Preventing Sexual Abuse of K–12 Students Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1928 To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to protect students from sexual abuse, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 16, 2021 Mr. LIEU introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to protect students from sexual abuse, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as ‘‘Preventing Sexual Abuse 4 of K–12 Students Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) Child sexual abuse victims are at greater 8 risk of experiencing feelings of guilt and shame, suf- 9 fering from low self-esteem, and developing sub- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:21 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1928.IH H1928 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1928 IH stance abuse symptoms, depression, and post-trau- 1 matic stress disorder. 2 (2) A 2004 study by the Department of Edu- 3 cation indicated that 9.6 percent of students in sec- 4 ondary schools reported that they had been sub- 5 jected to sexual misconduct by school personnel. 6 (3) A 2014 report by the Government Account- 7 ability Office revealed that only 42 States had codes 8 of conduct for school personnel of which only 22 9 dealt with appropriate relationships between per- 10 sonnel and students. 11 (4) Such 2014 report by GAO also revealed 12 that only 18 States mandated that school districts 13 provide sexual abuse and misconduct awareness and 14 prevention training. 15 (5) Title IX of the Education Amendments of 16 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), which prohibits sex 17 discrimination in education programs or activities 18 receiving federal funds, requires elementary and sec- 19 ondary schools to protect students from sexual abuse 20 and misconduct. 21 (6) Educators are dedicated and tireless indi- 22 viduals serving our communities and they make in- 23 valuable contributions to our country by preparing 24 students for the future. They work to provide chil- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:21 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1928.IH H1928 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1928 IH dren with safe and secure environments in which to 1 learn and these safe environments should be 2 strengthened by including the resources and training 3 necessary to help prevent the sexual abuse of stu- 4 dents. 5 (7) It is in the interest of the United States to 6 protect students in elementary and secondary 7 schools from sexual abuse and misconduct. 8 SEC. 3. SEXUAL ABUSE AWARENESS TRAINING. 9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart 2 of part F of title VIII 10 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 11 (20 U.S.C. 7901) is amended by adding at the end the 12 following: 13 ‘‘SEC. 8549D. SEXUAL ABUSE AWARENESS TRAINING. 14 ‘‘Each State receiving funds under this Act shall es- 15 tablish and implement a statewide policy requiring each 16 local educational agency to— 17 ‘‘(1) develop codes of conduct to prevent sexual 18 abuse of students by identifying acceptable and un- 19 acceptable behavior for— 20 ‘‘(A) school personnel with respect to rela- 21 tionships with students; and 22 ‘‘(B) students with respect to relationships 23 with other students; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:21 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1928.IH H1928 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1928 IH ‘‘(2) ensure that school personnel receive train- 1 ing on— 2 ‘‘(A) the codes of conduct described in 3 paragraph (1); 4 ‘‘(B) Federal and State requirements with 5 respect to reporting child abuse; 6 ‘‘(C) the requirements under title IX of the 7 Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 8 1681 et seq.) with respect to the protecting stu- 9 dents in elementary and secondary schools from 10 sexual abuse and misconduct; and 11 ‘‘(D) sexual abuse and misconduct aware- 12 ness and prevention.’’. 13 (b) FUNDING.— 14 (1) GRANTS FOR STATE ASSESSMENTS.—Sec- 15 tion 1201(a) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 16 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6361(a)) is amended 17 by adding at the end the following: 18 ‘‘(3) To carry out sexual abuse awareness train- 19 ing under section 8549D.’’. 20 (2) TYPES OF STATE ACTIVITIES.—Section 21 2101(c)(4)(B) of the Elementary and Secondary 22 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6611(c)(4)(B)) is 23 amended by adding at the end the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:21 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1928.IH H1928 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1928 IH ‘‘(xxii) To carry out sexual abuse 1 awareness training under section 8549D.’’. 2 (3) LOCAL USES OF FUNDS.—Section 3 2103(b)(3)(L) of the Elementary and Secondary 4 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6613(b)(3)(L)) is 5 amended by inserting ‘‘and carry out sexual abuse 6 awareness training under section 8549D’’ before the 7 semicolon. 8 (4) STUDENT SUPPORT AND ACADEMIC ENRICH- 9 MENT GRANTS.—Section 4108(5) of the Elementary 10 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 11 7118(5)) is amended— 12 (A) in subparagraph (H)(iii), by striking 13 ‘‘or’’ at the end; 14 (B) in subparagraph (I), by striking the 15 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 16 (C) by adding at the end the following: 17 ‘‘(J) to carry out sexual abuse awareness train- 18 ing under section 8549D.’’. 19 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 20 this section shall take effect on the date that is 2 years 21 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:21 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1928.IH H1928 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1928 IH SEC. 4. REPORT. 1 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 2 of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall conduct a 3 study and submit a report to Congress that includes— 4 (1) the incidence of sexual abuse of elementary 5 and secondary school students by— 6 (A) other students; and 7 (B) school personnel; and 8 (2) recommendations with respect to preventing 9 the sexual abuse described in paragraph (1). 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:21 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1928.IH H1928 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS