State agencies: complaints: demographic data.

Assembly Member Ransom, joined by a broad cohort of coauthors, advances a measure that would require two state agencies to collect and publicly report deidentified demographic information tied to complaints processed through the education and civil rights systems, using the existing complaint pathways as the data source. The Education Department would begin collecting specified data upon receipt of qualifying complaints alleging unlawful discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying through its Uniform Complaint Procedures, with data elements including the complainant’s self-identified protected group (if provided), a description of the complaint, actions taken and timelines, and the disposition of the complaint; annual, deidentified summary reports would be published on the department’s website beginning in 2027.

For the Civil Rights Department, the measure directs collection of demographic information from complainants—specifically ethnicity, race, gender, and other applicable demographics to the extent reported—as well as the final action taken and the timeline from filing to resolution, with data treated as confidential and protected from public disclosure to the same extent as the underlying complaint. Beginning no later than October 1 of each year, the department would post a deidentified summary report on its website for the preceding calendar year. In both agencies, the published materials would exclude any personally identifying information and would be required to comply with applicable state and federal privacy laws and public records act constraints.

The measure embeds privacy safeguards as a central design feature, restricting public access to raw data and C-suite-like dashboards while ensuring that summary reports do not reveal individuals’ identities. It relies on the existing legal frameworks governing complaint processing and demographic data collection, and it includes constitutional findings intended to justify limited public access to certain information in order to protect privacy. The proposal does not itself create new appropriations or explicit penalties, but it does require fiscal committee review to assess potential implementation costs, including data system modifications, staff time for data quality control, and annual reporting duties.