II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5158 

To strengthen civil rights protections against harassment based on sex, race, 

color, national origin, disability, or age. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 1, 2022 

Mr. CASEY (for himself, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and 

Ms. BALDWIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To strengthen civil rights protections against harassment 

based on sex, race, color, national origin, disability, or age. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Students’ Access to Freedom and Educational Rights 

6 Act of 2022’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

TITLE I—PROHIBITION ON HARASSMENT 


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Sec. 101. Amendments to title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. 

Sec. 102. Amendments to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. 

Sec. 103. Amendments to title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

Sec. 104. Amendments to the Age Discrimination Act of 1975. 

TITLE II—TRANSPARENCY, TRAINING, AND SUPPORT FOR 

STUDENTS 

Sec. 201. Department of Education enforcement. 

Sec. 202. Disclosure of religious exemptions from title IX of the Education 

Amendments of 1972. 

Sec. 203. Climate surveys for k–12 schools. 

Sec. 204. Civil Rights Data Collection. 

Sec. 205. Support for students. 

Sec. 206. Title IX coordinators and training requirements. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) During a decade of civil rights reforms, 

4 Congress passed title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 

5 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.) (referred to in this 

6 section as ‘‘title VI’’), which prohibits discrimination 

7 based on race, color, or national origin in federally 

8 funded programs and activities; title IX of the Edu9 cation Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et 

10 seq.) (referred to in this section as ‘‘title IX’’), 

11 which prohibits sex discrimination in federally fund12 ed education programs and activities; section 504 of 

13 the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) (re14 ferred to in this section as ‘‘section 504’’), which 

15 prohibits discrimination based on disability in feder16 ally funded programs and activities; and the Age 

17 Discrimination Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C. 6101 et 

18 seq.), which prohibits discrimination based on age in 


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1 federally funded programs and activities. Half a cen2 tury after their passage, still more needs to be done 

3 to ensure that students enjoy protections consistent 

4 with the spirit, intent, and promise of these 

5 groundbreaking civil rights laws. 

6 (2) Schools are still failing to take necessary 

7 steps to prevent harassment on the basis of sex, 

8 race, national origin, color, and disability and pro9 vide survivors of sexual assault and other forms of 

10 harassment—especially women and girls, students of 

11 color, LGBTQI+ students, and students with dis12 abilities—the support and services they need to feel 

13 safe and learn in school, denying them equal edu14 cational opportunities. 

15 (3) As the Supreme Court has held in Franklin 

16 v. Gwinnett County Public Schools, 503 U.S. 60 

17 (1992), and Davis v. Monroe County Board of Edu18 cation, 526 U.S. 629 (1999), covered entities are re19 sponsible for preventing and addressing harassment 

20 on the basis of sex in their education programs and 

21 activities under title IX. Following this principle, 

22 courts have similarly required funding recipients to 

23 address harassment based on race, color, national 

24 origin, and disability in their education programs 

25 and activities. 


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1 (4) Perpetrators of harassment based on sex, 

2 race, color, national origin, or disability at school are 

3 not limited to students, nor are the victims of such 

4 harassment. Incidents have also involved faculty, ad5 ministrators, coaches, volunteers, other staff mem6 bers, and visitors. 

7 (5) Sexual harassment of students, especially of 

8 women and girls, students of color, students with 

9 disabilities, and LGBTQI+ students, is widely prev10 alent in K–12 and higher education. For example— 

11 (A) 1 in 5 girls ages 14 through 18 have 

12 been kissed or touched without their consent, 

13 58 percent of LGBTQI+ youth ages 13 

14 through 21 have been sexually harassed, and 

15 disabled children are 2.9 times more likely than 

16 their peers to be sexually assaulted; 

17 (B) women and girls of color are more like18 ly to experience sexual harassment in school 

19 than their White peers; and 

20 (C) in college— 

21 (i) more than 1 in 4 women, more 

22 than 1 in 15 men, and nearly 1 in 4 

23 transgender, nonbinary, and gender-non24 conforming students are sexually assaulted 

25 during their time as undergraduates; 


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1 (ii) 1 in 7 women, 1 in 10 men, and 

2 1 in 5 transgender, nonbinary, and gender3 nonconforming students experience dating 

4 violence or domestic violence as under5 graduates; and 

6 (iii) 1 in 10 women, 1 in 33 men, and 

7 1 in 7 transgender, nonbinary, and gender8 nonconforming students experience stalk9 ing as undergraduates. 

10 (6) Students also experience forms of sex-based 

11 harassment beyond sexual harassment, such as har12 assment based on sexual orientation, gender identity, 

13 sex characteristics (including intersex status), preg14 nancy, childbirth, medical conditions related to preg15 nancy or childbirth, and sex stereotypes. 

16 (A) For example, according to one study, 

17 86.3 percent of LGBTQI+ students experi18 enced harassment or assault based on personal 

19 characteristics, 77.6 percent reported avoiding 

20 school functions, and 71.8 percent reported 

21 avoiding extracurricular activities because they 

22 felt unsafe or uncomfortable. 

23 (B) According to another study, 64 percent 

24 of girls who were pregnant or parenting re25 ported not feeling safe at school as a barrier to 


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1 attending school compared to 32 percent of 

2 girls overall. 

3 (7) Like sex-based harassment, harassment 

4 based on race, color, national origin, and disability 

5 remains a problem at educational institutions. 

6 (A) Between 2011 and 2016, the National 

7 Center for Education Statistics documented a 

8 40-percent increase in college campus hate inci9 dents. According to the Bureau of Justice Sta10 tistics, racial bias is the most common motiva11 tion behind these hate incidents. 

12 (B) The Centers for Disease Control and 

13 Prevention has agreed that racism has a pro14 found and negative impact on the mental and 

15 physical health of people of color. As such, rac16 ist incidents can take a serious toll on students’ 

17 overall health and well-being, even affecting 

18 their academic performance. A 2021 UCLA 

19 study found that young adults who experience 

20 discrimination are at higher risk for both short 

21 and long-term behavioral and mental health 

22 problems that are exacerbated with each inci23 dent. 

24 (C) According to the Department of Jus25 tice, the rate of violence victimization against 


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1 persons with disabilities is nearly 4 times the 

rate for nondisabled persons. Nearly 1 2 ⁄3 of chil3 dren and adolescents with disabilities have ex4 perienced violence. Corporal punishment is al5 most twice as high in schools with a higher pro6 portion of students with disabilities receiving 

7 special education services as in other schools. 

8 Girls with disabilities are also at higher risk of 

9 sexual violence perpetrated by their peers than 

10 nondisabled girls. 

11 (8) The Government Accountability Office esti12 mated that about 1 in 4 students aged 12–18 saw 

13 hate words or symbols written at schools in 2014– 

14 2015, 2016–2017, and 2018–2019. 

15 (9) Students also often experience intersectional 

16 forms of harassment that, for example, may include 

17 sexual harassment that is racialized or harassment 

18 based on having a disability and being transgender, 

19 among other types of intersectional harassment. 

20 (10) Few students report harassment to their 

21 schools, often because of shame or self-blame, fear 

22 of retaliation, fear of being ignored or disciplined, 

23 fear of police or immigration officials, or lack of 

24 knowledge of services schools can offer to help. In 

25 particular, women and girls of color, women and 


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1 girls with disabilities, pregnant and parenting stu2 dents, and LGBTQI+ students are too often dis3 believed and met with unsupportive responses, in4 cluding retaliation, after reporting sexual harass5 ment because of stereotypes that label them as less 

6 credible. Men and boys, too, are often disbelieved or 

7 dismissed when they report sexual harassment. 

8 (11) Failure of a school to comply with title IX, 

9 title VI, and section 504 may limit or deny the abil10 ity of students, employees, and others to participate 

11 in or benefit from the school’s education programs 

12 or activities leading to discrimination by creating a 

13 hostile learning environment that impedes edu14 cational attainment, damages rights to equal edu15 cational opportunities, and undermines learning for 

16 all. 

17 (12) When schools fail to protect student vic18 tims of harassment, including by failing to offer sup19 portive measures that are designed to preserve and 

20 restore the educational opportunities of the victim, 

21 students often suffer in the form of emotional dis22 tress, mental health consequences, lower academic 

23 achievement, lost scholarships and financial aid, 

24 poor school attendance, and decreased school com25 pletion rates. Moreover, many schools may respond 


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1 negatively to harassment by creating additional trau2 ma and harm for the student victim (often by, for 

3 example, blaming the student for their victimization 

4 or by refusing to help them), which is also known as 

5 ‘‘institutional betrayal’’. Harm may also be caused 

6 by the Title IX coordinators having a conflict of in7 terest, such as serving within school leadership or 

8 local educational agency leadership (including serv9 ing as a principal, vice principal, headmaster, super10 intendent, board member, general counsel, athletics 

11 director, coach, or dean of students, or on a judicial 

12 hearing board or in a position to whom an appeal 

13 might be made). 

14 (13) The language of title IX is broad and 

15 sweeping, making clear that the intent of Congress 

16 is to provide avenues of redress for opening the 

17 courthouse doors to victims of a wide range of sex 

18 discrimination in schools. However, since the pas19 sage of title IX, courts have created barriers that 

20 make it extraordinarily difficult for survivors to ob21 tain redress from schools through private litigation. 

22 (14) In a 5 to 4 opinion in Gebser v. Lago 

23 Vista Independent School District, 524 U.S. 274 

24 (1998), the Supreme Court held that students sub25 jected to sex-based harassment by their teachers 


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1 may receive a damages remedy in private litigation 

2 under title IX only when school officials with ‘‘au3 thority to institute correct measures’’ on the recipi4 ent’s behalf have ‘‘actual notice’’ of the harassment 

5 and are ‘‘deliberately indifferent’’, or respond in a 

6 clearly unreasonable manner, to it. A year later, in 

7 Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, 526 

8 U.S. 629 (1999), the Supreme Court held that in 

9 order to receive money damages under title IX, stu10 dents who experience sex-based harassment by their 

11 peers, must additionally show that the harassment is 

12 ‘‘so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that 

13 it can be said to deprive the victims of access to the 

14 educational opportunities or benefits provided by the 

15 school.’’ Courts have applied the same standards in 

16 requiring funding recipients to address harassment 

17 based on race, color, national origin, or disability. 

18 (15) In contrast, in the workplace, under title 

19 VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 

20 2000e et seq.) (referred to in this section as ‘‘title 

21 VII’’), a plaintiff experiencing harassment based on 

22 sex, race, color, national origin, or religion by a co23 worker or other non-supervisor need only show their 

24 employer reacted negligently in response to severe or 

25 pervasive harassment of which the employer knew or 


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1 should have known. And sometimes—such as when 

2 a supervisor fires someone because they refuse to 

3 submit to sexual advances—title VII automatically 

4 holds an employer liable. 

5 (16) Although they do not affect the relevant 

6 standards for individuals to obtain injunctive and 

7 equitable relief for harassment on the basis of race, 

8 color, sex, national origin, age, or disability under 

9 covered programs and activities, the Supreme 

10 Court’s decisions in Gebser v. Lago Vista Inde11 pendent School District and Davis v. Monroe County 

12 Board of Education and lower court opinions se13 verely limit the availability of remedies for such indi14 viduals by imposing more stringent standards for re15 covery of damages. Yet in many cases, damages are 

16 the only remedy that would effectively rectify past 

17 harassment. Further, in 2022, in Cummings v. Pre18 mier Rehab Keller PLLC, 142 S. Ct. 1562 (2022), 

19 the Supreme Court limited the ability of plaintiffs 

20 bringing disability discrimination claims under the 

21 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public 

22 Law 111–148) and section 504 to recover emotional 

23 distress damages, which are often the sole or pri24 mary remedy for survivors of harassment. The dis25 senting Justices in Cummings warned that this rulVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:35 Dec 08, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5158.IS S5158

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1 ing upset Congressional intent and longstanding 

2 precedent under these and other statues, suggesting 

3 the possibility that its logic might be extended in the 

4 future to other laws such as title IX and title VI. 

5 Some lower courts have added additional onerous 

6 barriers, such as one under which a school is liable 

7 for its failure to address known sexual harassment 

8 only if the victim later experiences further sexual 

9 harassment as a result of this failure. 

10 (17) These limitations thwart the purpose of 

11 Congress to protect students from harassment and 

12 ensure non-discriminatory educational environments. 

13 They create prohibitively high standards for the law14 suits of students regarding harassment based on sex, 

15 race, color, national origin, and disability under title 

16 IX, title VI, and section 504 that are more onerous 

17 than those applicable to workplace harassment law18 suits under title VII. As a result, schools may do 

19 less to address harassment against their students 

20 than to address the same harassment of their em21 ployees. This means that students, who are often 

22 children and young adults, must suffer worse har23 assment than adult employees before they are enti24 tled to a remedy in court. 


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1 (18) Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School 

2 District, Davis v. Monroe County Board of Edu3 cation, and subsequent opinions create an incentive 

4 for covered entities to insulate themselves from 

5 knowledge of harassment rather than adopting and 

6 enforcing practices that will minimize the danger of 

7 such harassment. These opinions thus undermine 

8 the purpose of prohibitions on discrimination in the 

9 civil rights laws, which is to induce covered pro10 grams or activities to adopt and enforce practices 

11 that will minimize the danger that vulnerable stu12 dents or other persons will be exposed to such odious 

13 behavior. 

14 (19) Current title IX regulations issued by the 

15 Department of Education in 2020 entitled ‘‘Non16 discrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education 

17 Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial 

18 Assistance’’ (part 106 of title 34, Code of Federal 

19 Regulations), have made it more difficult for student 

20 survivors to report harassment to schools and receive 

21 help, including by, for example, only allowing schools 

22 to respond to title IX complaints of sexual harass23 ment that is so severe, pervasive, and objectively of24 fensive that it effectively denies a person equal ac25 cess to a school program or activity—meaning stuVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:35 Dec 08, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5158.IS S5158

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1 dents will have to endure repeated and escalating 

2 levels of harassment before their complaint can even 

3 be investigated. These regulations also pose uniquely 

4 burdensome procedures for cases of sexual harass5 ment that are not required for any other type of stu6 dent or staff misconduct, further sweeping sexual vi7 olence under the rug. 

8 (20) Department of Education guidance ex9 plains the requirement under title VI and section 

10 504 for institutions to respond to harassment based 

11 on disability, race, color, or national origin that is 

12 sufficiently serious to deny or limit the ability of a 

13 student to participate in or benefit from the edu14 cation programs and activities of the recipient. 

15 (21) Schools with affirming and welcoming en16 vironments that provide support and protection 

17 against all forms of harassment and discrimination 

18 ensure that students have better social, behavioral, 

19 academic, and mental health outcomes. 

20 (22) Legislative action is necessary and appro21 priate to restore the access to the courts that was 

22 sharply limited by Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent 

23 School District, Davis v. Monroe County Board of 

24 Education, Cummings v. Premier Rehab, and other 

25 court opinions, restore the availability of a full range 


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1 of remedies for harassment based on sex, race, color, 

2 national origin, disability, or age, and prevent dis3 criminatory harassment in schools. Any action needs 

4 to take into full account the intersectionality of inci5 dents of harassment in educational programs or ac6 tivities. Sex-based violence and harassment often 

7 harms those populations already most vulnerable at 

8 education institutions. 

9 (23) In landmark rulings in Price Waterhouse 

10 v. Hopkins 490 U.S. 228 (1989) and Bostock v. 

11 Clayton County, Ga. (2020), the Supreme Court cor12 rectly interpreted title VII to hold that discrimina13 tion on the basis of sex stereotypes, sexual orienta14 tion, or gender identity necessarily constitute dis15 crimination ‘‘because of sex’’. To date, Federal 

16 courts of appeal have held uniformly that these hold17 ings apply equally to title IX. Legislative action is 

18 necessary and appropriate to codify these established 

19 interpretations of title IX law and ensure support 

20 and protection for LGBTQI+ students against se21 vere and widespread discriminatory harassment. 

22 (24) Discrimination by State and local govern23 ments on the basis of sex, race, color, national ori24 gin, age, or disability in education programs and ac25 tivities receiving Federal financial assistance violates 


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1 the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment 

2 to the Constitution of the United States. In many 

3 circumstances, such discrimination also violates 

4 other constitutional rights such as those of liberty 

5 and privacy under the Due Process Clause of the 

6 14th Amendment. Congress may validly invoke its 

7 powers under the 14th Amendment to provide a full 

8 range of remedies in response to discrimination by 

9 both private and government actors. 

10 (25) In enacting the protections of the amend11 ments made by this Act, Congress is acting pursuant 

12 to its authority under section 5 of the 14th Amend13 ment to the Constitution of the United States, the 

14 Commerce Clause of section 8 of article I of the 

15 Constitution of the United States, and the Spending 

16 Clause of section 8 of article I of the Constitution 

17 of the United States. 

18 (26) Members of Congress have long been advo19 cating for substantive reforms that support student 

20 survivors and ensure gender equity in schools, in21 cluding the HALT on Campus Sexual Violence Act, 

22 the Supporting Survivors of Sexual Harassment in 

23 Schools Act of 2020, the Patsy T. Mink and Louise 

24 M. Slaughter Gender Equity in Education Act, the 

25 Stop Sexual Harassment in K–12 Act, and the ExVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:35 Dec 08, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5158.IS S5158

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1 posing Discrimination in Higher Education Act. 

2 Provisions from these groundbreaking pieces of leg3 islation serve as the foundation on which any larger 

4 comprehensive reform must be built. 

5 (27) Restoring the availability of a full range of 

6 remedies for harassment will— 

7 (A) ensure that students and other persons 

8 participating or attempting to participate in 

9 federally funded programs and activities have 

10 protection from harassment on the basis of sex 

11 (including sexual orientation, gender identity, 

12 sex characteristics, pregnancy, childbirth, a 

13 medical condition related to pregnancy or child14 birth, and sex stereotypes), race, color, national 

15 origin, disability, or age; 

16 (B) encourage covered entities to adopt 

17 and enforce meaningful policies and procedures 

18 to prevent and remedy harassment; 

19 (C) deter incidents of harassment; and 

20 (D) provide appropriate remedies for har21 assment. 

22 (28) Schools do not harass students on the 

23 basis of race, gender, or sex when they teach or in24 corporate anti-racism principles, diversity, equity 

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1 riculum and culturally responsive teaching, critical 

2 race theory, or otherwise focus the experiences of 

3 students of color, women and girls, and LGBTQI+ 

4 students. Indeed, such teaching and training, when 

5 implemented appropriately, may often further the 

6 purposes of the mandate of title VI to prohibit dis7 crimination based on race, color, and national origin 

8 and the mandate of title IX to prohibit discrimina9 tion based on sex, while also ensuring that schools 

10 are advancing equity. 

11 TITLE I—PROHIBITION ON 

12 HARASSMENT 

13 SEC. 101. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE IX OF THE EDUCATION 

14 AMENDMENTS OF 1972. 

15 Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 

16 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended— 

17 (1) in section 901, by adding at end the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(d) LIABILITY FOR SEX-BASED HARASSMENT.— 

20 ‘‘(1) HARASSMENT BY AGENTS, EMPLOYEES, 

21 AND OTHER PERSONS AUTHORIZED BY THE RECIPI22 ENT TO PROVIDE AID, BENEFIT, OR SERVICE.—Sub23 ject to subsection (e), a recipient shall be liable if its 

24 agent, employee, or other person authorized by the 

25 recipient to provide aid, benefit, or service under the 


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1 recipient’s program or activity, engages in sex-based 

2 harassment against a person who participates in or 

3 receives any benefit, service, or opportunity from 

4 such program or activity, or who attempts to receive 

5 such benefit, service, or opportunity, regardless of 

6 where the harassment occurs, if— 

7 ‘‘(A) the harassment is enabled or assisted 

8 by the authority exercised as an agent, em9 ployee, or other authorized person of the recipi10 ent; or 

11 ‘‘(B) the recipient receives notice of the 

12 harassment. 

13 ‘‘(2) HARASSMENT BY NON-AGENTS, NON-EM14 PLOYEES, AND OTHER NON-AUTHORIZED PER15 SONS.—Subject to subsection (e), a recipient is liable 

16 for sex-based harassment if a person who is not its 

17 agent, employee, or other authorized person, engages 

18 in sex-based harassment against a person who is 

19 participating in or receiving any benefit, service, or 

20 opportunity from such program or activity, or who 

21 is attempting to do so, regardless of where the har22 assment occurs, if the recipient receives notice of the 

23 harassment. 

24 ‘‘(e) AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A recipient is not liable in 

2 a private action for damages under subsection (d) 

3 for sex-based harassment, if the recipient dem4 onstrates that it exercised reasonable care to prevent 

5 sex-based harassment and to promptly remedy the 

6 effects of the sex-based harassment at issue, includ7 ing through a demonstration by the recipient that 

8 it— 

9 ‘‘(A) established, adequately publicized, 

10 and enforced an effective and comprehensive 

11 sex-based harassment prevention policy, train12 ing, and complaint procedure that is likely to 

13 provide redress and to avoid harm without ex14 posing the person subjected to such harassment 

15 to undue risk, effort, or expense; 

16 ‘‘(B) if requested by an aggrieved person 

17 subjected to sex-based harassment (or the par18 ent or guardian of such person, if such person 

19 is a minor), or otherwise necessary to protect 

20 such person or other persons in such program 

21 or activity from a significant ongoing threat of 

22 harm, undertook a prompt, thorough, and im23 partial investigation of such harassment; 

24 ‘‘(C) provided supportive measures that 

25 have the purpose and effect of preserving and 


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1 restoring a person subjected to sex-based har2 assment’s equal access to the recipient’s edu3 cation program or activity, regardless of wheth4 er such person requests an investigation; and 

5 ‘‘(D) took other necessary, immediate, and 

6 appropriate corrective action designed to stop 

7 such harassment and remedy its effects. 

8 ‘‘(2) NOT ESTABLISHING REASONABLE CARE.— 

9 A showing that the harassment did not recur after 

10 the recipient received notice of the harassment does 

11 not establish reasonable care absent the demonstra12 tion required by subparagraphs (A) through (D) of 

13 paragraph (1). 

14 ‘‘(f) NOTICE.—A recipient receives notice of sex15 based harassment if an agent, employee, or other author16 ized person of the recipient, or in the exercise of reason17 able care should have known, about the harassment and— 

18 ‘‘(1) has the authority to take action to redress 

19 the harassment; 

20 ‘‘(2) has the responsibility to report to an ad21 ministrator harassment or similar misconduct by 

22 others; or 

23 ‘‘(3) receives a report of such harassment from 

24 an individual who could reasonably believe that the 


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1 agent, employee, or other authorized person is as de2 scribed in paragraph (1) or (2).’’; 

3 (2) in section 903— 

4 (A) in the 1st sentence by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ 

5 before ‘‘Any’’; and 

6 (B) by adding at the end of the following: 

7 ‘‘(b) Any person aggrieved by the failure of a recipi8 ent to comply with section 901, or a rule issued under 

9 this title, may bring a civil action in any court of com10 petent jurisdiction. 

11 ‘‘(c) In a civil action brought for a violation of section 

12 901 by or on behalf of a person aggrieved by a violation 

13 of section 901, such person may recover equitable and 

14 legal relief (such as compensatory damages, including for 

15 emotional distress, and punitive damages), and attorney’s 

16 fees (including expert fees).’’; and 

17 (3) by inserting after section 908 the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 908A. DEFINITIONS. 

19 ‘‘For purposes of this title— 

20 ‘‘(1) the term ‘gender identity’— 

21 ‘‘(A) means a person’s internal sense of 

22 gender, which could be female, male, or another 

23 gender; 

24 ‘‘(B) includes a person’s gender expression, 

25 which is how they present their gender identity 


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1 outwardly, including through appearance, man2 nerisms, dress, or other gender-related charac3 teristics; and 

4 ‘‘(C) may or may not match their des5 ignated sex at birth; 

6 ‘‘(2) the term ‘on the basis of sex’ includes, 

7 inter alia, on the basis of, perceived or actual— 

8 ‘‘(A) sex stereotypes; 

9 ‘‘(B) pregnancy or related conditions, in10 cluding— 

11 ‘‘(i) childbirth, termination of preg12 nancy, or lactation; 

13 ‘‘(ii) medical conditions related to 

14 pregnancy, childbirth, termination of preg15 nancy, or lactation; or 

16 ‘‘(iii) recovery from pregnancy, child17 birth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, 

18 or their related medical conditions; 

19 ‘‘(C) sexual orientation; 

20 ‘‘(D) gender identity; or 

21 ‘‘(E) sex characteristics, including inter-sex 

22 traits; 

23 ‘‘(3) the term ‘recipient’ means an entity de24 scribed in any of paragraphs (1) through (4) of secVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:35 Dec 08, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5158.IS S5158

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1 tion 908 and includes any entity that exercises con2 trolling authority over such recipient; 

3 ‘‘(4) the term ‘sex-based harassment’— 

4 ‘‘(A) means conduct on the basis of sex, in5 cluding conduct of a sexual nature, that unrea6 sonably alters a person’s ability to participate 

7 in or receive any benefit, service, or opportunity 

8 from an education program or activity that re9 ceives Federal financial assistance, including by 

10 creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive 

11 environment; and 

12 ‘‘(B) includes an employee, agent, or other 

13 person authorized by the recipient to provide an 

14 aid, benefit, or service under the recipient’s 

15 education program or activity, explicitly or 

16 impliedly conditioning the provision of such an 

17 aid, benefit, or service on a person’s participa18 tion in sexual conduct; and 

19 ‘‘(5) the term ‘sexual orientation’ includes ho20 mosexuality, heterosexuality, bisexuality, 

21 pansexuality, and asexuality.’’. 

22 SEC. 102. AMENDMENTS TO THE REHABILITATION ACT OF 

23 1973. 

24 (a) NONDISCRIMINATION UNDER FEDERAL GRANTS

25 AND PROGRAMS.—Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act 


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•S 5158 IS

1 of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) is amended by adding at the end 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(e) PROHIBITION OF HARASSMENT ON THE BASIS

4 OF DISABILITY.— 

5 ‘‘(1) LIABILITY FOR DISABILITY-BASED HAR6 ASSMENT.—Subject to paragraph (2), in an action 

7 pursuant to section 505(a)(2), a recipient receiving 

8 Federal financial assistance under any program or 

9 activity or any program or activity conducted by any 

10 Executive agency or by the United States Postal 

11 Service shall be liable for harassment on the basis 

12 of disability as follows: 

13 ‘‘(A) HARASSMENT BY AGENTS, EMPLOY14 EES, AND OTHER PERSONS AUTHORIZED BY

15 THE RECIPIENT TO PROVIDE AID, BENEFITS, 

16 OR SERVICES UNDER THE RECIPIENT’S PRO17 GRAMS OR ACTIVITIES.—A recipient is liable if 

18 its agent, employee, or other person authorized 

19 by the recipient to provide aid, benefit, or serv20 ice under the recipient’s program or activity, 

21 engages in harassment on the basis of disability 

22 against a person who participates in or receives 

23 any benefit, service, or opportunity from such 

24 program or activity, or who attempts to receive 


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•S 5158 IS

1 such benefit, service, or activity, regardless of 

2 where the harassment occurs, if— 

3 ‘‘(i) the harassment is enabled or as4 sisted by the authority exercised as an 

5 agent, employee, or other authorized per6 son of the recipient; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) the recipient receives notice of 

8 the harassment. 

9 ‘‘(B) HARASSMENT BY NON-AGENTS, NON10 EMPLOYEES, AND OTHER NON-AUTHORIZED

11 PERSONS.—A recipient is liable for harassment 

12 on the basis of disability if a person who is not 

13 its agent, employee, or other authorized person, 

14 engages in harassment on the basis of disability 

15 against a person who is participating in or re16 ceiving any benefit, service, or opportunity 

17 under such program or activity, or who is at18 tempting to do so, regardless of where the har19 assment occurs, if the recipient receives notice 

20 of the harassment. 

21 ‘‘(2) AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A recipient is not lia23 ble in a private action for damages under para24 graph (1) for harassment on the basis of dis25 ability, if the recipient demonstrates that it exVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:35 Dec 08, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5158.IS S5158

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1 ercised reasonable care to prevent harassment 

2 on the basis of disability, and promptly remedy 

3 the effects of the harassment at issue, including 

4 through a demonstration by the recipient that 

5 it— 

6 ‘‘(i) established, adequately publicized, 

7 and enforced an effective and comprehen8 sive harassment prevention policy, training, 

9 and complaint procedure that is likely to 

10 provide redress and avoid harm without ex11 posing the person subjected to the harass12 ment to undue risk, effort, or expense; 

13 ‘‘(ii) if requested by such person, 

14 third party, or otherwise necessary to pro15 tect that person or other persons within 

16 the program or activity from a significant 

17 ongoing threat, undertook a prompt, thor18 ough, and impartial investigation of the 

19 harassment at issue; 

20 ‘‘(iii) provided supportive measures 

21 that had the purpose and effect of pre22 serving and restoring the aggrieved per23 son’s equal access to the benefits or oppor24 tunities of the program or activity, regardVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:35 Dec 08, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5158.IS S5158

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•S 5158 IS

1 less of whether the aggrieved person re2 quested an investigation; and 

3 ‘‘(iv) took other necessary, immediate, 

4 and appropriate corrective action designed 

5 to stop the harassment and remedy its ef6 fects. 

7 ‘‘(B) NOT ESTABLISHING REASONABLE

8 CARE.—A showing that the harassment did not 

9 recur after the recipient received notice of the 

10 harassment does not establish reasonable care 

11 absent the demonstration required by clauses 

12 (i) through (iv) of subparagraph (A). 

13 ‘‘(3) NOTICE.—A recipient receives notice of 

14 harassment on the basis of disability when any of 

15 the following individuals knew or, in the exercise of 

16 reasonable care, should have known about the har17 assment: 

18 ‘‘(A) An agent, employee, or other author19 ized person of the recipient who has the author20 ity to take action to redress the harassment. 

21 ‘‘(B) An agent, employee, or other author22 ized person of the recipient who has the respon23 sibility to report to an administrator harass24 ment or similar misconduct by others. 


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•S 5158 IS

1 ‘‘(C) An agent, employee, or other author2 ized person of the recipient to whom an indi3 vidual has made a report of harassment based 

4 on the reasonable belief that the agent, em5 ployee, or other authorized person is an indi6 vidual described in subparagraph (A) or (B). 

7 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

8 ‘‘(A) HARASSMENT ON THE BASIS OF DIS9 ABILITY.—The term ‘harassment on the basis 

10 of disability’ means a form of discrimination on 

11 the basis of disability that alters a person’s 

12 ability to participate in or receive any benefit, 

13 service, or opportunity under a program or ac14 tivity receiving Federal financial assistance or 

15 any program or activity conducted by any Exec16 utive agency or by the United States Postal 

17 Service, including by creating an intimidating, 

18 hostile, or offensive environment. 

19 ‘‘(B) RECIPIENT.—The term ‘recipient’ 

20 means an entity described in any of paragraphs 

21 (1) through (4) of subsection (b), any entity 

22 that exercises controlling authority over such an 

23 entity, and any Executive agency or the United 

24 States Postal Service.’’. 


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•S 5158 IS

1 (b) REMEDIES AND RIGHT OF ACTION.—Section 505 

2 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794a) is 

3 amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (a)(2), by inserting at the end 

5 the following: ‘‘Any person aggrieved by the failure 

6 of a recipient to comply with section 504, including 

7 any regulation promulgated pursuant to such sec8 tion, may bring a civil action in any court of com9 petent jurisdiction.’’; and 

10 (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol11 lows: 

12 ‘‘(b) ATTORNEY AND EXPERT FEES AND RIGHT OF

13 RECOVERY.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In any action or proceeding 

15 to enforce or charge a violation of a provision of this 

16 title, including any regulation promulgated pursuant 

17 to this title, the court, in its discretion, may allow 

18 the prevailing party, other than the United States, 

19 a reasonable attorney’s fee and expert fees as part 

20 of the costs. 

21 ‘‘(2) RIGHT OF RECOVERY.—In an action 

22 brought against a recipient by (including on behalf 

23 of) an aggrieved person, the aggrieved person may 

24 recover equitable and legal relief (such as compen25 satory damages, including for emotional distress, 


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•S 5158 IS

1 and punitive damages), and attorney’s fees (includ2 ing expert fees).’’. 

3 SEC. 103. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE VI OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS 

4 ACT OF 1964. 

5 Section 602 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

6 U.S.C. 2000d–1) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘Each Federal department’’ in8 serting the following subsection: 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each Federal department’’; and 

10 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub11 section: 

12 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION OF HARASSMENT AS DISCRIMINA13 TION.— 

14 ‘‘(1) LIABILITY FOR HARASSMENT BASED ON

15 RACE, COLOR, OR NATIONAL ORIGIN.—In an action 

16 pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, a recipient 

17 shall be liable for harassment on the basis of race, 

18 color, or national origin as follows: 

19 ‘‘(A) HARASSMENT BY AGENTS, EMPLOY20 EES, AND OTHER PERSONS AUTHORIZED BY

21 THE RECIPIENT TO PROVIDE AID, BENEFITS, 

22 OR SERVICES UNDER THE RECIPIENT’S PRO23 GRAMS OR ACTIVITIES.—Subject to subpara24 graph (C), a recipient is liable if its agent, em25 ployee, or other person authorized by the recipiVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Dec 09, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5158.IS S5158

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•S 5158 IS

1 ent to provide aid, benefit, or service under the 

2 recipient’s program or activity, engages in har3 assment on the basis of race, color, or national 

4 origin against a person who participates in or 

5 receives any benefit, service, or opportunity 

6 from such program or activity, or who attempts 

7 to receive such benefit, service, or opportunity, 

8 regardless of where the harassment occurs, if— 

9 ‘‘(i) the harassment is enabled or as10 sisted by the authority exercised as an em11 ployee, agent, or other authorized person 

12 of the recipient; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) the recipient receives notice of 

14 the harassment. 

15 ‘‘(B) HARASSMENT BY NON-AGENTS, NON16 EMPLOYEES, AND OTHER NON-AUTHORIZED

17 PERSONS.—Subject to subparagraph (C), a re18 cipient is liable for harassment on the basis of 

19 race, color, or national origin if a person who 

20 is not its agent, employee, or other authorized 

21 person, engages in harassment on the basis of 

22 race, color, or national origin against a person 

23 who is participating in or receiving any benefit, 

24 service, or opportunity from a program or activ25 ity receiving Federal financial assistance, or 


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•S 5158 IS

1 who is attempting to do so, regardless of where 

2 the harassment occurs, if the recipient receives 

3 notice of the harassment. 

4 ‘‘(C) AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A recipient is not 

6 liable in a private action for damages 

7 under subparagraph (A) or (B) for harass8 ment on the basis of race, color, or na9 tional origin, if the recipient demonstrates 

10 that it exercised reasonable care to prevent 

11 harassment on the basis of race, color, or 

12 national origin, and promptly remedied the 

13 effects of the harassment at issue, includ14 ing through a demonstration by the recipi15 ent that it— 

16 ‘‘(I) established, adequately pub17 licized, and enforced an effective and 

18 comprehensive harassment prevention 

19 policy, training, and complaint proce20 dure that is likely to provide redress 

21 and avoid harm without exposing the 

22 person subjected to the harassment to 

23 undue risk, effort, or expense; 

24 ‘‘(II) if requested by such person, 

25 or otherwise necessary to protect that 


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•S 5158 IS

1 person or other persons within the 

2 program or activity from a significant 

3 ongoing threat, undertook a prompt, 

4 thorough, and impartial investigation 

5 of the harassment at issue; 

6 ‘‘(III) provided supportive meas7 ures that had the purpose and effect 

8 of preserving and restoring the ag9 grieved person’s equal access to the 

10 benefits or opportunities of the pro11 gram or activity receiving Federal fi12 nancial assistance, regardless of 

13 whether the aggrieved person re14 quested an investigation; and 

15 ‘‘(IV) took other necessary, 

16 prompt, and appropriate corrective ac17 tion designed to stop the harassment 

18 and remedy its effects. 

19 ‘‘(ii) NOT ESTABLISHING REASON20 ABLE CARE.—A showing that the harass21 ment did not recur after the recipient re22 ceived notice of the harassment does not 

23 establish reasonable care absent the dem24 onstration required by subclauses (I), (II), 

25 (III), and (IV) of clause (i). 


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•S 5158 IS

1 ‘‘(D) NOTICE.—A recipient receives notice 

2 of harassment on the basis of race, color, or na3 tional origin when any of the following individ4 uals knew or, in the exercise of reasonable care, 

5 should have known about the harassment: 

6 ‘‘(i) An agent, employee, or other au7 thorized person of the recipient who has 

8 the authority to take action to redress the 

9 harassment. 

10 ‘‘(ii) An agent, employee, or other au11 thorized person of the recipient who has 

12 the responsibility to report to an adminis13 trator harassment or similar misconduct by 

14 others. 

15 ‘‘(iii) An agent, employee, or other au16 thorized person of the recipient to whom 

17 an individual has made a report of harass18 ment based on the reasonable belief that 

19 the agent, employee, or other authorized 

20 person is an individual described in clause 

21 (i) or (ii). 

22 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 ‘‘(A) HARASSMENT ON THE BASIS OF

24 RACE, COLOR, OR NATIONAL ORIGIN.—The term 

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•S 5158 IS

1 tional origin’ means a form of discrimination on 

2 the basis of race, color, or national origin that 

3 alters a person’s ability to participate in or re4 ceive any benefit, service, or opportunity from a 

5 program or activity receiving Federal financial 

6 assistance, including by creating an intimi7 dating, hostile, or offensive environment. 

8 ‘‘(B) RECIPIENT.—The term ‘recipient’ 

9 means an entity described in any of paragraphs 

10 (1) through (4) of section 606, and any entity 

11 that exercises controlling authority over such 

12 entities. 

13 ‘‘(c) REMEDIES AND RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any person aggrieved by 

15 the failure of a recipient to comply with this title, 

16 including any regulation promulgated pursuant to 

17 this title, may bring a civil action in any court of 

18 competent jurisdiction. 

19 ‘‘(2) RIGHT OF RECOVERY.—In an action 

20 brought against a recipient by or on behalf of an ag21 grieved person, the aggrieved person may recover eq22 uitable and legal relief (such as compensatory dam23 ages, including for emotional distress, and punitive 

24 damages), and attorney’s fees (including expert 

25 fees).’’. 


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•S 5158 IS

1 SEC. 104. AMENDMENTS TO THE AGE DISCRIMINATION ACT 

2 OF 1975. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 303 of the Age Discrimi4 nation Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C. 6102) is amended— 

5 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— ’’ before 

6 ‘‘Pursuant’’; and 

7 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(b) LIABILITY.— 

9 ‘‘(1) HARASSMENT BY AGENTS, EMPLOYEES, 

10 AND OTHER PERSONS AUTHORIZED BY THE RECIPI11 ENT TO PROVIDE AID, BENEFITS, OR SERVICES

12 UNDER THE RECIPIENT’S PROGRAMS AND ACTIVI13 TIES.—Subject to subsection (c), a recipient that re14 ceives Federal financial assistance for a program or 

15 activity is liable if its agent, employee, or other per16 son authorized by the recipient to provide aid, ben17 efit, or service under the recipient’s program or ac18 tivity, engages in age-based harassment against a 

19 person who participates in or receives any benefit, 

20 service, or opportunity from such program or activ21 ity, or who attempts to receive such benefit, service, 

22 or opportunity, regardless of where the harassment 

23 occurs, if— 

24 ‘‘(A) the harassment is enabled or assisted 

25 by the authority exercised as an employee, 


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•S 5158 IS

1 agent, or other authorized person of the recipi2 ent; or 

3 ‘‘(B) the recipient receives notice of the 

4 harassment. 

5 ‘‘(2) HARASSMENT BY NON-AGENTS, NON-EM6 PLOYEES, AND OTHER NON-AUTHORIZED PER7 SONS.—Subject to subsection (c), a recipient that re8 ceives Federal financial assistance for a program or 

9 activity is liable for age-based harassment if a per10 son who is not its agent, employee, or other author11 ized person, engages in age-based harassment 

12 against a person who is participating in or receiving 

13 any benefit, service, or opportunity from such pro14 gram or activity, or who is attempting to do so, re15 gardless of where the harassment occurs, if the re16 cipient receives notice of the harassment. 

17 ‘‘(c) AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A recipient is not liable in 

19 a private action for damages under subsection (b) 

20 for age-based harassment if it demonstrates that it 

21 exercised reasonable care to prevent age-based har22 assment and to promptly remedy the effects of the 

23 age-based harassment at issue, including through a 

24 demonstration by the recipient that it— 


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•S 5158 IS

1 ‘‘(A) established, adequately publicized, 

2 and enforced an effective and comprehensive 

3 age-based harassment prevention policy, train4 ing, and complaint procedure that is likely to 

5 provide redress and to avoid harm without ex6 posing the person subjected to such harassment 

7 to undue risk, effort, or expense; 

8 ‘‘(B) if requested by the aggrieved person, 

9 or otherwise necessary to protect such person or 

10 other persons in such program or activity from 

11 a significant ongoing threat of harm, undertook 

12 a prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation 

13 of such harassment; 

14 ‘‘(C) provided supportive measures that 

15 have the purpose and effect of preserving and 

16 restoring an aggrieved person’s equal access to 

17 the benefits, services, or opportunities of the 

18 program or activity involved, regardless of 

19 whether such person requests an investigation; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(D) took other necessary, immediate, and 

22 appropriate corrective action designed to stop 

23 such harassment and remedy its effects. 

24 ‘‘(2) NOT ESTABLISHING REASONABLE CARE.— 

25 A showing that the harassment did not recur after 


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•S 5158 IS

1 the recipient receives notice of the harassment does 

2 not establish reasonable care absent the demonstra3 tion required by subparagraphs (A) through (D) of 

4 paragraph (1). 

5 ‘‘(d) NOTICE.—A recipient receives notice of age6 based harassment if an agent, employee, or other author7 ized person of the recipient knew, or in the exercise of 

8 reasonable care should have known, about the harassment 

9 and— 

10 ‘‘(1) has the authority to take action to redress 

11 the harassment; 

12 ‘‘(2) has the responsibility to report to an ad13 ministrator harassment or similar misconduct by 

14 others; or 

15 ‘‘(3) receives a report of such harassment from 

16 an individual who could reasonably believe that the 

17 agent, employee, or other authorized person is as de18 scribed in paragraph (1) or (2).’’. 

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 304(b) of 

20 the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C. 6103(b)) 

21 is amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘It shall’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘Subject to section 305(h)(3), it shall’’; 

24 and 


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•S 5158 IS

1 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘The provi2 sions’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to section 305(h)(3), 

3 the provisions’’. 

4 (c) REMEDIES AND RIGHT OF ACTION.—Section 305 

5 of the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C. 6104) 

6 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(g) Any person aggrieved by the failure of a recipi8 ent to comply with this title, or a rule issued under this 

9 title— 

10 ‘‘(1) may bring a civil action in any court of 

11 competent jurisdiction; and 

12 ‘‘(2) notwithstanding subsection (e), may re13 cover equitable and legal relief (such as compen14 satory damages, including for emotional distress, 

15 and punitive damages), and attorney’s fees (includ16 ing expert fees). 

17 ‘‘(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this sec18 tion, in the case of alleged age-based harassment in a pro19 gram or activity of an entity described in subparagraph 

20 (B) of section 309(4)— 

21 ‘‘(1) an aggrieved person shall not be required 

22 to exhaust administrative remedies; 

23 ‘‘(2) the relief described in subsection (g)(2) 

24 shall be available; and 


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•S 5158 IS

1 ‘‘(3) the provisions of paragraph (1) and (2) of 

2 section 304(b) shall not apply.’’. 

3 (d) DEFINITIONS.—Section 309 of the Age Discrimi4 nation Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C. 6107) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

6 the semicolon; 

7 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period and 

8 inserting a semicolon; and 

9 (3) by adding at end the following: 

10 ‘‘(5) the term ‘age-based harassment’ means a 

11 form of prohibited discrimination on the basis of an 

12 individual’s age that alters a person’s ability to par13 ticipate in or receive any benefit, service, or oppor14 tunity from a program or activity receiving Federal 

15 financial assistance; and 

16 ‘‘(6) the term ‘recipient’ means an entity de17 scribed in any of subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D) 

18 of paragraph (4), and includes any entity that exer19 cises controlling authority over such entity.’’. 

20 TITLE II—TRANSPARENCY, 

21 TRAINING, AND SUPPORT 

22 FOR STUDENTS 

23 SEC. 201. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ENFORCEMENT. 

24 (a) DISCLOSURE OF ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.— 


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•S 5158 IS

1 (1) AMENDMENT.—The Department of Edu2 cation Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 3401 et seq.) is 

3 amended— 

4 (A) in section 203(b), by adding at the end 

5 the following new paragraphs: 

6 ‘‘(3) The Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights 

7 shall make publicly available on the Department’s 

8 website a list of each recipient of Federal financial 

9 assistance from the Department that is under inves10 tigation for a possible violation of any civil rights 

11 law that the Department enforces, the sanctions (if 

12 any) or findings issued pursuant to such investiga13 tion, and a copy of the final resolution letter, includ14 ing resolution agreements, entered into by such re15 cipient with the Secretary under any of the civil 

16 rights laws enforced by the Department. Any docu17 ment made publicly available shall have personally 

18 identifiable information redacted from it. 

19 ‘‘(4) Not later than 30 days after the termi20 nation of any resolution agreement described in 

21 paragraph (3), the Assistant Secretary for Civil 

22 Rights shall transmit to the President and the Con23 gress, and make publicly available on the Depart24 ment’s website, the letter terminating the DepartVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:35 Dec 08, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5158.IS S5158

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•S 5158 IS

1 ment of Education’s monitoring of such agree2 ment.’’; and 

3 (B) in section 205, by adding at the end 

4 the following new subsection: 

5 ‘‘(c) Notwithstanding section 498A(b)(8) of the 

6 Higher Education Act of 1965, the Assistant Secretary 

7 for Postsecondary Education shall make publicly available 

8 on the Department’s website a list of each institution 

9 under investigation for a possible violation of section 

10 485(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, the sanctions 

11 (if any) or findings issued pursuant to such investigation, 

12 and a copy of program reviews and resolution agreements 

13 entered into by such institution with the Secretary. Any 

14 document made publicly available shall have personally 

15 identifiable information redacted from it.’’. 

16 (2) INSPECTOR GENERAL.—Not later than one 

17 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the In18 spector General of the Department of Education 

19 shall submit to Congress and make publicly available 

20 a report reviewing compliance with paragraphs (3) 

21 and (4) of section 203(b) of the Department of Edu22 cation Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 3413(b)) and 

23 subsection (c) of section 205 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

24 3415), as added by paragraph (1). 


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•S 5158 IS

1 (b) AUTHORITY TO LEVY FINES.—Section 203(c) of 

2 the Department of Education Organization Act (20 

3 U.S.C. 3413(c)) is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

5 the semicolon; 

6 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at 

7 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

8 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

9 paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(5) to impose a civil penalty to be paid by a 

11 recipient of Federal funds that has violated a law 

12 under the jurisdiction of the Office for Civil Rights, 

13 the amount of which shall be determined by the 

14 gravity and magnitude of the violation, and the im15 position of which shall not preclude other remedies 

16 available under Federal law.’’. 

17 SEC. 202. DISCLOSURE OF RELIGIOUS EXEMPTIONS FROM 

18 TITLE IX OF THE EDUCATION AMENDMENTS 

19 OF 1972. 

20 (a) AMENDMENT TO HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF

21 1965.—Section 485 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

22 (20 U.S.C. 1092) is amended by adding at the end the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(n) DISCLOSURE OF RELIGIOUS EXEMPTIONS FROM

25 TITLE IX OF THE EDUCATION AMENDMENTS OF 1972.— 


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•S 5158 IS

1 Each institution of higher education receiving Federal 

2 funds participating in any program under this title that 

3 claims or intends to exercise a religious exemption to the 

4 requirements of title IX of the Education Amendments of 

5 1972 shall submit in writing to the Assistant Secretary 

6 for Civil Rights a statement by the highest ranking official 

7 of the institution of higher education, identifying the pro8 visions of part 106 of title 34, Code of Federal Regula9 tions, the application of which may conflict with a specific 

10 tenet of the religious organization that controls the insti11 tutions of higher education and shall publish on its 

12 website, in a prominent location, the following: 

13 ‘‘(1) REQUEST LETTER.—Each letter submitted 

14 by the institution to the Department to request such 

15 an exemption. 

16 ‘‘(2) EXEMPTION LETTER.—Each letter from 

17 the Department to the institution that responds to 

18 a request for assurance of such an exemption. 

19 ‘‘(3) NOTICE OF REQUEST.—Notice that the in20 stitution has requested acknowledgment of such an 

21 exemption under section 901(a)(3) of the Education 

22 Amendments of 1972. 

23 ‘‘(4) NOTICE OF EXEMPTION.—If applicable, 

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•S 5158 IS

1 ment of such an exemption under section 901(a)(3) 

2 of the Education Amendments of 1972. 

3 ‘‘(5) COVERED APPLICATIONS.—A list of the 

4 specific applications of statutory or regulatory provi5 sions for which there is an applicable requested or 

6 granted exemption, including any personal charac7 teristics or behaviors to which each requested or 

8 granted exemption applies. 

9 ‘‘(6) SCOPE OF EXEMPTION.—A list of each 

10 statutory and regulatory provision with respect to 

11 which there is an application from which the institu12 tion has claimed an exemption and the scope of such 

13 exemption.’’. 

14 (b) DISCLOSURES OF REQUESTS FOR EXEMP15 TIONS.—Section 203 of the Department of Education Or16 ganization Act (20 U.S.C. 3413) is amended by adding 

17 at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(d) The Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights shall 

19 publish, on the Department’s website, in a prominent loca20 tion, information regarding religious exemptions to the re21 quirements of title IX of the Education Amendments of 

22 1972, including the name of each recipient of Federal fi23 nancial assistance from the Department that claims an ex24 emption, whether that recipient received an acknowledg25 ment of such exemption from the Assistant Secretary, and 


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•S 5158 IS

1 a description of the nature and scope of that exemption 

2 (including each provision of the statute or regulations with 

3 respect to which there is an application from which the 

4 recipient has claimed an exemption, the scope of applica5 tions for which the exemption was claimed, and justifica6 tion for the exemption).’’. 

7 SEC. 203. CLIMATE SURVEYS FOR K–12 SCHOOLS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

9 with the Attorney General, the Director of the Centers for 

10 Disease Control and Prevention, the Secretary of Health 

11 and Human Services, and experts in domestic violence, 

12 dating violence, sexual assault, disability, sexual harass13 ment, and stalking, shall, in accordance with applicable 

14 privacy laws, develop, design, and make available through 

15 a secure and accessible online portal, a standardized online 

16 survey tool regarding the experience of elementary school 

17 and secondary school students with domestic violence, dat18 ing violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and stalk19 ing. 

20 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF SURVEY TOOL.—In devel21 oping the survey tool required under subsection (a), the 

22 Secretary shall— 

23 (1) use best practices from peer-reviewed re24 search measuring domestic violence, dating violence, 

25 sexual assault, sexual harassment, and stalking; 


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1 (2) consult with the education community, ex2 perts in survey research related to domestic violence, 

3 dating violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, 

4 and stalking, and organizations engaged in the pre5 vention of and response to, and advocacy on behalf 

6 of victims of, domestic violence, dating violence, sex7 ual assault, sexual harassment, and stalking regard8 ing the development and design of such survey tool 

9 and the methodology for administration of such sur10 vey tool; 

11 (3) provide opportunity for stakeholder feed12 back through public listening sessions or a 30-day 

13 open comment period; 

14 (4) ensure that the survey tool is readily acces15 sible to and usable by individuals with disabilities 

16 and publicly accessible in multiple languages, acces17 sibility formats, and provided in a language that 

18 parents, family, and community members can under19 stand; and 

20 (5) ensure that the survey questions are dif21 ferent for staff and students and for different age 

22 groups in order to ensure that the questions are de23 velopmentally appropriate. 

24 (c) ELEMENTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The survey tool developed 

2 pursuant to this section shall be fair and unbiased, 

3 be scientifically valid and reliable, and meet the 

4 highest standards of survey research. 

5 (2) SURVEY QUESTIONS.—Survey questions in6 cluded in the survey tool developed pursuant to this 

7 section shall— 

8 (A) be designed to gather information on 

9 student experiences with domestic violence, dat10 ing violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, 

11 and stalking, including the experiences of vic12 tims of such incidents; 

13 (B) use trauma-informed language to pre14 vent retraumatization; and 

15 (C) include age-appropriate questions— 

16 (i) that give students the option to re17 port their demographic information; 

18 (ii) designed to determine the inci19 dence and prevalence of domestic violence, 

20 dating violence, sexual assault, sexual har21 assment, and stalking whether the incident 

22 occurred on or off campus, and whether 

23 carried out in whole or in part through the 

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1 mercial mobile services, electronic commu2 nications, or other technology; 

3 (iii) regarding whether students know 

4 about institutional policies and procedures 

5 related to domestic violence, dating vio6 lence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, 

7 and stalking; 

8 (iv) designed to determine, if com9 plainants reported domestic violence, dat10 ing violence, sexual assault, sexual harass11 ment, or stalking— 

12 (I) to whom the incident was re13 ported and what response, including 

14 any supportive measures, the com15 plainant may have received; 

16 (II) whether the complainant was 

17 informed of, or referred to, national, 

18 State, local, or on-site resources; and 

19 (III) whether the entity to whom 

20 the complainant reported the incident 

21 conducted an investigation and the 

22 duration and final resolution of such 

23 an investigation; 


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1 (v) regarding contextual factors, such 

2 as whether force, incapacitation, or coer3 cion was involved; 

4 (vi) to determine whether an accused 

5 individual was a student, faculty, staff, ad6 ministrator, or third-party vendor at the 

7 elementary school or secondary school in 

8 which the complainant is enrolled or an9 other school served by the local educational 

10 agency that serves the elementary school 

11 or secondary school; 

12 (vii) to determine whether a complain13 ant reported an incident to State, local, or 

14 school-based law enforcement; 

15 (viii) to determine why the complain16 ant chose to report or not report an inci17 dent to the school or local educational 

18 agency or State or local law enforcement; 

19 (ix) to determine the impact of domes20 tic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 

21 sexual harassment, and stalking on the 

22 complainant’s education, including dimin23 ished grades, dropped classes, leaves of ab24 sence, and negative financial consequences 


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1 (including costs associated with counseling, 

2 medical services, or housing changes); 

3 (x) to determine if a complainant was 

4 punished in connection with reporting the 

5 incident or for ancillary behavior related to 

6 the incident (such as punishment for miss7 ing class because of mental health impacts 

8 for fear of perpetrator, being placed on 

9 academic probation for declining grades re10 lated to trauma following incident, and 

11 more); 

12 (xi) to determine the impact and ef13 fectiveness of prevention and awareness 

14 programs and complaints processes for the 

15 overall student body and different student 

16 populations, including— 

17 (I) students of color; 

18 (II) LGBTQI+ students; 

19 (III) immigrant students; 

20 (IV) pregnant, expectant, or par21 enting students; or 

22 (V) students with disabilities; 

23 and 

24 (xii) to determine attitudes toward 

25 sexual violence and harassment, including 


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1 the willingness of individuals to intervene 

2 as a bystander of sex-based (including on 

3 the basis of sex stereotypes, pregnancy, 

4 childbirth or a related medical condition, 

5 sexual orientation and gender identity, or 

6 sex characteristics), race-based, national 

7 origin-based, and disability-based discrimi8 nation, harassment, assault, domestic vio9 lence, dating violence, sexual assault, sex10 ual harassment, and stalking. 

11 (3) ADDITIONAL TOPICS.—States and local edu12 cational agencies may add additional questions to 

13 the survey tool developed pursuant to this section as 

14 they determine appropriate. 

15 (d) ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS.—In addition to the 

16 standardized questions developed by the Secretary under 

17 subsection (c), an elementary school or secondary school 

18 may request additional information from students that 

19 would increase the documentation, through qualitative and 

20 quantitative evidence of the elementary school or sec21 ondary school of school climate factors unique to the 

22 school. 

23 (e) RESPONSES.—The responses to the survey ques24 tions described in subsection (c) shall— 

25 (1) be submitted confidentially; and 


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1 (2) in the case of such responses being included 

2 in a report described in subsection (g), not include 

3 personally identifiable information. 

4 (f) ADMINISTRATION OF SURVEY.— 

5 (1) FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION.—The Sec6 retary, in consultation with the Attorney General, 

7 the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 

8 Prevention, and Secretary of Health and Human 

9 Services, shall develop a mechanism by which local 

10 educational agencies may, with respect to the survey 

11 tool developed pursuant to this section— 

12 (A) administer such survey tool in compli13 ance with applicable privacy laws; and 

14 (B) modify such survey tool to include ad15 ditional elements or requirements, as deter16 mined by the elementary school or secondary 

17 school. 

18 (2) COSTS.—The Secretary may not require a 

19 local educational agency to pay to modify the survey 

20 tool in accordance with paragraph (1)(B). 

21 (3) ACCESSIBILITY.—The Secretary shall en22 sure that the survey tool is administered in such a 

23 way as to be readily accessible to and usable by indi24 viduals with disabilities. 


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1 (4) ADMINISTRATION.—Beginning not later 

2 than 1 year after the date on which the Secretary 

3 makes available to local educational agencies the 

4 mechanism described in paragraph (1), and every 2 

5 years thereafter, each local educational agency that 

6 receives Federal financial assistance (as such term is 

7 defined in section 7501(a)(5) of title 31, United 

8 States Code) shall administer the survey tool devel9 oped pursuant to this section. 

10 (5) COMPLETED SURVEYS.—The Secretary 

11 shall require each local educational agency that re12 ceives Federal financial assistance (as such term is 

13 defined in section 7501(a)(5) of title 31, United 

14 States Code) to ensure, to the maximum extent 

15 practicable, that an adequate, random, and rep16 resentative sample size of students (as determined 

17 by the Secretary) enrolled in the local educational 

18 agency complete the survey tool developed pursuant 

19 to this section. 

20 (6) PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMA21 TION.—Information from the survey tool shall not be 

22 disaggregated or reported if the number of students 

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1 ally identifiable information about an individual stu2 dent. 

3 (g) REPORT.—Beginning not later than 2 years after 

4 the date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years there5 after, the Secretary shall, in accordance with applicable 

6 privacy laws and in accordance with subsection (f)(6)— 

7 (1) prepare a 2-year report on the information 

8 gained from the standardized elements of the survey 

9 under this section, which shall include school-level 

10 data that permits comparisons across elementary 

11 schools and secondary schools; 

12 (2) publish such report in an accessible format 

13 on the website of the Department of Education; and 

14 (3) submit such report to Congress. 

15 (h) PUBLICATION.—Each elementary school or sec16 ondary school shall publish, in accordance with applicable 

17 privacy laws and with subsection (f)(6) and in a manner 

18 that is readily accessible and usable by individuals, includ19 ing individuals with disabilities— 

20 (1) the results of the standardized elements of 

21 the survey under this section on the website of the 

22 elementary school or secondary school; and 

23 (2) the results of the additional elements modi24 fying the survey by the elementary school or sec25 ondary school, if any, on the school’s website. 


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1 (i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

2 (1) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘elementary 

3 school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, and ‘‘secondary 

4 school’’ have the meanings given the terms in section 

5 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

6 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

7 (2) PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMA8 TION.—The term ‘‘personally identifiable informa9 tion’’ means, with respect to a student— 

10 (A) the student’s name, whether given at 

11 birth or time of adoption, or resulting from a 

12 lawful change of name; 

13 (B) the name of the student’s parent or 

14 another family member; 

15 (C) the address of the student or another 

16 family member; 

17 (D) a personal identifier, such as the stu18 dent’s social security number, student number, 

19 or biometric record; 

20 (E) another indirect identifier, such as the 

21 student’s date of birth, place of birth, or moth22 er’s maiden name; and 

23 (F) other information that, alone or in 

24 combination, is linked or linkable to the student 

25 that would allow a reasonable person in the 


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1 school community, who does not have personal 

2 knowledge of the relevant circumstances, to 

3 identify the student with reasonable certainty. 

4 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

5 the Secretary of Education. 

6 (4) SEXUAL HARASSMENT.—The term ‘‘sexual 

7 harassment’’ means any unwelcome conduct of a 

8 sexual nature, regardless of whether it is direct or 

9 indirect, or verbal or nonverbal (including conduct 

10 that is undertaken in whole or in part, through the 

11 use of electronic messaging services, commercial mo12 bile services, electronic communications, or other 

13 technology), that unreasonably alters an individual’s 

14 terms, benefits, or privileges of an education pro15 gram or activity, including by creating an intimi16 dating, hostile, or offensive environment, which takes 

17 the form of— 

18 (A) a sexual advance; 

19 (B) a request for sexual favors; 

20 (C) a sexual act, where such submission is 

21 made either explicitly or implicitly a term or 

22 condition of a program or activity at a school 

23 or school activity, regardless of a student’s sub24 mission to or rejection of such sexual act; 


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1 (D) a sexual act, where such submission or 

2 rejection is used as the basis for a decision af3 fecting a term or condition of a program or ac4 tivity at a school or school activity, regardless 

5 of a student’s submission to or rejection of such 

6 sexual act; 

7 (E) other conduct of a sexual nature; or 

8 (F) domestic violence, intimate partner vio9 lence (dating violence), and sex-based stalking. 

10 SEC. 204. CIVIL RIGHTS DATA COLLECTION. 

11 The Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights 

12 shall collect and publish within the Civil Rights Data Col13 lection, in addition to data already collected and in accord14 ance with section 444 of the General Education Provisions 

15 Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g) (commonly known as the ‘‘Family 

16 Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974’’) and section 

17 203(c)(1) of the Department of Education Organization 

18 Act (20 U.S.C. 3413(c)(1)), data addressing— 

19 (1) the prevalence of harassment based on race, 

20 color, national origin, sex, and disability, as deter21 mined through reports made in schools; and 

22 (2) the results of complaint procedures related 

23 to such harassment in schools. 


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1 SEC. 205. SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS. 

2 (a) STUDENT VICTIM SUPPORT AND RESOURCES.— 

3 The Secretary of Education shall require Title IX Coordi4 nators and school administrators, upon receiving notice of 

5 possible sex-based harassment, to notify the complainant 

6 in writing and orally, about available assistance to support 

7 the complainant of sexual harassment and ensure the com8 plainant’s continued and equal access to education, re9 gardless of the location of the harassment, including— 

10 (1) academic adjustment or other accommoda11 tions, such as adapting course schedules, assign12 ments, or tests, issuing no-contact orders, altering 

13 housing, or taking other measures to ensure the 

14 complainant’s access to educational opportunities is 

15 not interrupted after a report has been made or dur16 ing a grievance process; 

17 (2) information about and access to support 

18 services for the complainant, such as counseling, 

19 mental health and other health services, and dis20 ability accommodations; 

21 (3) providing increased monitoring or super22 vision at locations or activities where the misconduct 

23 occurred or may have occurred; and 

24 (4) reasonable accommodations for complain25 ants and respondents with disabilities, including pre26 existing disabilities and disabilities arising out of 


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1 sex-based harassment, consistent with laws that pro2 tect students with disabilities, including section 504 

3 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), 

4 the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 

5 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), and the Individuals with Dis6 abilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.). 

7 (b) PROTECTION FOR STUDENT VICTIMS AND RE8 PORTING PARTIES.—Working in collaboration with the 

9 Title IX Coordinator, institutions of higher education and 

10 local educational agencies shall issue guidance and dis11 seminate guidance that explicitly address protections for 

12 students from punishment or retaliation when making re13 ports of sexual harassment. Guidance shall be issued to 

14 all persons who participate in or receive any benefit, serv15 ice, or opportunity from the issuing institution of higher 

16 education or local educational agency. Such guidance shall 

17 apply to all reports of harassment, including in the context 

18 of a same-gender relationship or encounter, and ensure 

19 that for all reports of sexual harassment— 

20 (1) the school will not take disciplinary action 

21 against individuals, including witnesses, disclosing 

22 code-of-conduct offenses that are related to the re23 ported incident, including the use of intoxicating 

24 substances occurring at or around the time of a re25 ported incident, reasonable actions taken to defend 


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1 against harassment, or actions taken to avoid con2 tact with the respondent; 

3 (2) if a school’s code-of-conduct prohibits sexual 

4 activity (or certain forms of sexual activity), the 

5 school will not take disciplinary action against indi6 viduals disclosing in good faith (including witnesses) 

7 non-harassing sexual activity related to the reported 

8 incident, or for other non-harassing sexual activity 

9 discovered during an investigation into the reported 

10 incident; 

11 (3) the Title IX Coordinator shall review any 

12 disciplinary actions related to a complaint of harass13 ment to ensure that such actions do not further dis14 criminate or harass a complainant (such as requir15 ing therapy or participation in programming focused 

16 on altering a student’s sexual orientation or gender 

17 identity); 

18 (4) a party who reports harassment shall not be 

19 disciplined for a ‘‘false report’’ or for prohibited sex20 ual conduct solely because the school has decided 

21 there is insufficient evidence for a finding of respon22 sibility or because the respondent is found not re23 sponsible; and 


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1 (5) the school will address reports of retaliation 

2 against complainants, which may include investiga3 tion or discipline for retaliation. 

4 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 (1) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘elementary 

6 school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, and ‘‘secondary 

7 school’’ have the meanings given the terms in section 

8 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

9 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

10 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

11 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

12 meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher 

13 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 

14 (3) SEXUAL HARASSMENT.—The term ‘‘sexual 

15 harassment’’ has the meaning given the term in sec16 tion 203(i). 

17 (4) TITLE IX COORDINATOR.—The term ‘‘Title 

18 IX Coordinator’’ means the employee of a recipient 

19 of Federal financial assistance (as such term is de20 fined in section 7501(a)(5) of title 31, United States 

21 Code) from the Department of Education, des22 ignated or authorized to coordinate the recipient’s 

23 efforts to comply with its obligations under title IX 

24 of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 

25 1681 et seq.). 


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1 SEC. 206. TITLE IX COORDINATORS AND TRAINING RE2 QUIREMENTS. 

3 (a) DUTIES AND SCOPE OF TITLE IX COORDINA4 TORS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—For each local educational 

6 agency or institution of higher education that re7 ceives Federal financial assistance from the Depart8 ment of Education, the following requirements shall 

9 apply as a condition on continued receipt of such as10 sistance: 

11 (A) The recipient shall designate at least 

12 one full-time equivalent employee to serve as a 

13 Title IX Coordinator per institution of higher 

14 education, per 75,000 students in 7th grade or 

15 above served by the local educational agency, 

16 and per 150,000 students in 6th grade or below 

17 served by the local educational agency. 

18 (B) The local educational agency or insti19 tution of higher education shall ensure students 

20 and staff are made aware of the Title IX Coor21 dinator, the role of the Title IX Coordinator, 

22 and the time at which the Title IX Coordinator 

23 is available to meet. 

24 (C) The Title IX Coordinator shall not 

25 have any other school-related responsibilities 

26 that may create a conflict of interest. 


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1 (2) DUTIES.—Each Title IX Coordinator for a 

2 local educational agency or institution of higher edu3 cation shall ensure compliance under Federal, State, 

4 and local laws and policies against sex discrimina5 tion, including title IX of the Education Amend6 ments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), by doing 

7 the following: 

8 (A) Ensuring that every individual affected 

9 by the operations of the local educational agen10 cy or institution of higher education, including 

11 students, employees, and applicants for admis12 sion or employment, and where appropriate, 

13 parents and guardians, are aware of their 

14 rights under Federal, State, and local laws and 

15 policies against sex discrimination, including 

16 under title IX of the Education Amendments of 

17 1972, and that the local educational agency or 

18 institution of higher education and its employ19 ees comply with those laws and policies, includ20 ing receiving training on the laws and policies. 

21 (B) Ensuring that notices of non22 discrimination, relevant policies and grievance 

23 procedures, and current contact information of 

24 all Title IX Coordinators are disseminated 

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1 sible manner to all students, employees, and ap2 plicants for admission or employment, and 

3 where appropriate, parents and guardians, in4 cluding on school websites and in school hand5 books. 

6 (C) Monitoring complaints alleging harass7 ment, including sexual harassment, and other 

8 forms of discrimination based on sex (including 

9 sexual orientation, gender identity, sex charac10 teristics, pregnancy, childbirth, a medical condi11 tion related to pregnancy or childbirth, and sex 

12 stereotypes), including supportive measures of13 fered to complainants, reasonable accommoda14 tions for complainants and respondents with 

15 disabilities, and the outcomes of complaints. 

16 (D) Identifying patterns of sex discrimina17 tion from complaints and addressing their im18 pact on the educational community. 

19 (E) Monitoring the education program or 

20 activity for barriers to reporting information 

21 about conduct that may constitute sex discrimi22 nation under title IX of the Education Amend23 ments of 1972 and taking steps reasonably cal24 culated to address such barriers. 


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1 (F) Coordinating dissemination, collection, 

2 and analysis of climate surveys described in sec3 tion 203, and identifying and proactively ad4 dressing sex discrimination in the local edu5 cational agency or institution of higher edu6 cation based on the results of climate surveys. 

7 (G) Overseeing age-appropriate, accessible, 

8 and trauma-informed sexual harassment pre9 vention education and training provided to 

10 school employees and students at least once per 

11 school year and ensuring that such prevention 

12 education and training include diverse commu13 nities and identities, informed by research, and 

14 conducted in partnership with local rape crisis 

15 centers, State sexual assault coalitions, or com16 munity organizations that work on addressing 

17 sex discrimination, including sexual harassment 

18 in schools. 

19 (3) WAIVER AUTHORIZED FOR LOCAL EDU20 CATIONAL AGENCIES.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.— 

22 (i) REQUESTING A WAIVER.—A local 

23 educational agency described in paragraph 

24 (1) may request a waiver from the Sec25 retary of one or more of the requirements 


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1 of such paragraph on the basis that the re2 quirement poses an insurmountable finan3 cial burden to the agency and the agency 

4 has been unable to secure sufficient grants 

5 under paragraph (4). 

6 (ii) ALTERNATIVE PLAN.— 

7 (I) IN GENERAL.—The waiver 

8 process shall include requiring the 

9 local educational agency to submit an 

10 alternative plan for ensuring that stu11 dents are aware of their rights under 

12 title IX of the Education Amendments 

13 of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) and 

14 have access to a Title IX Coordinator. 

15 (II) ALTERNATIVE PLAN.—An al16 ternative plan submitted under sub17 clause (I) shall include, at a min18 imum, a demonstration that the local 

19 educational agency has entered into a 

20 partnership with a local rape crisis 

21 center or a national or community22 based organization that specializes in 

23 trauma or crisis management and 

24 support. Such a plan shall establish a 

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1 sponsibilities of the center or organi2 zation with the local educational agen3 cy, which also includes providing pre4 ventative training and supporting 

5 measures when addressing reports of 

6 sex-based harassment. 

7 (B) WITHHOLDING ASSISTANCE.—If a 

8 local educational agency has a waiver approved 

9 under this paragraph but does not follow the al10 ternative plan, or the Secretary determines the 

11 plan was insufficient to prevent and respond to 

12 sexual harassment and assault, the Secretary 

13 shall attempt a voluntary resolution. If a vol14 untary resolution is not possible during a rea15 sonable period of time, the Secretary shall take 

16 such action as may be appropriate to withhold 

17 Federal financial assistance. 

18 (C) LENGTH OF WAIVER.—A waiver grant19 ed under this paragraph shall be valid for 2 

20 years. 

21 (4) AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS FOR GRANTS.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—To carry out this sub23 section, there are authorized to be appropriated 

24 to the Secretary $100,000,000 for grants to 

25 local educational agencies and institutions of 


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1 higher education described in paragraph (1) to 

2 offset the financial burden of satisfying the re3 quirements of this subsection. In making grants 

4 under this paragraph, the Secretary shall give 

5 priority to local educational agencies and insti6 tutions of higher education that otherwise 

7 would face a high financial burden in fulfilling 

8 such requirements. 

9 (B) DEFINITION OF INSTITUTION OF

10 HIGHER EDUCATION.—In this paragraph, the 

11 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

12 meaning given the term in section 101 of the 

13 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

14 1001). 

15 (b) TRAINING REQUIREMENTS.— 

16 (1) TRAINING PROGRAM.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec19 retary, in coordination with the Attorney Gen20 eral and in consultation with national, State, or 

21 local victim services organizations, local edu22 cational agencies, and institutions of higher 

23 education, shall develop a training program, 

24 which may include online training modules, for 

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1 plementing student grievance procedures at an 

2 institution of higher education or local edu3 cational agency that receives Federal financial 

4 assistance from the Department of Education, 

5 including each individual who is responsible for 

6 resolving complaints of reported sex-based har7 assment, including domestic violence, dating vi8 olence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, stalk9 ing, or sexual misconduct policy violations, such 

10 as an investigator, decision-maker, informal res11 olution facilitator, or Title IX Coordinator. 

12 (B) CONTENTS.—The training described in 

13 subparagraph (A) shall include the following: 

14 (i) The role and responsibility of Title 

15 IX Coordinators. 

16 (ii) Information and evidence-based 

17 best practices for increasing awareness 

18 about rights and obligations under title IX 

19 of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 

20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.). 

21 (iii) Information and evidence-based 

22 best practices for investigating and re23 sponding to claims of violations of title IX 

24 of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 

25 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), including— 


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1 (I) information on working with 

2 and interviewing persons subjected to 

3 sex-based harassment, including do4 mestic violence, dating violence, sexual 

5 assault, sexual harassment, or stalk6 ing; 

7 (II) information on particular 

8 types of conduct that would constitute 

9 sex-based harassment, including do10 mestic violence, dating violence, sexual 

11 assault, sexual harassment, or stalk12 ing, regardless of gender, including 

13 same-sex incidents of domestic vio14 lence, dating violence, sexual assault, 

15 sexual harassment, or stalking; 

16 (III) information on consent, and 

17 what factors, including power dynam18 ics, may impact whether consent is 

19 voluntarily given, including the effect 

20 that drugs or alcohol may have on an 

21 individual’s ability to consent and in22 formation on consent for individuals 

23 with disabilities or individuals who are 

24 neurodivergent; 


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1 (IV) the effects of trauma, in2 cluding the neurobiology of trauma; 

3 (V) training regarding the use of 

4 trauma-informed interview techniques, 

5 and reasonable accommodations for 

6 interviewees with disabilities; 

7 (VI) cultural awareness training 

8 regarding how sex-based harassment, 

9 including domestic violence, dating vi10 olence, sexual assault, sexual harass11 ment, or stalking may impact stu12 dents differently depending on their 

13 cultural background; 

14 (VII) information on sexual as15 sault dynamics, sexual assault perpe16 trator behavior, and barriers to re17 porting; 

18 (VIII) the dynamics of power and 

19 control within intimate partner vio20 lence and reactive abuse; 

21 (IX) safety risks for victims asso22 ciated with reporting abuse or seeking 

23 help; 


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1 (X) information on harassment 

2 and abuse of LGBTQI+ students; 

3 and 

4 (XI) information on harassment 

5 and abuse of disabled students. 

6 (iv) For Title IX Coordinators, addi7 tional training on information and evi8 dence-based best practices for identifying 

9 and preventing implicit and explicit sex 

10 discrimination in all areas and at all levels 

11 of education, including— 

12 (I) recruitment and admissions; 

13 (II) teaching practices, textbooks, 

14 and curricula; 

15 (III) campus safety and security; 

16 (IV) financial assistance; 

17 (V) access to facilities, resources, 

18 and housing; 

19 (VI) access to course offerings; 

20 (VII) student health services and 

21 insurance benefits; 

22 (VIII) counseling and career 

23 guidance; 

24 (IX) athletics; 

25 (X) discipline policies; 


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1 (XI) employment; and 

2 (XII) other areas that the Assist3 ant Secretary for Civil Rights of the 

4 Department of Education determines 

5 are relevant for such purposes. 

6 (2) INSTITUTIONAL TRAINING.—Each institu7 tion of higher education or local educational agency 

8 that receives Federal financial assistance from the 

9 Department of Education, shall ensure that the indi10 viduals and employees described in paragraph (1)(A) 

11 receive the training described in this subsection not 

12 later than the first July 15 following the date that 

13 is 1 year after the date on which the Secretary com14 pletes the development of the training, and annually 

15 thereafter. 

16 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS FOR GRANTS

17 FOR TRAINING FOR LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN18 CIES.—There are authorized to be appropriated to 

19 the Secretary $50,000,000 for grants to local edu20 cational agencies to train elementary school and sec21 ondary school teachers and other school staff on how 

22 to prevent, recognize, and respond to signs of sexual 

23 harassment and assault among students or between 

24 students and adults, as well as grooming behaviors 

25 of adults toward students at school. 


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1 (4) AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS FOR GRANTS

2 FOR TRAINING FOR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDU3 CATION.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to 

5 be appropriated to the Secretary $50,000,000 

6 for grants to institutions of higher education to 

7 train faculty, staff, and administrators on how 

8 to prevent, recognize, and respond to signs of 

9 sexual harassment and assault among students 

10 or between students and employees, as well as 

11 grooming behaviors of adults toward students. 

12 (B) DEFINITION OF INSTITUTION OF

13 HIGHER EDUCATION.—In this paragraph, the 

14 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

15 meaning given the term in section 101 of the 

16 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

17 1001). 

18 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 (1) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘elementary 

20 school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, and ‘‘secondary 

21 school’’ have the meanings given the terms in section 

22 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

23 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

24 (2) GROOMING.—The term ‘‘grooming’’, used 

25 with respect to a behavior, means a method used by 


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1 an adult to build trust with a student in an effort 

2 to both maintain control over the student and gain 

3 access to time alone with the student for the pur4 poses of sexual harassment, as defined in section 

5 203(i). 

6 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—Ex7 cept as otherwise provided, the term ‘‘institution of 

8 higher education’’ has the meaning given the term in 

9 section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

10 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 

11 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

12 the Secretary of Education. 

13 (5) SEXUAL HARASSMENT.—The term ‘‘sexual 

14 harassment’’ has the meaning given the term in sec15 tion 203(i). 

16 (6) TITLE IX COORDINATOR.—The term ‘‘Title 

17 IX Coordinator’’ has the meaning given the term in 

18 section 205(c). 

Æ 


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