Stop Sexual Harassment in K-12 Act
This bill outlines the role and duties of Title IX coordinators in elementary and secondary schools, including by requiring local educational agencies to increase the number of full-time employees designated to serve as a Title IX coordinator per specified student population. The bill also creates a grant program to train teachers and staff on how to respond to signs of sexual harassment and assault of students and requires the Department of Education to develop a sexual violence climate survey.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7620 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7620
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
April 28, 2022
Mr. Casten (for himself and Ms. Lois Frankel of Florida) 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 Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Stop Sexual Harassment in K-12
Act''.
SEC. 2. TITLE IX COORDINATOR.
(a) In General.--For each local educational agency (as defined in
section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (8
U.S.C. 7801)) that receives Federal financial assistance (as such term
is defined in section 7501(a)(5) of title 31, United States Code), the
following requirements shall apply as a condition on continued receipt
of such assistance:
(1) The recipient shall increase the number of full-time
employees designated to serve as a Title IX Coordinator by at
least one per--
(A) 75,000 students in 7th grade or above served by
the recipient; and
(B) 150,000 students in 6th grade or below served
by the recipient.
(2) The recipient shall ensure students and staff are made
aware of these employees, their role, and the times at which
they are available to meet.
(3) A Title IX Coordinator should not have any other
school-related responsibilities that may create a conflict of
interest, including serving in the school administrative
leadership or local educational agency administrative
leadership (such as serving as a principal, vice principal,
headmaster, superintendent, board member, general counsel,
athletics director, etc.).
(4) A Title IX Coordinator, along with a principal, campus
security, bus driver, teacher, counselor or social worker,
affirmative action officer, coach, or any other staff member,
shall be considered an ``appropriate person'' to whom to
disclose sexual discrimination for purposes of the legal
standards that enable private rights of action.
(b) Duties.--Each Title IX Coordinator for a local educational
agency shall ensure the local educational agency's compliance under
Federal policies against sex discrimination, including title IX of the
Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), by doing the
following:
(1) Ensuring that every individual affected by the
operations of the local educational agency, including students,
parents, guardians, employees, and applicants for admission or
employment, is aware of their rights under Federal, State, and
local laws and policies against sex discrimination, including
title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et
seq.), and that the local educational agency and its employees
comply with those laws and policies, including receiving
training on the laws and policies.
(2) Ensuring that notices of nondiscrimination, relevant
policies and grievance procedures, and current contact
information of all Title IX Coordinators are disseminated
broadly and in an age-appropriate manner accessible to all
students, parents, guardians, and employees and applicants for
admission or employment, including on school websites and in
school handbooks.
(3) Monitoring complaints alleging discrimination based on
sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, sex
characteristics (including intersex traits), pregnancy,
childbirth, a medical condition related to domestic violence,
dating violence, sexual assault, sexual violence, stalking,
pregnancy or childbirth, and a sex stereotype), domestic
violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sexual violence,
stalking, and sexual harassment, including supportive measures
offered to complainants and the outcomes of complaints.
(4) Identifying patterns of sex discrimination from
complaints and addressing its impact on the school community.
(5) Coordinating dissemination, collection, and analysis of
climate surveys, including the survey described in section 4,
and identifying and proactively addressing sex discrimination
in the local educational agency based on the results of climate
surveys.
(6) Overseeing age-appropriate annual sexual harassment
prevention education and trainings to school employees and
students and ensuring that prevention education and training is
inclusive of diverse communities and identities, informed by
research, and conducted in partnership with local rape crisis
centers, State sexual assault coalitions, or community
organizations that work on addressing sex discrimination,
including sexual harassment in schools.
(c) Waiver Authorized.--
(1) In general.--A recipient described in subsection (a)
may request a waiver from the Secretary of Education of one or
more of the requirements under such subsection on the basis
that the requirement poses an insurmountable financial burden
to the recipient and the recipient has been unable to secure
sufficient grants under subsection (d).
(2) Alternative plan.--The waiver process shall include
requiring the recipient to submit an alternative plan for
ensuring students are aware of their rights under title IX of
the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) and
have access to a Title IX Coordinator. At the very minimum
within their alternative plan, the recipient shall establish a
partnership, through a memorandum of understanding, with a
local rape crisis center or a national or community-based
organization that specializes in trauma or crisis management
and support. The memorandum of understanding shall establish a
clear delineation of the roles and responsibilities of the
partners, which shall also include providing preventative
training and supporting measures when addressing reports about
incidents of campus sexual violence.
(3) Failure to follow alternative plan.--If a recipient has
such a waiver approved but does not follow their alternative
plan, or the Secretary of Education deems their plan was
insufficient to prevent and respond to sexual harassment and
assault, the Secretary shall take such action as may be
appropriate to withhold Federal financial assistance. A waiver
granted under this subsection shall be valid for 2 years.
(d) Grants.--To carry out this section, there are authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary of Education $100,000,000 for grants to
recipients described in subsection (a) to offset the financial burden
of satisfying the requirements of this section. In making grants under
this subsection, priority shall be given to local educational agencies
that otherwise would face a high financial burden in fulfilling such
requirements.
(e) Definition.--In this section, the term ``Title IX Coordinator''
means the employee of a recipient of Federal financial assistance (as
such term is defined in section 7501(a)(5) of title 31, United States
Code) with major responsibility for coordinating the recipient's
efforts to comply with its obligations under title IX of the Education
Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.).
SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR TRAINING ON HOW TO RESPOND TO SIGNS OF SEXUAL
HARASSMENT AND ASSAULT OF STUDENTS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of
Education $50,000,000 for grants to local educational agencies (as
defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965 (8 U.S.C. 7801)) to train elementary and secondary school
teachers and other school staff on how to prevent, recognize, and
respond to signs of sexual harassment and assault among students or
between students and adults, as well as sexual grooming of students by
adults at school.
SEC. 4. CLIMATE SURVEYS.
(a) Sexual Violence Climate Survey.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Education, in
consultation with the Attorney General and the Director of the
Centers for Disease Control of the Department of Health and
Human Services, shall develop an empirically validated sexual
violence climate survey to be conducted on an anonymous basis
of elementary and secondary school students and staff not later
than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act. The
survey shall assess the occurrence on school property, during
the preceding calendar year for which data is available, of
instances of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual
assault, sexual violence, sexual harassment, and stalking.
(2) Requirements.--The survey tool developed pursuant to
this section--
(A) shall be fair and unbiased, be scientifically
valid and reliable, meet the highest standards of
survey research, and notify the participant that
anonymized results of the survey may be published;
(B) shall ensure that the survey tool is readily
accessible to, and usable by, individuals with
disabilities; and
(C) shall ensure that the responses to the survey
questions--
(i) are submitted confidentially;
(ii) are not included in crime statistics;
and
(iii) in a case in which such responses are
included in a report, do not include personally
identifiable information.
(b) Statistics.--Beginning 18 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, such officials shall compile statistics based
upon their analysis of the results of the survey. Such officials shall
update, conduct, and compile the results of, the survey every 2 years
thereafter. The compiled statistics should be disaggregated by local
educational agency, except that such disaggregation shall not be
required in the case of a local educational agency of a size such that
the results would reveal personally identifiable information about an
individual student, in which case, an alternate basis for
disaggregation shall be selected.
(c) Public Availability.--The statistics compiled under subsection
(b) shall be made publicly available on the website of the Department
of Education and readily accessible to and usable by individuals,
including individuals with disabilities.
(d) Biennial Report.--Beginning not later than 2 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education--
(1) shall prepare a biennial report on the information
gained from the standardized elements of the survey under this
section and publish such report in an accessible format on the
website of the Department of Education, including as part of
any online consumer tool offered or supported by the Department
of Education that provides information to students regarding
specific postsecondary educational institutions; and
(2) shall submit such report to the Congress.
(e) Developmentally Appropriate Content.--The Secretary shall
ensure that the survey questions vary between staff and students and
for different age groups in order to ensure that the questions are
developmentally appropriate.
(f) Option To Report Demographic Information.--The survey shall
give students the option to report their demographic information.
(g) Topics.--Survey questions included in the survey tool developed
pursuant to this section--
(1) shall be designed to gather information on student
experiences with domestic violence, dating violence, sexual
assault, sexual harassment, and stalking, including the
experiences of victims of such incidents;
(2) shall use trauma-informed language to prevent re-
traumatization; and
(3) subject to subsection (e), shall address--
(A) whether the instances domestic violence, dating
violence, sexual assault, sexual violence, sexual
harassment, and stalking described were experienced in-
person or through electronic means;
(B) the effectiveness of school sexual violence
awareness and prevention programs and policies for the
overall student body and different student populations,
such as students of color, students in the LGBTQ
communities, immigrant students, pregnant and parenting
students, and students with disabilities;
(C) the effectiveness of current processes for
complaints on and investigations into sex-based, race-
based, national origin-based, sexual orientation-based,
gender identity-based, and disability-based harassment,
assault, discrimination, domestic violence, dating
violence, and stalking;
(D) students' awareness of school policies and
procedures, including--
(i) the location and process for accessing
school resources, such as a Title IX
Coordinator designated by the school pursuant
to title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
(20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.); and
(ii) processes for remote learning;
(E) whether individuals impacted by sexual
harassment, sexual violence, discrimination, domestic
violence, dating violence, and stalking have
experienced negative effects on their education,
including diminished grades, dropped classes, or leaves
of absence;
(F) what training is being provided to teachers and
staff on policies and procedures pertaining to sexual
harassment, sexual violence, discrimination, domestic
violence, dating violence, sexual grooming, and
stalking, including best practices in prevention;
(G) whether the perpetrator of sexual harassment,
sexual violence, discrimination, domestic violence,
dating violence, and stalking was a student, school
employee, or volunteer and other contextual factors;
(H) whether individuals impacted by sexual
harassment, sexual violence, discrimination, domestic
violence, dating violence, and stalking reported or did
not report such sexual harassment, sexual violence,
discrimination, domestic violence, dating violence, and
stalking;
(I) if such an individual did so report, to whom
they reported, and what response the survivor received
to include being informed of, or referred to, national,
State, local, tribal, or resources;
(J) if such an individual reported to the school--
(i) did the school conduct an
investigation;
(ii) if an investigation was conducted, how
long did the investigation take; and
(iii) if an investigation was conducted,
what was the final resolution of the
investigation;
(K) if such an individual did so report, whether
they experienced retaliation following the reporting;
(L) school community members', such as students,
full-time and part-time staff and faculty, and
administration officials, attitudes toward sexual
violence and harassment, including individuals'
willingness to intervene as a bystander of sex-based,
race-based, national origin-based, sexual orientation-
based, gender identity-based, and disability-based
discrimination, harassment, assault, domestic violence,
dating violence, and stalking;
(M) school community members', such as students,
full-time and part-time staff and faculty, and
administration officials, perception of school safety
and confidence in the school's ability to appropriately
address sex-based, race-based, national origin-based,
sexual orientation-based, gender identity-based, and
disability-based discrimination, harassment, assault,
domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking; and
(N) any other issues relating to sex-based, race-
based, national origin-based, sexual orientation-based,
gender identity-based, and disability-based
discrimination, harassment, assault, domestic violence,
dating violence, and stalking, as appropriate.
(h) Additional Topics.--States and local educational agencies may
add additional questions to the survey as they determine appropriate.
(i) Federal Administration.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Education, in
consultation with the Attorney General, the Director of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Secretary
of Health and Human Services, shall develop a mechanism by
which local educational agencies may, with respect to the
survey tool developed pursuant to this section--
(A) administer such survey tool; and
(B) modify such survey tool to include additional
elements or requirements, as determined by the agency,
subject to the review and approval of the Secretary of
Education.
(2) Accessibility.--The Secretary of Education shall ensure
that the survey tool is administered in such a way as to be
readily accessible to and usable by individuals with
disabilities.
(j) Institutional Administration.--Beginning not later than 1 year
after the date on which the Secretary of Education makes available to
local educational agencies the mechanism described in subsection
(i)(1), and every 2 years thereafter, each local educational agency (as
defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965 (8 U.S.C. 7801)) that receives Federal financial assistance (as
such term is defined in section 7501(a)(5) of title 31, United States
Code) shall administer the survey tool developed pursuant to this
section.
(k) Completed Surveys.--The Secretary of Education shall require
each local educational agency that administers the survey tool
developed pursuant to this section to ensure, to the maximum extent
practicable, that an adequate, random, and representative sample size
of students (as determined by the Secretary) enrolled at elementary and
secondary schools under the jurisdiction of the agency complete the
survey tool developed pursuant to this section.
(l) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated $10,000,000 to carry out this section.
SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to preempt, invalidate, or
limit rights, remedies, procedures, or legal standards available to
victims of discrimination or retaliation under any other Federal law or
law of a State or political subdivision of a State, including title VI
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), title IX of
the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), section 504
of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), or section 1979 of
the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1983). The obligations imposed by this
Act are in addition to those imposed by title IX of the Education
Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), title VI of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), title VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.), and the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.).
SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of the Congress that it is valuable for students to
have access to confidential reporting of sexual harassment and abuse,
and schools should attempt to provide that to the extent possible in
accordance with State and local laws.
SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.
Unless otherwise provided in this Act, this Act shall take effect 1
year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
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