Transparency in Taxpayer-Funded Discrimination Act

Transparency in Taxpayer-Funded Discrimination Act

This bill amends the Department of Education Organization Act to require the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights to publish, on its website, the names of institutions of higher education (IHEs) that request and IHEs that receive religious exemptions from title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972. (Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded education programs and activities.)

Additionally, the bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require an IHE that requests, receives, exercises, or intends to exercise a religious exemption from title IX to publish, on its website, certain information with respect to such exemption.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3574 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3574

 To amend the Department of Education Organization Act and the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 to require publication of information relating to 
 religious exemptions to the requirements of title IX of the Education 
              Amendments of 1972, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 28, 2017

  Ms. Clark of Massachusetts introduced the following bill; which was 
        referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Department of Education Organization Act and the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 to require publication of information relating to 
 religious exemptions to the requirements of title IX of the Education 
              Amendments of 1972, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Transparency in Taxpayer-Funded 
Discrimination Act''.

SEC. 2. PUBLICATION ON WEBSITE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.

    Section 203 of the Department of Education Organization Act (20 
U.S.C. 3413) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) The Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights shall publish, on 
the Department's website, information regarding religious exemptions to 
the requirements of title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 
U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) in accord with this paragraph. Such information 
shall include a list naming each institution of higher education that 
requests such an exemption, the name of each such institution that has 
received an exemption, and the nature and scope of that exemption 
(including each program or activity covered by the exemption and the 
personal characteristics or behaviors to which the exemption 
applies).''.

SEC. 3. PUBLICATION ON WEBSITE OF EACH INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.

    Section 485 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(n) Disclosure of Religious Exemptions to Title IX of the 
Education Amendments of 1972.--Each institution of higher education 
participating in any program under this title that requests, receives, 
or exercises or intends to exercise a religious exemption to the 
requirements of title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 
1681 et seq.) shall publish on its website, in a prominent location, 
the following:
            ``(1) Request letter.--Each letter submitted by the 
        educational institution to the Department to request such an 
        exemption.
            ``(2) Exemption letter.--Each letter from the Department to 
        the educational institution that grants or denies such an 
        exemption.
            ``(3) Notice of request.--Notice that the educational 
        institution has requested an exemption under section 901(a)(3) 
        of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681(a)(3)).
            ``(4) Notice of exemption.--If applicable, notice that the 
        educational institution has received an exemption under section 
        901(a)(3) of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 
        1681(a)(3)).
            ``(5) Covered personal characteristics or behaviors.--A 
        list of the personal characteristics or behaviors to which each 
        requested or granted exemption applies.
            ``(6) Covered activities or programs.--A list of the 
        activities or programs to which each exemption applies.
            ``(7) Statement of rights.--The statement `Students 
        continue to have rights under title IX of the Education 
        Amendments of 1972. Any student who experiences discrimination 
        may contact the Office for Civil Rights at the United States 
        Department of Education at _____ or _____.', with the first 
        blank space being filled with a link to the website of the 
        Office for Civil Rights and the second blank space being filled 
        with the telephone number of the Office for Civil Rights.''.
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