SOS Campus Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1483 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education to have an independent advocate for campus sexual assault prevention and response. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 15, 2019 Mr. KAINE (for himself, Ms. BALDWIN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, and Ms. HIRONO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education to have an independent advocate for campus sexual assault prevention and re- sponse. 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 the ‘‘Survivor Outreach and 4 Support Campus Act’’ or the ‘‘SOS Campus Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1483.IS S1483 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1483 IS SEC. 2. INDEPENDENT ADVOCATE FOR CAMPUS SEXUAL AS- 1 SAULT PREVENTION AND RESPONSE. 2 Part B of title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965 3 (20 U.S.C. 1011 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 4 the following: 5 ‘‘SEC. 124. INDEPENDENT ADVOCATE FOR CAMPUS SEXUAL 6 ASSAULT PREVENTION AND RESPONSE. 7 ‘‘(a) ADVOCATE.— 8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 9 ‘‘(A) DESIGNATION.—Each institution of 10 higher education that receives Federal financial 11 assistance under title IV shall designate an 12 independent advocate for campus sexual assault 13 prevention and response (referred to in this sec- 14 tion as the ‘Advocate’) who shall be appointed 15 based on experience and a demonstrated ability 16 of the individual to effectively provide sexual as- 17 sault victim services. 18 ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION OF EXISTENCE OF 19 AND INFORMATION FOR THE ADVOCATE.—Each 20 employee of an institution described in subpara- 21 graph (A) who receives a report of sexual as- 22 sault shall notify the victim of the existence of, 23 contact information for, and services provided 24 by the Advocate of the institution. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1483.IS S1483 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1483 IS ‘‘(C) APPOINTMENT.—Not later than 180 1 days after the date of enactment of the Sur- 2 vivor Outreach and Support Campus Act, the 3 Secretary shall prescribe regulations for institu- 4 tions to follow in appointing Advocates under 5 this section. At a minimum, each Advocate 6 shall— 7 ‘‘(i) report to an individual outside the 8 body responsible for investigating and ad- 9 judicating sexual assault complaints at the 10 institution; and 11 ‘‘(ii) submit to such individual an an- 12 nual report summarizing how the resources 13 supplied to the Advocate were used, includ- 14 ing the number of male and female sexual 15 assault victims assisted. 16 ‘‘(2) ROLE OF THE ADVOCATE.—In carrying 17 out the responsibilities described in this section, the 18 Advocate shall represent the interests of the student 19 victim even when in conflict with the interests of the 20 institution. The Advocate may not be disciplined, pe- 21 nalized, or otherwise retaliated against by the insti- 22 tution for representing the interest of the victim, in 23 the event of a conflict of interest with the institu- 24 tion. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1483.IS S1483 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1483 IS ‘‘(b) SEXUAL ASSAULT.—In this section, the term 1 ‘sexual assault’ means penetration, no matter how slight, 2 of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or 3 oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without 4 the consent of the victim, including when the victim is in- 5 capable of giving consent. 6 ‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ADVOCATE.—Each 7 Advocate shall carry out the following, regardless of 8 whether the victim wishes the victim’s report to remain 9 confidential: 10 ‘‘(1)(A) Ensure that victims of sexual assault at 11 the institution receive, with the victim’s consent, the 12 following sexual assault victim’s assistance services 13 available 24 hours a day: 14 ‘‘(i) Information on how to report a cam- 15 pus sexual assault to law enforcement. 16 ‘‘(ii) Emergency medical care, including 17 follow up medical care as requested. 18 ‘‘(iii) Medical forensic or evidentiary ex- 19 aminations. 20 ‘‘(B) Ensure that victims of sexual assault at 21 the institution receive, with the victim’s consent, the 22 following sexual assault victim’s assistance services: 23 ‘‘(i) Crisis intervention counseling and on- 24 going counseling. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1483.IS S1483 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1483 IS ‘‘(ii) Information on the victim’s rights and 1 referrals to additional support services. 2 ‘‘(iii) Information on legal services. 3 ‘‘(C) Provide the services described in subpara- 4 graphs (A) and (B) either— 5 ‘‘(i) pursuant to a memorandum of under- 6 standing (that includes transportation services) 7 at a rape crisis center, legal organization, or 8 other community-based organization located 9 within a reasonable distance from the institu- 10 tion; or 11 ‘‘(ii) on the campus of the institution in 12 consultation with a rape crisis center, legal or- 13 ganization, or other community-based organiza- 14 tion. 15 ‘‘(D) Ensure that a victim of sexual assault 16 may not be disciplined, penalized, or otherwise re- 17 taliated against for reporting such assault to the Ad- 18 vocate. 19 ‘‘(2) Guide victims of sexual assault who re- 20 quest assistance through the reporting, counseling, 21 administrative, medical and health, academic accom- 22 modations, or legal processes of the institution or 23 local law enforcement. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1483.IS S1483 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 1483 IS ‘‘(3) Attend, at the request of the victim of sex- 1 ual assault, any administrative or institution-based 2 adjudication proceeding related to such assault as an 3 advocate for the victim. 4 ‘‘(4) Maintain the privacy and confidentiality of 5 the victim and any witness of such sexual assault, 6 and shall not notify the institution or any other au- 7 thority of the identity of the victim or any such wit- 8 ness or the alleged circumstances surrounding the 9 reported sexual assault, unless otherwise required by 10 the applicable laws in the State where such institu- 11 tion is located. 12 ‘‘(5) Conduct a public information campaign to 13 inform the students enrolled at the institution of the 14 existence of, contact information for, and services 15 provided by the Advocate, including— 16 ‘‘(A) posting information— 17 ‘‘(i) on the website of the institution; 18 ‘‘(ii) in student orientation materials; 19 and 20 ‘‘(iii) on posters displayed in dor- 21 mitories, cafeterias, sports arenas, locker 22 rooms, entertainment facilities, and class- 23 rooms; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1483.IS S1483 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 1483 IS ‘‘(B) training coaches, faculty, school ad- 1 ministrators, resident advisors, and other staff 2 to provide information on the existence of, con- 3 tact information for, and services provided by 4 the Advocate. 5 ‘‘(d) CLERY ACT AND TITLE IX.—Nothing in this 6 section shall alter or amend the rights, duties, and respon- 7 sibilities under section 485(f) or title IX of the Education 8 Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) (also 9 known as the ‘Patsy Takemoto Mink Equal Opportunity 10 in Education Act’).’’. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1483.IS S1483 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS