The CSU Chancellor’s Office issued an Interim Nondiscrimination Policy on March 4 in order to align with the Department of Education requirements for nondiscrimination policies.
The training for students, previously known as “Title IX” was renamed “Civil Rights,” but it does not make any changes to the required coursework.
Students are required to complete an annual Civil Rights training via Canvas before Oct. 15 at 11:59 p.m. The training is based on the protected statuses covered in the CSU Nondiscrimination Policy.
The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights and Title IX issued a “Dear Colleague Letter,” requiring schools nationwide to immediately revise their nondiscrimination policies, citing a federal court ruling and federal directive.
President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order in January 2025 titled, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” This ordered all agencies and departments, including DoE to “enforce all sex-protective laws to promote [the] reality” that there are “two sexes, male and female.”
The 2024 Title IX final rule was criticized for expanding the definition of “sex” to include gender identity among other categories. Title IX will be enforced under the Education Amendments of 1972 under the 2020 Title IX provisions, instead of the 2024 Title IX final rule.
“The CSU developed an interim Nondiscrimination Policy and Procedures designed to meet the changing federal requirements while also preserving its commitment to protecting its students and employees,” the university said in an email to the Daily Titan.
The Interim Nondiscrimination Policy defines discrimination or harassment based on any protected status, sexual harassment, harassment based on sex or gender, dating violence, domestic violence, sexual exploitation, stalking, sexual misconduct, prohibited consensual relationships and retaliation as prohibited conduct.
“‘Interim’ has remained in the title largely because the CSU had to implement policy revisions quickly due to the federal changes but still needed to go through the meet and confer process with the different unions that represent employees on campus,” the university wrote.
The revisions ensure the CSU is in compliance with federal law, while also complying with other crucial revisions. Lawmakers requested an audit to examine how officials investigated sexual misconduct cases from the CSUs in 2022.
The audit was examined in 2023 and the investigations revealed inconsistencies and breakdowns in how officials responded to sexual misconduct complaints from students and faculty at CSU campuses. The Chancellor’s Office, which oversees the system, was revealed to have a lack of oversight with officials not properly documenting and investigating sexual misconduct accusations.
Assembly Bill 1790 ensures CSU’s development of clear guidelines for sexual misconduct investigations, an established policy to track complaints and address cases of misconduct that does not meet the sexual harassment threshold specified within the Nondiscrimination policy.
CSU campuses must submit a report that details the investigations and outcomes of sexual harassment or formal sexual harassment complains by Dec. 1 of each year.
AB 1790 requires the CSU to implement recommendations provided by the 2023 audit on or before July 1, 2026.
The Civil Rights Canvas course students must complete covers information about preventing and addressing situations of harassment, discrimination and other misconduct.
The name of the training changed due to the organizational change of CSUF’s Office for Title IX and Gender Equity to consolidate with Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation (DHR) in November 2024. The new office is titled Office for Civil Rights and Equity (OCRE) which resides in the Division of Human Resources and Inclusive Excellence.
“This organizational change reinforced the university’s commitment to fostering a safe, inclusive and equitable community that values mutual respect. It also provides one convenient location to serve our faculty, staff and students,” the university wrote.
Civil Rights training is required regardless of taking in-person or online classes, and all enrolled students taking at least one class at CSUF must complete the training. Students must complete all modules and earn a cumulative grade of 80% across all module quizzes by the deadline. If not complete, there will be a registration hold placed on student accounts.
“The Office for Civil Rights and Equity responds to claims of discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment, retaliation, sexual exploitation, sexual misconduct, dating/domestic violence, and stalking, as well as provides training, prevention, and awareness programs for the campus community,” the university wrote.