Stop Sexual Harassment in K–12 Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8290 To implement title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 with respect to elementary and secondary schools, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 Mr. CASTEN of Illinois (for himself, Ms. FRANKEL, Mrs. LAWRENCE, and Ms. MENG) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To implement title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 with respect to elementary and secondary schools, 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 ‘‘Stop Sexual Harass- 4 ment in K–12 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. TITLE IX COORDINATOR. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—For each local educational agency 7 (as defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec- 8 ondary Education Act of 1965 (8 U.S.C. 7801)) that re- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8290.IH H8290 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8290 IH ceives Federal financial assistance (as such term is defined 1 in section 7501(a)(5) of title 31, United States Code), the 2 following requirements shall apply as a condition on con- 3 tinued receipt of such assistance: 4 (1) The recipient shall designate at least one 5 full-time equivalent employee to serve as a Title IX 6 Coordinator per 75,000 students in 7th grade or 7 above served by the recipient and one per 150,000 8 students in 6th grade or below. 9 (2) The recipient shall ensure students and 10 staff are made aware of these employees, their role, 11 and the times at which they are available to meet. 12 (3) A Title IX Coordinator should not have any 13 other school-related responsibility that may create a 14 conflict of interest, including serving in the school 15 administrative leadership or local educational agency 16 administrative leadership (such as serving as a prin- 17 cipal, vice principal, headmaster, superintendent, 18 board member, general counsel, athletics director, 19 etc.). 20 (4) A Title IX Coordinator, along with a prin- 21 cipal, campus security, bus driver, teacher, counselor 22 or social worker, affirmative action officer, or any 23 other staff member, shall be considered an ‘‘appro- 24 priate person’’ to whom to disclose sexual assaults 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8290.IH H8290 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8290 IH for purposes of the legal standards that enable pri- 1 vate rights of action. 2 (b) DUTIES.—Each Title IX Coordinator for a local 3 educational agency shall ensure the local educational agen- 4 cy’s compliance under Federal, State, and local laws and 5 policies against sex discrimination, including title IX of 6 the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et 7 seq.), by doing the following: 8 (1) Ensuring that every individual affected by 9 the operations of the local educational agency, in- 10 cluding students, parents, guardians, employees, and 11 applicants for admission or employment, is aware of 12 their rights under Federal, State, and local laws and 13 polices against sex discrimination, including title IX, 14 and that the local educational agency and its em- 15 ployees comply with those laws and policies, includ- 16 ing receiving training on the laws and policies. 17 (2) Ensuring that notices of nondiscrimination, 18 relevant policies and grievance procedures, and cur- 19 rent contact information of all Title IX Coordinators 20 are disseminated broadly and in an age-appropriate 21 manner accessible to all students, parents, guard- 22 ians, and employees and applicants for admission or 23 employment, including on school websites and in 24 school handbooks. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8290.IH H8290 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8290 IH (3) Monitoring complaints alleging discrimina- 1 tion based on sex (including sexual orientation, gen- 2 der identity, pregnancy, childbirth, a medical condi- 3 tion related to pregnancy or childbirth, and a sex 4 stereotype) and sexual harassment, including sup- 5 portive measures offered to complainants and the 6 outcomes of complaints. 7 (4) Identifying patterns of sex discrimination 8 from complaints and addressing its impact on the 9 school community. 10 (5) Coordinating dissemination, collection, and 11 analysis of climate surveys, including the survey de- 12 scribed in section 4, and identifying and proactively 13 addressing sex discrimination in the local edu- 14 cational agency based on the results of climate sur- 15 veys. 16 (6) Overseeing age-appropriate sexual harass- 17 ment prevention education and trainings to school 18 employees and students and ensuring that preven- 19 tion education and training is inclusive of diverse 20 communities and identities, informed by research, 21 and conducted in partnership with local rape crisis 22 centers, State sexual assault coalitions, or commu- 23 nity organizations that work on addressing sex dis- 24 crimination, including sexual harassment in schools. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8290.IH H8290 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8290 IH (c) WAIVER AUTHORIZED.—A recipient described in 1 subsection (a) may request a waiver from the Secretary 2 of Education of one or more of the requirements under 3 such subsection on the basis that the requirement poses 4 an insurmountable financial burden to the recipient and 5 the recipient has been unable to secure sufficient grants 6 under subsection (d). The waiver process shall include re- 7 quiring the recipient to submit an alternative plan for en- 8 suring students are aware of their rights under title IX 9 of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 10 et seq.) and have access to a Title IX Coordinator. If a 11 recipient has such a waiver approved but does not follow 12 their alternative plan, or the Secretary deems their plan 13 was insufficient to prevent and respond to sexual harass- 14 ment and assault, the Secretary of Education shall take 15 such action as may be appropriate to withhold Federal fi- 16 nancial assistance. A waiver granted under this subsection 17 shall be valid for 2 years. 18 (d) GRANTS.—To carry out this section, there are au- 19 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Education 20 $100,000,000 for grants to recipients described in sub- 21 section (a) to offset the financial burden of satisfying the 22 requirements of this section. In making grants under this 23 subsection, priority shall be given to local educational 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8290.IH H8290 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8290 IH agencies that otherwise would face a high financial burden 1 in fulfilling such requirements. 2 (e) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘Title IX 3 Coordinator’’ means the employee of a recipient of Federal 4 financial assistance (as such term is defined in section 5 7501(a)(5) of title 31, United States Code) with major 6 responsibility for coordinating the recipient’s efforts to 7 comply with its obligations under title IX of the Education 8 Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.). 9 SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR TRAINING ON HOW TO RESPOND TO 10 SIGNS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND AS- 11 SAULT OF STUDENTS. 12 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec- 13 retary of Education $50,000,000 for grants to local edu- 14 cational agencies (as defined in section 8101 of the Ele- 15 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (8 U.S.C. 16 7801)) to train elementary and secondary school teachers 17 and other school staff on how to prevent, recognize, and 18 respond to signs of sexual harassment and assault among 19 students or between students and adults, as well as groom- 20 ing of students by adults at school. 21 SEC. 4. CLIMATE SURVEYS. 22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education, in 23 consultation with the Attorney General and the Director 24 of the Centers for Disease Control of the Department of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8290.IH H8290 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8290 IH Health and Human Services, shall develop an empirically 1 validated sexual violence climate survey to be conducted 2 on an anonymous basis of elementary and secondary 3 school students and staff not later than one year after the 4 date of the enactment of this Act. The survey shall assess 5 the occurrence on school property during the preceding 6 calendar year for which data is available of instances of 7 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sexual 8 violence, sexual harassment, and stalking. 9 (b) STATISTICS.—Beginning 18 months after the 10 date of the enactment of this Act, such officials shall com- 11 pile statistics based upon their analysis of the results of 12 the survey. Such officials shall update, conduct, and com- 13 pile the results of, the survey every 2 years thereafter. The 14 compiled statistics should be disaggregated by local edu- 15 cational agency, except that such disaggregation shall not 16 be required in the case of a local educational agency of 17 a size such that the results would reveal personally identi- 18 fiable information about an individual student, in which 19 case, an alternate basis for disaggregation shall be se- 20 lected. 21 (c) DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE CONTENT.— 22 The Secretary shall ensure that the survey questions vary 23 between staff and students and for different age groups 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8290.IH H8290 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8290 IH in order to ensure that the questions are developmentally 1 appropriate. 2 (d) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The statistics compiled 3 under subsection (b) shall be made publicly available on 4 the website of the Department of Education and readily 5 accessible to and usable by individuals, including individ- 6 uals with disabilities. 7 (e) TOPICS.—Subject to subsection (c), the survey 8 shall address— 9 (1) whether the instances domestic violence, 10 dating violence, sexual assault, sexual violence, sex- 11 ual harassment, and stalking described were experi- 12 enced in-person or through electronic means; 13 (2) the effectiveness of school sexual violence 14 awareness and prevention programs and policies for 15 the overall student body and different student popu- 16 lations, such as students of color, students in the 17 LGBTQ communities, immigrant students, pregnant 18 and parenting students, and students with disabil- 19 ities; 20 (3) the effectiveness of current processes for 21 complaints on and investigations into sex-based, 22 race-based, national origin-based, sexual orientation- 23 based, gender identity-based, and disability-based 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8290.IH H8290 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8290 IH harassment, assault, discrimination, domestic vio- 1 lence, dating violence, and stalking; 2 (4) students’ awareness of school policies and 3 procedures, including the location and process for 4 accessing school resources such as the title IX coor- 5 dinator designated by the school pursuant to title IX 6 of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 7 1681 et seq.); 8 (5) whether individuals impacted by sexual har- 9 assment, sexual violence, discrimination, domestic vi- 10 olence, dating violence, and stalking have experi- 11 enced negative effects on their education, including 12 diminished grades, dropped classes, or leaves of ab- 13 sence; 14 (6) what training is being provided to teachers 15 and staff on policies and procedures pertaining to 16 sexual harassment, sexual violence, discrimination, 17 domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking, in- 18 cluding best practices in prevention; 19 (7) whether the perpetrator of sexual harass- 20 ment, sexual violence, discrimination, domestic vio- 21 lence, dating violence, and stalking was a student 22 and other contextual factors; 23 (8) whether individuals impacted by sexual har- 24 assment, sexual violence, discrimination, domestic vi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8290.IH H8290 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8290 IH olence, dating violence, and stalking reported such 1 sexual harassment, sexual violence, discrimination, 2 domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking; 3 (9) if such an individual did so report, to whom 4 they reported, and what response the survivor re- 5 ceived; 6 (10) if such an individual reported to the 7 school, did the school conduct an investigation and 8 how long did the investigation take; 9 (11) school community members’, such as stu- 10 dents, full-time and part-time staff and faculty, and 11 administration officials, attitudes toward sexual vio- 12 lence and harassment, including individuals’ willing- 13 ness to intervene as a bystander of sex-based, race- 14 based, national origin-based, sexual orientation- 15 based, gender identity-based, and disability-based 16 discrimination, harassment, assault, domestic vio- 17 lence, dating violence, and stalking; 18 (12) school community members’, such as stu- 19 dents, full-time and part-time staff and faculty, and 20 administration officials, perception of school safety 21 and confidence in the school’s ability to appro- 22 priately address sex-based, race-based, national ori- 23 gin-based, sexual orientation-based, gender identity- 24 based, and disability-based discrimination, harass- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8290.IH H8290 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8290 IH ment, assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and 1 stalking; 2 (13) any other issues relating to sex-based, 3 race-based, national origin-based, sexual orientation- 4 based, gender identity-based, and disability-based 5 discrimination, harassment, assault, domestic vio- 6 lence, dating violence, and stalking, as appropriate; 7 and 8 (f) ADDITIONAL TOPICS.—States and local edu- 9 cational agencies may add additional questions to the sur- 10 vey as they determine appropriate. 11 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 12 are authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 to carry 13 out this section. 14 SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 15 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to preempt, [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]