Mandated Campus Activities

Introduction

As state agencies there are various programs we are required to either allow on campus, do ourselves because of legislation, or are directed to complete the duties based on fit. The list below is not exhaustive but does contain more up-to-date information about what we do for mandated activities or services.

Much of this legislation is spread between local, state, and federal agencies and is therefore difficult to always find. Additionally, not every operation is responsible for managing these programs and services. You need to check with your VP on who is supposed to be doing what. 

State of Washington Resources

Solomon Amendment

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Congress has passed two major pieces of legislation that generally require local educational agencies (LEAs) receiving assistance under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) 1 to give military recruiters the same access to secondary school students as they provide to post-secondary institutions or to prospective employers. LEAs are also generally required to provide students’ names, addresses, and telephone listings to military recruiters, when requested.

Disability Awareness Week

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RCW 28A.230.158 Disability history month—Activities. Annually, during the month of October, each public school shall conduct or promote educational activities that provide instruction, awareness, and understanding of disability history and people with disabilities. The activities may include, but not be limited to, school assemblies or guest speaker presentations.

Voter Registration

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RCW 29A.08.310 Voter registration in state offices, colleges. The governor, in consultation with the secretary of state, shall designate agencies to provide voter registration services in compliance with federal statutes.(2) Each state agency designated shall provide voter registration services for employees and the public within each office of that agency.

Constitution Day

 Information Link (Financial Aid) / Information Link (Department of Education)

September 17 is Constitution Day and Citizenship Day (Constitution Day). This day commemorates the September 17, 1787 signing of the United States Constitution. Higher education institutions must offer educational programs about the Constitution each year on September 17 (Constitution Day) in order to remain eligible for Title IV funding, thanks to a provision by Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) that was slipped into a 2004 spending bill.

Title IX

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Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”) 2 is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded education programs and activities. All public and private elementary and secondary schools, school districts, colleges, and universities receiving any federal financial assistance (hereinafter “schools”, “recipients”, or “recipient institutions”) must comply with Title IX.3

Complying with Drug and Alcohol Regulations

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This might fall under other college departments, but often are found within student wellness, which might fall under student life

  1. § 86.3 What actions shall an IHE take to comply with the requirements of this part?
  1. An IHE shall adopt and implement a drug prevention program as described in § 86.100 to prevent the unlawful possession, use, or distribution of illicit drugs and alcohol by all students and employees on school premises or as part of any of its activities.
  2. An IHE shall provide a written certification that it has adopted and implemented the drug prevention program described in § 86.100.

The IHE’s drug prevention program must, at a minimum, include the following:

  1. The annual distribution in writing to each employee, and to each student who is taking one or more classes for any type of academic credit except for continuing education units, regardless of the length of the student’s program of study, of—
    1. Standards of conduct that clearly prohibit, at a minimum, the unlawful possession, use, or distribution of illicit drugs and alcohol by students and employees on its property or as part of any of its activities;
    2. A description of the applicable legal sanctions under local, State, or Federal law for the unlawful possession or distribution of illicit drugs and alcohol;
    3. A description of the health risks associated with the use of illicit drugs and the abuse of alcohol;
    4. A description of any drug or alcohol counseling, treatment, or rehabilitation or re-entry programs that are available to employees or students; and
    5. A clear statement that the IHE will impose disciplinary sanctions on students and employees (consistent with local, State, and Federal law), and a description of those sanctions, up to and including expulsion or termination of employment and referral for prosecution, for violations of the standards of conduct required by paragraph (a)(1) of this section. For the purpose of this section, a disciplinary sanction may include the completion of an appropriate rehabilitation program.
  2. A biennial review by the IHE of its program to—
    1. Determine its effectiveness and implement changes to the program if they are needed; and
    2. Ensure that the disciplinary sanctions described in paragraph (a)(5) of this section are consistently enforced.

Complying with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 

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Again, this might not pertain wholly to all student life operations, but some might have the responsibility to provide programs, or at least manage staff.

  1. Beginning July 30, 2022, all community and technical colleges must submit, on a biennial basis, strategic plans to the state board for community and technical colleges for achieving diversity, equity, and inclusion of all races on their campuses.
  2. Colleges must create their strategic plans using an inclusive process of stakeholders including, but not limited to, classified staff, faculty, administrative exempt staff, students, and community organizations. Colleges are encouraged to use campus climate surveys to develop and update strategic plans for diversity, equity, and inclusion of all races.
  3. In addition to planning, each community and technical college shall include in its diversity program opportunities for students from historically marginalized communities to form student-based organizations, and to use community-based organizations, that permit students to work together to mentor and assist one another in navigating the educational system and to access trained mentors using evidence-based mentoring strategies.
  4. Each community and technical college shall establish a culturally appropriate outreach program. The outreach program may include communities of color, students with disabilities, neurodiverse communities, and low-income communities and be designed to assist potential students to understand the opportunities available in the community and technical college system. The outreach program may assist students with navigating the student aid system. Outreach programs may include partnerships with appropriate community-based organizations and use research and supports from the student achievement council.
  5. The state board for community and technical colleges shall develop a model faculty diversity program designed to provide for the retention and recruitment of faculty from all racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. The faculty diversity program must be based on proven practices in diversity hiring processes.
  6. Each community and technical college shall conspicuously post on its website and include in the strategic plans, programs, and reports definitions for key terms including: Diversity, equity, inclusion, culturally competent, culturally appropriate, historically marginalized communities, communities of color, low-income communities, and community organizations.

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism—Program for students 

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  1. Each institution of higher education must:
    1. Provide a program, either existing or new, on diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism to students beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. Institutions of higher education may expand the focus of its program to reflect the needs of the campus community. This program must be developed in partnership with the institution’s administration, faculty, staff, and student leadership groups. Efforts should be made to ensure the program is developed and delivered by individuals with innate and acquired experience and expertise in the field of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The content framework for each program must be posted on each institution’s public website for parents and community members; and
    2. Create an evaluation for program participants. The evaluation must, at minimum, capture a participant’s level of satisfaction with the program and how they will apply the program to their education.
  2. The purpose of each program must be rooted in eliminating structural racism against all races and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion while improving outcomes for students from historically marginalized communities. The program must also include elements that focus on commonalities and humanity. Institutions of higher education may further develop a curriculum that is reflective of the needs of the campus community.
  3. During the 2024-25 academic year, all degree-seeking students at institutions of higher education must participate in the program, regardless of whether they are a full-time or part-time student. Beginning with the 2025-26 academic year, the program is only required for degree-seeking students who are new or have transferred to the institution and have not yet participated in a required diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism program at an institution of higher education. Students must be allowed to opt out of participation in the program if they self-attest to taking a diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism training at an institution of higher education within the previous five years.
  4. The state board for community and technical colleges and an organization representing the presidents of the public four-year institutions of higher education may conduct further analysis of the programs, through participant evaluation data, use of focus groups, or other methods to determine promising practices. The state board for community and technical colleges and an organization representing the presidents of the public four-year institutions of higher education must post a list of model standards and promising practices for programs on their public websites for parents and community members.
  5. The institutions of higher education shall adopt rules as necessary or appropriate for effecting the provisions of this section, not in conflict with this chapter, and in accordance with the provisions of chapter 34.05 RCW, the administrative procedure act.
  6. For purposes of this section, “student” or “students” does not include non-matriculated students.

AIDS information—Community and technical colleges. 

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This may not may not fall within student life responsibilities.

  1. The state board for community and technical colleges shall make information available to all newly matriculated students on methods of transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus and prevention of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. The curricula and materials shall be reviewed for medical accuracy by the office on AIDS in coordination with the appropriate regional AIDS service network.

Opioid and Fentanyl Prevention Education 

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  1. Each public and private institution of higher education shall provide opioid and fentanyl prevention education and awareness information to all students. Education may be offered in person or electronically and must include information on the “good samaritan” statute in RCW 69.50.315. This education must be posted on each institution’s public website for students, parents, and legal guardians to view.
  2. Naloxone and fentanyl strips must be made available to students on campus in various accessible locations such as student wellness centers, student union buildings, and student housing.
  3. Institutions of higher education must provide staff working in residence halls education and training on administering naloxone.
  4. For the purpose of assisting a person at risk of experiencing an opioid-related overdose, an institution of higher education may obtain and maintain opioid overdose reversal medication through a standing order prescribed and dispensed in accordance with RCW 69.41.095.
  5. For the purposes of this section, “institutions of higher education” has the same meaning as defined in RCW 28B.92.030.

Hazing—Code of conduct—Educational program

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  1. Each public and private institution of higher education shall prohibit in its code of conduct hazing off campus as well as on campus.
  2. Beginning with the 2022 fall term, each public and private institution of higher education shall provide students with an educational program on hazing and the dangers of and prohibition on hazing, which shall include information regarding hazing awareness, prevention, intervention, and the institution’s policy on hazing. The educational program may be offered in person or electronically. The institution must incorporate the educational program as part of new student orientation sessions. The educational program must be posted on each institution’s public website for parents, legal guardians, and volunteers to view.
  3. Institutional materials on student rights and responsibilities given to student organizations, athletic teams, or living groups, either electronically or in hard copy form, shall include a statement on the institution’s anti-hazing policy and on the dangers of hazing.

Title VIII: The Equal Access Act – Equal Access Act

Student Org/Club Rules 

  1. Prohibits any public secondary school which receives Federal financial assistance and which has a limited open forum from denying equal access or a fair opportunity to, or from discriminating against, any students who wish to conduct a meeting within that limited open forum on the basis of the religious, political, philosophical, or other content of the speech at such meetings.
  2. Provides that a public secondary school has a limited open forum whenever such school grants an offering to or opportunity for one or more noncurriculum related student groups to meet on school premises during noninstructional time.
  3. Provides that a school shall be deemed to offer a fair opportunity to students who wish to conduct a meeting within its limited open forum if such school uniformly provides that: (1) the meeting is voluntary and student-initiated; (2) there is no sponsorship of the meeting by the school, the government, or its agents, or employees; (3) government or school employees or agents are present at religious meetings only in a nonparticipatory capacity; (4) the meeting does not materially and substantially interfere with the orderly conduct of educational activities at the school; and (5) nonschool persons may not direct, conduct, control, or regularly attend activities of student groups.
  4. Provides that nothing in this title shall be construed to authorize the United States or any State or local government to:
    • (1) influence the form or content of any prayer or other religious activity;
    • (2) require any person to participate in prayer or other regligious activity;
    • (3) expend public funds beyond the incidental cost of providing space for student-initiated meetings;
    • (4) compel any school agent or employee to attend a school meeting if the content of the speech at the meeting is contrary to the beliefs of the agent or employee;
    • (5) sanction meetings that are otherwise unlawful;
    • (6) limit the rights of groups of students which are not of a specified numerical size; or
    • (7) abridge the constitutional rights of any person.
  5. Provides that nothing in this title shall be construed to authorize the United States to deny or withhold Federal assistance to any school.