Signed by Governor Jerry Brown, Jr.

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that establishes an Athlete Bill of Rights for student athletes in institutions of higher education.

Highlights:

• Requires an institution of higher education to “promptly” approve a student athlete's written request to transfer to another institution of higher education without any restrictions or conditions and to authorize all of the following (Sec. 1):
• Granting other institutions of higher education permission to contact student athletes; and
• Waiving residency requirements, as permitted by athletic association rules.

• Defines “institution of higher education” as any campus of the University of California or California State University system, and any four-year private university in California that maintains an intercollegiate athletic program (Sec. 1).

• Requires an athletic program that does not renew an athletic scholarship of a student athlete who has been injured during his or her participation to provide an equivalent scholarship (Sec. 1).

• Requires an athletic program that does not renew an athletic scholarship of a student athlete, due to a nondisciplinary cause, other than an injury, to provide an equivalent scholarship (Sec. 1).

• Specifies that an “equivalent scholarship” is a scholarship that, combined with the total duration of any previous athletic scholarship or other scholarships, will cover the student athlete for up to 4 academic years (Sec. 1).

• Exempts athletic programs with a graduation rate above 60 percent from the requirement to provide an equivalent scholarship to a student athlete who lost his or her athletic scholarship due to a nondisciplinary cause other than an injury (Sec. 1).

• Prohibits an institution of higher education from counting the duration of a student athlete's leave of absence towards the 4-year eligibility limit for an equivalent scholarship (Sec. 1).

• Requires an athletic program to pay the insurance premiums that cover participation in the athletic program for each student athlete whose household has an income and asset level that does not exceed the level for Cal Grant A recipients (Sec. 1).

• Requires an athletic program to pay an insurance deductible amount for any student athlete injury that resulted from his or her participation in the athletic program, for up to 5 years after the date of the injury (Sec. 1).

• Requires an athletic program to conduct a financial and life skills workshop for all of its first-year and third-year student athletes at the beginning of the academic year which must include, but is not limited to, the following information (Sec. 1):
• Financial aid;
• Debt management;
• A recommended budget for full and partial scholarship student athletes living on or off campus during the academic year and the summer term based on the cost of attendance for that academic year;
• Time management skills; and
• Academic resources available on campus.

• Requires an institution of higher education to only use revenue from media rights for intercollegiate athletics to pay for any costs accrued from the financial and life skills workshop (Sec. 1).

• Exempts an institution of higher education that receives, as an average, less than $10 million in annual income from media rights for intercollegiate athletics from the provisions of this bill (Sec. 1).

• Requires an institution of higher education to grant a student athlete the same rights as other students when matters of adverse or disciplinary actions are concerned (Sec. 1).

• Requires an athletic program to adopt guidelines on the following (Sec. 1):
• The prevention, assessment, and treatment of sports-related concussions and dehydration; and
• The exercise and supervision for any student athlete who has a potentially life-threatening health condition.

Full Bill Text