SB 1114

Data collection: sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersex status: disclosure

This bill would require public schools and colleges in California to keep a student's sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersex status private, preventing that information from being shared with outside parties without the student's consent.

Existing law, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex Disparities Reduction Act, requires the State Department of Public Health, among other specified state entities, in the course of collecting demographic data directly or by contract as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of Californians, to collect voluntary self-identification information pertaining to sexual orientation, gender identity, and variations in sex characteristics/intersex status (SOGISC). This bill would define “information pertaining to SOGISC” to mean information pertaining to a person’s sexual orientation identity, gender identity, identification as intersex, or identification as possessing sex characteristics that vary from those typically associated with a person’s sex assigned at birth. Existing law, the Information Practices Act of 1977, prescribes a set of requirements, prohibitions, and remedies applicable to agencies, as defined, with regard to their collection, storage, and disclosure of personal information, as defined. Under existing law, a person who willfully requests or obtains any record containing personal information from an agency under false pretenses is guilty of a misdemeanor. Existing law requires all records of the Department of Motor Vehicles relating to the registration of vehicles, other information contained on an application for a driver’s license, abstracts of convictions, and certain abstracts of accident reports to be open to public inspection during office hours, except when a specific provision of law prohibits the disclosure of records or information or provides for confidentiality. Existing law establishes the University of California, administered by the Regents of the University of California, the California State University, administered by the Trustees of the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, administered by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in the state. Existing law requests the Trustees of the California State University, the Regents of the University of California, and the governing board of each community college district to allow the faculty, staff, and students to identify their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression on any forms used to collect specified demographic data and to report that data, as provided. This bill would prohibit information pertaining to SOGISC collected pursuant to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex Disparities Reduction Act, within specified records of the Department of Motor Vehicles, or collected by public postsecondary education institutions in accordance with the above paragraph, from being disclosed in a manner allowing personal identification to any entity outside of California state government, or a vendor contracted to provide services to the California state government, subject to specified exceptions, and would require information pertaining to SOGISC reported in an identifiable form to be limited to the minimal extent required to meet the applicable exception, and in compliance with the Information Practices Act of 1977. The bill would provide that these provisions also apply to information that could reasonably be used to infer a person’s transgender or intersex status, as specified, and a violation of these provisions is subject to penalties described in the Information Practices Act of 1977. By expanding the scope of a crime in the Information Practices Act of 1977, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law, the California Public Records Act, requires each state and local agency, as defined, to make its records open to public inspection at all times during office hours, except as specifically exempted from disclosure by law. This bill would provide that information pertaining to SOGISC is confidential and shall be exempt from disclosure under the California Public Records Act, unless the information pertaining to SOGISC is deidentified. This bill would provide that its provisions are severable. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.