Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1492 To prevent harassment at institutions of higher education, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 15, 2019 Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CASEY, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. HARRIS, Ms. HASSAN, Ms. HIRONO, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. SAND- ERS, Mr. SCHATZ, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. SMITH, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. WARREN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Edu- cation, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To prevent harassment at institutions of higher education, 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 the ‘‘Tyler Clementi Higher 4 Education Anti-Harassment Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1492.IS S1492 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1492 IS SEC. 2. INSTITUTIONAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IN- 1 FORMATION FOR STUDENTS. 2 Section 485(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 3 (20 U.S.C. 1092(f)) is amended— 4 (1) by striking the subsection heading and in- 5 serting ‘‘DISCLOSURE OF CAMPUS SECURITY AND 6 HARASSMENT POLICY AND CAMPUS CRIME STATIS- 7 TICS.’’; 8 (2) in paragraph (6)(A)— 9 (A) by redesignating clauses (iii), (iv), and 10 (v), as clauses (vi), (vii), and (viii), respectively; 11 and 12 (B) by inserting after clause (ii) the fol- 13 lowing: 14 ‘‘(iii) The term ‘commercial mobile service’ has 15 the meaning given the term in section 332(d) of the 16 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332(d)). 17 ‘‘(iv) The term ‘electronic communication’ 18 means any transfer of signs, signals, writing, im- 19 ages, sounds, or data of any nature transmitted in 20 whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, 21 photoelectronic, or photooptical system. 22 ‘‘(v) The term ‘electronic messaging services’ 23 has the meaning given the term in section 102 of the 24 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement 25 Act (47 U.S.C. 1001).’’; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1492.IS S1492 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1492 IS (3) by redesignating paragraphs (9) through 1 (18) as paragraphs (10) through (19), respectively; 2 and 3 (4) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol- 4 lowing: 5 ‘‘(9)(A) Each institution of higher education partici- 6 pating in any program under this title, other than a for- 7 eign institution of higher education, shall develop and dis- 8 tribute as part of the report described in paragraph (1)— 9 ‘‘(i) a statement of policy regarding harassment 10 on the basis of a student’s actual or perceived race, 11 color, national origin, sex (including sexual orienta- 12 tion, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth, a med- 13 ical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth, and 14 a sex stereotype), disability, or religion, which shall 15 include— 16 ‘‘(I) a prohibition of such harassment of 17 enrolled students by other students, faculty, 18 and staff— 19 ‘‘(aa) on campus; 20 ‘‘(bb) in noncampus buildings or on 21 noncampus property; 22 ‘‘(cc) on public property; 23 ‘‘(dd) in dormitories or other residen- 24 tial facilities for students on campus; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1492.IS S1492 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1492 IS ‘‘(ee) through the use of electronic 1 mail addresses issued by the institution of 2 higher education; 3 ‘‘(ff) through the use of computers 4 and communication networks, including 5 any telecommunications service, owned, op- 6 erated, or contracted for use by the institu- 7 tion of higher education or its agents; or 8 ‘‘(gg) during an activity sponsored by 9 the institution of higher education or car- 10 ried out with the use of resources provided 11 by the institution of higher education; 12 ‘‘(II) a prohibition of such harassment that 13 is carried out in whole or in part through the 14 use of electronic messaging services, commercial 15 mobile services, electronic communications, or 16 other technology; 17 ‘‘(III) a description of the institution’s pro- 18 grams to combat harassment, which shall be 19 aimed at the prevention of harassment; 20 ‘‘(IV) a description of the procedures that 21 a student should follow if an incident of harass- 22 ment occurs; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1492.IS S1492 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1492 IS ‘‘(V) a description of the procedures that 1 the institution will follow once an incident of 2 harassment has been reported; and 3 ‘‘(ii) a detailed description of each occasion in 4 which a pattern of harassment occurs based on one 5 or more of the characteristics described in clause (i) 6 and the actions taken by the institution of higher 7 education. 8 ‘‘(B) The statement of policy described in subpara- 9 graph (A)(i) shall address the following areas: 10 ‘‘(i) Procedures for timely institutional action in 11 cases of alleged harassment, which procedures shall 12 include a clear statement that the accuser and the 13 accused shall be informed of the outcome of any dis- 14 ciplinary proceedings in response to an allegation of 15 harassment. 16 ‘‘(ii) Possible sanctions to be imposed following 17 the final determination of an institutional discipli- 18 nary procedure regarding harassment. 19 ‘‘(iii) Notification of existing counseling, mental 20 health, or student services for victims or perpetra- 21 tors of harassment, both on campus and in the com- 22 munity. 23 ‘‘(iv) Identification of a designated employee or 24 office at the institution that will be responsible for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1492.IS S1492 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 1492 IS receiving and tracking each report of harassment by 1 a student, faculty, or staff member.’’. 2 SEC. 3. ANTI-HARASSMENT COMPETITIVE GRANT PRO- 3 GRAM. 4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 5 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 6 ty’’ means— 7 (A) an institution of higher education, in- 8 cluding an institution of higher education in a 9 collaborative partnership with a nonprofit orga- 10 nization; or 11 (B) a consortium of institutions of higher 12 education located in the same State. 13 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 14 the Secretary of Education. 15 (b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary is au- 16 thorized to award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible 17 entities to enable eligible entities to carry out the author- 18 ized activities described in subsection (d). 19 (c) AMOUNT OF GRANT AWARDS.—The Secretary 20 shall ensure that each grant awarded under this section 21 is of sufficient amount to enable the grantee to meet the 22 purpose of this section. 23 (d) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—An eligible entity 24 that receives a grant under this section shall use the funds 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1492.IS S1492 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 1492 IS made available through the grant to address harassment 1 on the basis of one or more of the characteristics described 2 in section 485(f)(9)(A)(i) of the Higher Education Act of 3 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(f)(9)(A)(i)), as amended by section 4 2 of this Act, by initiating, expanding, or improving pro- 5 grams— 6 (1) to prevent the harassment of students at in- 7 stitutions of higher education; 8 (2) at institutions of higher education that pro- 9 vide counseling or redress services to students who 10 have suffered such harassment or students who have 11 been accused of subjecting other students to such 12 harassment; or 13 (3) that educate or train students, faculty, or 14 staff of institutions of higher education about ways 15 to prevent harassment or ways to address such har- 16 assment if it occurs. 17 (e) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 18 under this section, an eligible entity shall submit an appli- 19 cation to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 20 containing such information, as the Secretary may re- 21 quire. 22 (f) DURATION; RENEWAL.—A grant under this sec- 23 tion shall be awarded for a period of not more than 3 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1492.IS S1492 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 1492 IS years. The Secretary may renew a grant under this section 1 for one additional period of not more than 2 years. 2 (g) AWARD CONSIDERATIONS.—In awarding a grant 3 under this section, the Secretary shall select eligible enti- 4 ties that demonstrate the greatest need for a grant and 5 the greatest potential benefit from receipt of a grant. 6 (h) REPORT AND EVALUATION.— 7 (1) EVALUATION AND REPORT TO THE SEC- 8 RETARY.—Not later than 6 months after the end of 9 the eligible entity’s grant period, the eligible entity 10 shall— 11 (A) evaluate the effectiveness of the activi- 12 ties carried out with the use of funds awarded 13 pursuant to this section; and 14 (B) prepare and submit to the Secretary a 15 report on the results of the evaluation con- 16 ducted by the entity. 17 (2) EVALUATION AND REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 18 Not later than 12 months after the date of receipt 19 of the first report submitted pursuant to paragraph 20 (1) and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall pro- 21 vide to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 22 and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on 23 Education and Labor of the House of Representa- 24 tives a report that includes the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1492.IS S1492 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 1492 IS (A) The number and types of eligible enti- 1 ties receiving assistance under this section. 2 (B) The anti-harassment programs being 3 implemented with assistance under this section 4 and the costs of such programs. 5 (C) Any other information determined by 6 the Secretary to be useful in evaluating the 7 overall effectiveness of the program established 8 under this section in decreasing incidents of 9 harassment at institutions of higher education. 10 (3) BEST PRACTICES REPORT.—The Secretary 11 shall use the information provided under paragraph 12 (1) to publish a report of evidence-based best prac- 13 tices for combating harassment at institutions of 14 higher education, which shall be based on scientific 15 research that meets nationally recognized standards. 16 The report shall be made available to all institutions 17 of higher education and other interested parties. 18 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 19 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 20 $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2025. 21 SEC. 4. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 22 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to invalidate 23 or limit rights, remedies, procedures, or legal standards 24 available under any other Federal law or law of a State 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1492.IS S1492 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 1492 IS or political subdivision of a State, including title VI of the 1 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), title 2 IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 3 1681 et seq.), section 504 or 505 of the Rehabilitation 4 Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794, 794a), or the Americans with 5 Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). The 6 obligations imposed by this Act are in addition to those 7 imposed by title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 8 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), title IX of the Education Amend- 9 ments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), section 504 of 10 the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), and the 11 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 12 et seq.). 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1492.IS S1492 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS