Bill Summary
This bill, known as the "Stop Sexual Harassment in K-12 Act," aims to implement and enforce Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 in elementary and secondary schools. Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in any educational program or activity that receives federal funding. The bill requires each local educational agency (LEA) that receives federal funding to designate one full-time Title IX Coordinator for every 75,000 students in 7th grade or above and one for every 150,000 students in 6th grade or below. These coordinators are responsible for ensuring the LEA's compliance with federal, state, and local laws and policies against sex discrimination, including Title IX. They must also disseminate information about the coordinator's role to students and staff and address any complaints of sex discrimination. The bill also authorizes grants for training school staff on how to prevent and respond to sexual harassment and assault and requires the development of an anonymous sexual violence climate survey to be conducted every two years. The bill also clarifies that its requirements do not preempt or limit any other rights or remedies available to victims of discrimination under other federal or state laws. Its effective date is 120 days after enactment.
Possible Impacts
1. The implementation of this legislation would require local educational agencies to designate at least one full-time employee to serve as a Title IX Coordinator for every 75,000 students in 7th grade or above and one for every 150,000 students in 6th grade or below. This could affect people by increasing the workload and responsibilities of school employees, potentially leading to job stress and burnout.
2. The legislation would also require schools to provide training on sexual harassment and assault prevention to teachers and staff. This could affect people by promoting a safer and more inclusive school environment, but it could also create discomfort or conflict for those who may hold sexist or discriminatory beliefs.
3. Schools would be required to conduct an anonymous climate survey to assess the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault among students and staff. This could affect people by increasing awareness of the issue and potentially leading to better prevention and response measures, but it could also cause discomfort or trauma for survivors who may be triggered by the survey questions.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8290 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
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 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 designate at least one full-time
equivalent employee to serve as a Title IX Coordinator per
75,000 students in 7th grade or above served by the recipient
and one per 150,000 students in 6th grade or below.
(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 responsibility 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, or any other staff member, shall be
considered an ``appropriate person'' to whom to disclose sexual
assaults 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, 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.), 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 polices against sex discrimination, including
title IX, 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, pregnancy,
childbirth, a medical condition related to pregnancy or
childbirth, and a sex stereotype) 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 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.--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). 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. If a recipient has
such a waiver approved but does not follow their alternative plan, or
the Secretary deems their plan was insufficient to prevent and respond
to sexual harassment and assault, the Secretary of Education 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 grooming of students by adults
at school.
SEC. 4. CLIMATE SURVEYS.
(a) 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.
(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) 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.
(d) 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.
(e) Topics.--Subject to subsection (c), the survey shall address--
(1) whether the instances domestic violence, dating
violence, sexual assault, sexual violence, sexual harassment,
and stalking described were experienced in-person or through
electronic means;
(2) 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;
(3) 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;
(4) students' awareness of school policies and procedures,
including the location and process for accessing school
resources such as the title IX coordinator designated by the
school pursuant to title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
(20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.);
(5) 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;
(6) what training is being provided to teachers and staff
on policies and procedures pertaining to sexual harassment,
sexual violence, discrimination, domestic violence, dating
violence, and stalking, including best practices in prevention;
(7) whether the perpetrator of sexual harassment, sexual
violence, discrimination, domestic violence, dating violence,
and stalking was a student and other contextual factors;
(8) whether individuals impacted by sexual harassment,
sexual violence, discrimination, domestic violence, dating
violence, and stalking reported such sexual harassment, sexual
violence, discrimination, domestic violence, dating violence,
and stalking;
(9) if such an individual did so report, to whom they
reported, and what response the survivor received;
(10) if such an individual reported to the school, did the
school conduct an investigation and how long did the
investigation take;
(11) 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;
(12) 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;
(13) 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; and
(f) Additional Topics.--States and local educational agencies may
add additional questions to the survey as they determine appropriate.
(g) 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.), 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
120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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