| |
| |
| |
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to a sexual assault policy at certain public and private |
|
|
institutions of higher education and to requiring those |
|
|
institutions to provide students and employees an option to |
|
|
electronically report certain offenses to the institution. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 51.9363, Education Code, is amended to |
|
|
read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 51.9363. [CAMPUS] SEXUAL ASSAULT POLICY. (a) In this |
|
|
section, "postsecondary educational institution" means an |
|
|
["]institution of higher education or a private or independent |
|
|
institution of higher education, as those terms are defined[" has
|
|
|
the meaning assigned] by Section 61.003. |
|
|
(b) Each postsecondary educational institution [of higher
|
|
|
education] shall adopt a policy on [campus] sexual assault |
|
|
applicable to each student enrolled at and each employee of the |
|
|
institution. The policy must: |
|
|
(1) include: |
|
|
(A) definitions of prohibited behavior; |
|
|
(B) sanctions for violations; and |
|
|
(C) the protocol for reporting and responding to |
|
|
reports of [campus] sexual assault; and |
|
|
(2) be approved by the institution's governing board |
|
|
before final adoption by the institution. |
|
|
(c) Each postsecondary educational institution [of higher
|
|
|
education] shall make the institution's [campus] sexual assault |
|
|
policy available to students, faculty, and staff members by: |
|
|
(1) including the policy in the institution's student |
|
|
handbook and personnel handbook; and |
|
|
(2) creating and maintaining a web page on the |
|
|
institution's Internet website dedicated solely to the policy. |
|
|
(d) Each postsecondary educational institution [of higher
|
|
|
education] shall require each entering freshman or undergraduate |
|
|
transfer student to attend an orientation on the institution's |
|
|
[campus] sexual assault policy before or during the first semester |
|
|
or term in which the student is enrolled at the institution. The |
|
|
institution shall establish the format and content of the |
|
|
orientation. |
|
|
(e) Each postsecondary educational institution shall |
|
|
develop and implement a public awareness campaign to inform |
|
|
students enrolled at and employees of the institution of the |
|
|
institution's sexual assault policy. As part of the campaign, the |
|
|
institution shall provide to students information regarding the |
|
|
protocol for reporting incidents of sexual assault adopted under |
|
|
Subsection (b), including the name, office location, and contact |
|
|
information of the institution's Title IX coordinator, by: |
|
|
(1) e-mailing the information to each student at the |
|
|
beginning of each semester or other academic term; and |
|
|
(2) including the information in the orientation |
|
|
required under Subsection (d). |
|
|
(f) As part of the protocol for responding to reports of |
|
|
sexual assault adopted under Subsection (b), each postsecondary |
|
|
educational institution shall: |
|
|
(1) to the greatest extent practicable based on the |
|
|
number of counselors employed by the institution, ensure that each |
|
|
alleged victim or alleged perpetrator of an incident of sexual |
|
|
assault and any other person who reports such an incident are |
|
|
offered counseling provided by a counselor who does not provide |
|
|
counseling to any other person involved in the incident; and |
|
|
(2) notwithstanding any other law, allow an alleged |
|
|
victim or alleged perpetrator of an incident of sexual assault to |
|
|
drop a course in which both parties are enrolled without any |
|
|
academic penalty. |
|
|
(g) Each biennium, each postsecondary educational |
|
|
institution [of higher education] shall review the institution's |
|
|
[campus] sexual assault policy and, with approval of the |
|
|
institution's governing board, revise the policy as necessary. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is |
|
|
amended by adding Section 51.9365 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 51.9365. ELECTRONIC REPORTING OPTION FOR CERTAIN |
|
|
OFFENSES. (a) In this section: |
|
|
(1) "Dating violence" means abuse or violence, or a |
|
|
threat of abuse or violence, against a person with whom the actor |
|
|
has or has had a social relationship of a romantic or intimate |
|
|
nature. |
|
|
(2) "Postsecondary educational institution" means an |
|
|
institution of higher education or a private or independent |
|
|
institution of higher education, as those terms are defined by |
|
|
Section 61.003. |
|
|
(3) "Sexual assault" means sexual contact or |
|
|
intercourse with a person without the person's consent, including |
|
|
sexual contact or intercourse against the person's will or in a |
|
|
circumstance in which the person is incapable of consenting to the |
|
|
contact or intercourse. |
|
|
(4) "Sexual harassment" means unwelcome, sex-based |
|
|
verbal or physical conduct that: |
|
|
(A) in the employment context, unreasonably |
|
|
interferes with an employee's work performance or creates an |
|
|
intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment; or |
|
|
(B) in the education context, is sufficiently |
|
|
severe, persistent, or pervasive that the conduct interferes with a |
|
|
student's ability to participate in or benefit from educational |
|
|
programs or activities. |
|
|
(5) "Stalking" means a course of conduct directed at a |
|
|
person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for the person's |
|
|
safety or to suffer substantial emotional distress. |
|
|
(b) Each postsecondary educational institution shall |
|
|
provide an option for a student enrolled at or an employee of the |
|
|
institution to electronically report to the institution an |
|
|
allegation of sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, |
|
|
or stalking committed against or witnessed by the student or |
|
|
employee, regardless of the location at which the alleged offense |
|
|
occurred. |
|
|
(c) The electronic reporting option provided under |
|
|
Subsection (b) must: |
|
|
(1) enable a student or employee to report the alleged |
|
|
offense anonymously; and |
|
|
(2) be easily accessible through a clearly |
|
|
identifiable link on the postsecondary educational institution's |
|
|
Internet website home page. |
|
|
(d) A protocol for reporting sexual assault adopted under |
|
|
Section 51.9363 must comply with this section. |
|
|
(e) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board may adopt |
|
|
rules as necessary to administer this section. |
|
|
(f) The commissioner of higher education shall establish an |
|
|
advisory committee to recommend to the Texas Higher Education |
|
|
Coordinating Board rules for adoption under Subsection (e). The |
|
|
advisory committee consists of nine members appointed by the |
|
|
commissioner. Each member must be a chief executive officer of a |
|
|
postsecondary educational institution or a representative |
|
|
designated by that officer. Not later than December 1, 2017, the |
|
|
advisory committee shall submit the committee's recommendations to |
|
|
the coordinating board. This subsection expires September 1, 2018. |
|
|
SECTION 3. Section 51.9363, Education Code, as amended by |
|
|
this Act, applies beginning with the 2017-2018 academic year. |
|
|
SECTION 4. Not later than January 1, 2018, each public or |
|
|
private postsecondary educational institution shall provide the |
|
|
electronic reporting option required under Section 51.9365, |
|
|
Education Code, as added by this Act. |
|
|
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
|
|
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
|
|
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
|
|
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
|
|
Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
______________________________ |
______________________________ |
| |
President of the Senate |
Speaker of the House |
| |
|
|
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 968 passed the Senate on |
|
|
April 10, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1; |
|
|
May 25, 2017, Senate refused to concur in House amendments and |
|
|
requested appointment of Conference Committee; May 26, 2017, House |
|
|
granted request of the Senate; May 28, 2017, Senate adopted |
|
|
Conference Committee Report by the following vote: Yeas 31, |
|
|
Nays 0. |
|
|
|
| |
| |
______________________________ |
| |
Secretary of the Senate |
| |
|
|
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 968 passed the House, with |
|
|
amendments, on May 20, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 124, |
|
|
Nays 12, one present not voting; May 26, 2017, House granted |
|
|
request of the Senate for appointment of Conference Committee; |
|
|
May 28, 2017, House adopted Conference Committee Report by the |
|
|
following vote: Yeas 120, Nays 27, two present not voting. |
|
|
|
| |
| |
______________________________ |
| |
Chief Clerk of the House |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
Approved: |
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Date |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Governor |