Supporting Survivors of Sexual Harassment in Schools Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8193 To require the Secretary of Education to ensure that local educational agen- cies establish full-time title IX coordinators to improve oversight, data collection on sexual harassment, student survivor support, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 8, 2020 Ms. MENG (for herself, Ms. ESCOBAR, Ms. NORTON, Mr. CASTEN of Illinois, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. KENNEDY, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. COOPER, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. KHANNA, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. FRANKEL, and Mrs. HAYES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Education and Labor A BILL To require the Secretary of Education to ensure that local educational agencies establish full-time title IX coordina- tors to improve oversight, data collection on sexual har- assment, student survivor support, and for other pur- poses. 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 ‘‘Supporting Survivors 4 of Sexual Harassment in Schools Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Sep 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8193.IH H8193 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8193 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 The Congress finds the following: 2 (1) Title IX of the Education Amendments of 3 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) (in this Act referred 4 to as ‘‘title IX’’) mandates that no individual in the 5 United States shall be excluded on the basis of sex 6 from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or 7 be subjected to discrimination under any education 8 program or activity that receives Federal financial 9 assistance. 10 (2) Although title IX protects against sexual 11 and sex-based harassment and violence, sexual as- 12 saults in K–12 schools and institutions of higher 13 education remain a pervasive problem. 14 (3) Peer sexual harassment is a significant so- 15 cial problem with consequences for both students 16 and schools. Four out of 5 students report experi- 17 encing sexual harassment. These experiences have 18 been linked to poor psychological health and aca- 19 demic withdrawal. 20 (4) Many school districts have only a part-time, 21 single title IX coordinator at the local educational 22 agency level to oversee principals, school-site specific 23 title IX coordinators, staff, and the safety of thou- 24 sands of students. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Sep 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8193.IH H8193 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8193 IH (5) Although educational institutions have a 1 legal responsibility to enforce, monitor, and respond 2 to sexual harassment and assault, far more students 3 experience sexual harassment than schools report. 4 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 5 In this Act: 6 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 7 the Secretary of Education. 8 (2) FULL-TIME LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY 9 TITLE IX COORDINATOR.—The term ‘‘full-time local 10 educational agency title IX coordinator’’ means an 11 individual who is acting as an employee of the local 12 educational agency, or who is paid by an entity con- 13 tracting with the local educational agency and acting 14 on behalf of the local educational agency— 15 (A) with an average work period of 40 16 hours per week, 160 hours per month, or full 17 time as defined by State regulations; and 18 (B) accountable to fulfill the title IX coor- 19 dinator requirements under Federal, State, and 20 local laws and policy. 21 (3) TITLE IX COORDINATOR.—The term ‘‘title 22 IX coordinator’’ means a responsible employee, as 23 described in section 106.8(a) of title 34, Code of 24 Federal Regulations, designated to coordinate efforts 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Sep 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8193.IH H8193 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8193 IH under title IX of the Education Amendments of 1 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.). 2 (4) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 3 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 4 the term in section 8101(30) of the Elementary and 5 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6 7801(30)). 7 (5) SEXUAL HARASSMENT.—The term ‘‘sexual 8 harassment’’ means any unwelcome conduct of a 9 sexual nature, regardless of whether it is direct or 10 indirect, or verbal or nonverbal (including conduct 11 that is undertaken in whole or in part, through the 12 use of electronic messaging services, commercial mo- 13 bile services, electronic communications, or other 14 technology), that unreasonably alters an individual’s 15 terms, conditions, benefits, or privileges of an edu- 16 cational program or activity, including by creating 17 an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment, 18 which takes the form of— 19 (A) a sexual advance; 20 (B) a request for sexual favors; 21 (C) a sexual act, where such submission is 22 made either explicitly or implicitly a term or 23 condition of a program or activity at a school 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:35 Sep 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8193.IH H8193 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8193 IH or school activity, regardless of a student’s sub- 1 mission to or rejection of such sexual act; 2 (D) a sexual act, where such submission or 3 rejection is used as the basis for a decision af- 4 fecting a term or condition of a program or ac- 5 tivity at a school or school activity, regardless 6 of a student’s submission to or rejection of such 7 sexual act; 8 (E) other conduct of a sexual nature; or 9 (F) domestic violence, intimate partner vio- 10 lence (dating violence), and sex-based stalking. 11 SEC. 4. PURPOSES. 12 The purposes of this Act are to— 13 (1) support local educational agencies to ensure 14 that title IX coordinators at the local educational 15 agency level and at the school level have the support 16 to fully carry out their roles and responsibilities; 17 (2) identify that sexual harassment, including 18 stalking and dating violence, is a pervasive problem 19 in K–12 schools and requires increased attention; 20 (3) protect students, teachers, and administra- 21 tive staff from inconsistent policies and protocol; 22 (4) identify, implement, and disseminate best 23 practices for reducing and preventing sex discrimina- 24 tion in K–12 schools; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Sep 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8193.IH H8193 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8193 IH (5) increase safety standards in schools to en- 1 sure that sexual harassment does not compromise 2 students’ access to education; 3 (6) collect data on prevalence, impact of, and 4 response to sexual harassment in education; and 5 (7) protect students who come forward to re- 6 port sexual harassment. 7 SEC. 5. SUPPORT FOR TITLE IX COORDINATORS; COLLEC- 8 TION OF DATA. 9 (a) ISSUANCE OF RULES.—The Secretary shall issue 10 rules necessary to ensure that there is not less than 1 full- 11 time title IX coordinator for each local educational agency 12 that receives funds under title V of the Elementary and 13 Secondary Education Act of 1965 and that serves 10,000 14 or more students. 15 (b) CIVIL RIGHTS DATA COLLECTION.—The Sec- 16 retary shall collect and publish within the Civil Rights 17 Data Collection, in addition to data already collected and 18 in accordance to Family Educational Rights and Privacy 19 Act (FERPA)— 20 (1) the full-time and part-time employment of 21 title IX coordinators for each local educational agen- 22 cy; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Sep 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8193.IH H8193 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8193 IH (2) specific data under Offenses: Sexual Vio- 1 lence, cross-tabulated and disaggregated by sex, dis- 2 ability, and race, color, or nationality— 3 (A) number of reported incidents of sexual 4 harassment, dating violence, stalking, rape, at- 5 tempted rape, and sexual assault (other than 6 rape), that alleged to have occurred at the 7 school or school activity, committed by a stu- 8 dent; 9 (B) number of reported incidents of sexual 10 harassment, dating violence, stalking, rape, at- 11 tempted rape, and sexual assault (other than 12 rape), that alleged to have occurred at the 13 school or school activity, committed by a school 14 staff member; 15 (C) number of reports of sexual harass- 16 ment, dating violence, stalking, rape, attempted 17 rape, and sexual assault (other than rape) com- 18 mitted by a student that resulted in a finding 19 that a student was responsible for the offense 20 or not responsible for the offense; 21 (D) number of reports of sexual harass- 22 ment, dating violence, stalking, rape, attempted 23 rape, and sexual assault (other than rape), 24 against a school staff member that were fol- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Sep 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8193.IH H8193 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8193 IH lowed by a resignation or retirement prior to 1 final discipline or termination; 2 (E) number of reports of sexual harass- 3 ment, dating violence, stalking, rape, attempted 4 rape, and sexual assault (other than rape), that 5 occurred at the school or school activity, against 6 a school staff member that were followed by a 7 determination that the school staff member was 8 responsible or not responsible for the offense; 9 (F) number of reports of sexual harass- 10 ment, dating violence, stalking, rape, attempted 11 rape, and sexual assault (other than rape), that 12 occurred at the school or school activity, against 13 a school staff member that had a determination 14 that remained pending; 15 (G) number of reports of sexual harass- 16 ment, dating violence, stalking, rape, attempted 17 rape, and sexual assault (other than rape), that 18 occurred at the school or school activity, against 19 a school staff member that were followed by a 20 duty reassignment prior to final discipline or 21 termination; 22 (H) the median length of the complaint 23 process from the filing of a report, to the end 24 of the appeals process; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Sep 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8193.IH H8193 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8193 IH (I) the number of students who took leaves 1 of absences, transferred schools, or dropped out 2 within a year after reporting sexual harass- 3 ment, dating violence, stalking, rape, attempted 4 rape, and sexual assault (other than rape) to 5 the school. 6 (c) CLIMATE SURVEYS.— 7 (1) Beginning 18 months after the date of en- 8 actment of the Supporting Survivors of Sexual Har- 9 assment in Schools Act, the full-time local edu- 10 cational agency title IX coordinator shall develop 11 and collect anonymous climate survey data based on 12 paragraph (2), cross-tabulated and disaggregated by 13 sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, 14 and pregnancy), disability, and race, color or na- 15 tional origin, in accordance to Family Educational 16 Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and except in cir- 17 cumstances where small population sizes would mean 18 collection of this data compromises anonymity, from 19 each school community, including students, parents, 20 and staff, and conducted not later than one year 21 after such date of enactment, and conducted, re- 22 viewed, and updated annually. 23 (2) The full-time local educational agency title 24 IX coordinator shall collect and submit to the De- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Sep 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8193.IH H8193 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8193 IH partment anonymous climate survey data cross-tab- 1 ulated and disaggregated by sex (including sexual 2 orientation, gender identity, and pregnancy), dis- 3 ability, and race, color or national origin, in accord- 4 ance to Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act 5 (FERPA) and except in circumstances where small 6 population sizes would mean collection of this data 7 compromises anonymity, that includes— 8 (A) the reported incidence and prevalence 9 of experiences of sexual harassment, sexual vio- 10 lence, dating violence, domestic violence, and 11 stalking; 12 (B) the rate in which the perpetrator was 13 a student, staff, or teacher and other contextual 14 factors; 15 (C) whether students report that they 16 know about institutional policies and proce- 17 dures, such as the identity of the title IX coor- 18 dinator, the location of title IX resources, in- 19 cluding resources on sexual harassment, gender- 20 based harassment and violence, and definitions 21 of sexual misconduct; 22 (D) if students indicate they have reported 23 gender-based harassment and violence, the role 24 of the people to whom they reported; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Sep 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8193.IH H8193 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8193 IH (E) types of disciplinary action and the 1 rate of disciplinary action taken against the 2 complainant and/or the respondent related to 3 the report of gender-based harassment; 4 (F) the types of accommodations and sup- 5 ports students who indicate they have reported 6 gender-based harassment report having re- 7 ceived, such as counseling, medical services, or 8 class scheduling changes; 9 (G) any reported short-term or long-term 10 impacts on physical or mental health from stu- 11 dents who have experienced gender-based vio- 12 lence or harassment; 13 (H) the frequency at which complainants 14 request to drop classes, take a leave of absence 15 from school, or leave the institution perma- 16 nently; 17 (I) school community members’ attitudes 18 toward gender-based violence and harassment, 19 including individuals’ willingness to intervene as 20 a bystander; and 21 (J) school community members’ perception 22 of campus safety and confidence in the institu- 23 tion’s ability to appropriately address gender- 24 based violence and harassment. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Sep 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8193.IH H8193 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 8193 IH (d) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary must provide guid- 1 ance to LEAs and full-time local educational agency title 2 IX coordinators on how to implement the climate survey. 3 (e) REPORT.—The Department must publish an an- 4 nual report on climate survey data findings from sub- 5 section (b) on the Department website. The annual report 6 shall include national, [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]