The Equity in Higher Education Act requires the University of California, the California State University, and California Community Colleges to update a former student’s records to include an updated legal name or gender if the institution receives government-issued documentation from a former student demonstrating that the former student’s legal name or gender has been changed. Starting with the graduation class of 2023-2024, existing law prohibits an institution from requiring a graduation student to provide legal documentation sufficient to demonstrate a legal name or gender change in order to have the student’s chosen name listed on the student’s diploma.
AB 760 amends existing law, starting with the graduating class of 2023-2024 to prohibit an institution from requiring a graduating student to provide legal documentation sufficient to demonstrate a legal name or gender change in order to have the student’s chosen name be the sole name listed on the student’s diploma. An institution is only authorized to require such legal documentation if necessary to meet a legally mandated obligation.
Existing law requires the governing board of a California Community Colleges to implement a system that allows students to identify their name and preferred gender where legal names are not required. AB 760 amends existing law to require the Trustees of the California State University, and request the Regents of the University of California, to implement a system by which current students, staff, and faculty can declare an affirmed name, gender, or both name and gender identification. The California State University must, and the University of California should, be fully capable of allowing current students, staff, or faculty to declare an affirmed name, gender or both, starting with academic year 2024-2025.
AB 760 also requires the California State University, and requests the University of California, to update records upon request. California State University campuses are prohibited from charging a fee for any change, and University of California campus are requested not to charge a fee higher than the actual cost to correct, update, or reissue a document or records based on the declaration of an affirmed name or gender identify.
(AB 760 amends Sections 66271.4 and 66271.41 of the Education Code.)