in and for the limited purposes of RCW 28B.15.450 through 28B.15.465 and 28B.15.740, "underrepresented gender class" means female students or male students, where the ratio of participation of female or male students who are seventeen to twenty-four year old undergraduates enrolled full-time on the main campus, respectively, in intercollegiate athletics ((is)) has historically been less than approximately the ratio of female to male students or male to female students, respectively, enrolled as undergraduates at an institution.

(2) As used in and for the limited purpose of ((~~subsection 4(b) of this act~~)) RCW 28B.15.460(3)(a), an "underrepresented gender class" in interscholastic athletics means female students or male students, where the ratio of participation of female or male students, respectively, in K-12 interscholastic athletics ((is)) has historically been less than approximately the ratio of female to male students or male to female students, respectively, enrolled in K-12 public schools in Washington.

(3) As used in and for the limited purposes of RCW 28B.15.460, "equitable" means that the ratio of female and male students participating in intercollegiate athletics is substantially proportionate to the percentages of female and male students who are seventeen to twenty-four year old undergraduates enrolled full time on the main campus.

Sec. 5. RCW 28B.110.040 and 1989 c 341 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

The executive director of the higher education coordinating board, in consultation with the council of presidents and the state board for community ((~~college education~~)) and technical colleges, shall monitor the compliance by institutions of higher education with this chapter.

(1) The board shall establish a timetable and guidelines for compliance with this chapter.

(2) ((~~By September 30, 1990, each institution shall complete a self-study on its compliance with the requirements listed in RCW 28B.110.030.~~

~~(3)~~)) By November 30, 1990, each institution shall submit to the board for approval a plan to comply with the requirements of RCW 28B.110.030. The plan shall contain measures to ensure institutional compliance with the provisions of this chapter by September 30, 1994. If participation in activities, such as intercollegiate athletics and matriculation in academic programs is not proportionate to the percentages of male and female enrollment, the plan should outline efforts to identify barriers to equal participation and to encourage gender equity in all aspects of college and university life.

((~~(4)~~)) (3) The board shall report ((~~biennially~~)) every four years, beginning December 31, ((~~1990~~)) 1998, to the governor and the higher education committees of the house of representatives and the senate on institutional efforts to comply with this chapter. The report shall include recommendations on measures to assist institutions with compliance. This report may be combined with the report required in RCW 28B.15.465.

((~~(5)~~)) (4) The board may delegate to the state board for community and technical colleges ((~~education~~)) any or all responsibility for community college compliance with the provisions of this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. RCW 28B.15.480 and 1989 c 340 s 9 are each repealed.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect July 1, 1997.