II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 954 

To prevent harassment at institutions of higher education, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 27, 2017 

Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, 

Mr. CASEY, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. FRANKEN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. 

HARRIS, Ms. HASSAN, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. 

SANDERS, Mr. SCHATZ, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. WARREN, and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice 

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

A BILL 

To prevent harassment at institutions of higher education, 

and for other purposes. 

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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Tyler Clementi Higher 

5 Education Anti-Harassment Act of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. INSTITUTIONAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IN2 FORMATION FOR STUDENTS. 

3 Section 485(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

4 (20 U.S.C. 1092(f)) is amended— 

5 (1) by striking the subsection heading and in6 serting ‘‘DISCLOSURE OF CAMPUS SECURITY AND

7 HARASSMENT POLICY AND CAMPUS CRIME STATIS8 TICS.’’; 

9 (2) in paragraph (6)(A)— 

10 (A) by redesignating clauses (iii), (iv), and 

11 (v), as clauses (vii), (viii), and (ix), respectively; 

12 and 

13 (B) by inserting after clause (ii) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(iii) The term ‘commercial mobile service’ has 

16 the meaning given the term in section 332(d) of the 

17 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332(d)). 

18 ‘‘(iv) The term ‘electronic communication’ 

19 means any transfer of signs, signals, writing, im20 ages, sounds, or data of any nature transmitted in 

21 whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, 

22 photoelectronic, or photooptical system. 

23 ‘‘(v) The term ‘electronic messaging services’ 

24 has the meaning given the term in section 102 of the 

25 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement 

26 Act (47 U.S.C. 1001). 


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1 ‘‘(vi) The term ‘harassment’ means conduct, in2 cluding acts of verbal, nonverbal, or physical aggres3 sion, intimidation, or hostility (including conduct 

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

5 use of electronic messaging services, commercial mo6 bile services, electronic communications, or other 

7 technology) that— 

8 ‘‘(I) is sufficiently severe, persistent, or 

9 pervasive so as to limit a student’s ability to 

10 participate in or benefit from a program or ac11 tivity at an institution of higher education, or 

12 to create a hostile or abusive educational envi13 ronment at an institution of higher education; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(II) is based on a student’s actual or per16 ceived— 

17 ‘‘(aa) race; 

18 ‘‘(bb) color; 

19 ‘‘(cc) national origin; 

20 ‘‘(dd) sex; 

21 ‘‘(ee) disability; 

22 ‘‘(ff) sexual orientation; 

23 ‘‘(gg) gender identity; or 

24 ‘‘(hh) religion.’’; 


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1 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (9) through 

2 (18) as paragraphs (10) through (19), respectively; 

3 and 

4 (4) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(9)(A) Each institution of higher education partici7 pating in any program under this title, other than a for8 eign institution of higher education, shall develop and dis9 tribute as part of the report described in paragraph (1)— 

10 ‘‘(i) a statement of policy regarding harass11 ment, which shall include— 

12 ‘‘(I) a prohibition of harassment of en13 rolled students by other students, faculty, and 

14 staff— 

15 ‘‘(aa) on campus; 

16 ‘‘(bb) in noncampus buildings or on 

17 noncampus property; 

18 ‘‘(cc) on public property; 

19 ‘‘(dd) in dormitories or other residen20 tial facilities for students on campus; 

21 ‘‘(ee) through the use of electronic 

22 mail addresses issued by the institution of 

23 higher education; 

24 ‘‘(ff) through the use of computers 

25 and communication networks, including 


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1 any telecommunications service, owned, op2 erated, or contracted for use by the institu3 tion of higher education or its agents; or 

4 ‘‘(gg) during an activity sponsored by 

5 the institution of higher education or car6 ried out with the use of resources provided 

7 by the institution of higher education; 

8 ‘‘(II) a description of the institution’s pro9 grams to combat harassment, which shall be 

10 aimed at the prevention of harassment; 

11 ‘‘(III) a description of the procedures that 

12 a student should follow if an incident of harass13 ment occurs; and 

14 ‘‘(IV) a description of the procedures that 

15 the institution will follow once an incident of 

16 harassment has been reported; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) a detailed description of each occasion in 

18 which a pattern of harassment occurs based on one 

19 or more of the characteristics described in paragraph 

20 (6)(A)(vi)(II) and the actions taken by the institu21 tion of higher education. 

22 ‘‘(B) The statement of policy described in subpara23 graph (A)(i) shall address the following areas: 

24 ‘‘(i) Procedures for timely institutional action in 

25 cases of alleged harassment, which procedures shall 


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1 include a clear statement that the accuser and the 

2 accused shall be informed of the outcome of any dis3 ciplinary proceedings in response to an allegation of 

4 harassment. 

5 ‘‘(ii) Possible sanctions to be imposed following 

6 the final determination of an institutional discipli7 nary procedure regarding harassment. 

8 ‘‘(iii) Notification of existing counseling, mental 

9 health, or student services for victims or perpetra10 tors of harassment, both on campus and in the com11 munity. 

12 ‘‘(iv) Identification of a designated employee or 

13 office at the institution that will be responsible for 

14 receiving and tracking each report of harassment by 

15 a student, faculty, or staff member.’’. 

16 SEC. 3. ANTI-HARASSMENT COMPETITIVE GRANT PRO17 GRAM. 

18 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti20 ty’’ means— 

21 (A) an institution of higher education, in22 cluding an institution of higher education in a 

23 collaborative partnership with a nonprofit orga24 nization; or 


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1 (B) a consortium of institutions of higher 

2 education located in the same State. 

3 (2) HARASSMENT.—The term ‘‘harassment’’ 

4 has the meaning given the term in section 

5 485(f)(6)(A) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

6 (20 U.S.C. 1092(f)(6)(A)), as amended by section 2 

7 of this Act. 

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

9 the Secretary of Education. 

10 (b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary is au11 thorized to award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible 

12 entities to enable eligible entities to carry out the author13 ized activities described in subsection (d). 

14 (c) AMOUNT OF GRANT AWARDS.—The Secretary 

15 shall ensure that each grant awarded under this section 

16 is of sufficient amount to enable the grantee to meet the 

17 purpose of this section. 

18 (d) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—An eligible entity 

19 that receives a grant under this section shall use the funds 

20 made available through the grant to address one or more 

21 of the types of harassment listed in section 

22 485(f)(6)(A)(vi)(II) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

23 (20 U.S.C. 1092(f)(6)(A)(vi)(II)), as amended by section 

24 2 of this Act, by initiating, expanding, or improving pro25 grams— 


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1 (1) to prevent the harassment of students at in2 stitutions of higher education; 

3 (2) at institutions of higher education that pro4 vide counseling or redress services to students who 

5 have suffered such harassment or students who have 

6 been accused of subjecting other students to such 

7 harassment; or 

8 (3) that educate or train students, faculty, or 

9 staff of institutions of higher education about ways 

10 to prevent harassment or ways to address such har11 assment if it occurs. 

12 (e) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

13 under this section, an eligible entity shall submit an appli14 cation to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 

15 containing such information, as the Secretary may re16 quire. 

17 (f) DURATION; RENEWAL.—A grant under this sec18 tion shall be awarded for a period of not more than 3 

19 years. The Secretary may renew a grant under this section 

20 for one additional period of not more than 2 years. 

21 (g) AWARD CONSIDERATIONS.—In awarding a grant 

22 under this section, the Secretary shall select eligible enti23 ties that demonstrate the greatest need for a grant and 

24 the greatest potential benefit from receipt of a grant. 

25 (h) REPORT AND EVALUATION.— 


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1 (1) EVALUATION AND REPORT TO THE SEC2 RETARY.—Not later than 6 months after the end of 

3 the eligible entity’s grant period, the eligible entity 

4 shall— 

5 (A) evaluate the effectiveness of the activi6 ties carried out with the use of funds awarded 

7 pursuant to this section in decreasing harass8 ment and improving tolerance; and 

9 (B) prepare and submit to the Secretary a 

10 report on the results of the evaluation con11 ducted by the entity. 

12 (2) EVALUATION AND REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

13 Not later than 12 months after the date of receipt 

14 of the first report submitted pursuant to paragraph 

15 (1) and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall pro16 vide to Congress a report that includes the following: 

17 (A) The number and types of eligible enti18 ties receiving assistance under this section. 

19 (B) The anti-harassment programs being 

20 implemented with assistance under this section 

21 and the costs of such programs. 

22 (C) Any other information determined by 

23 the Secretary to be useful in evaluating the 

24 overall effectiveness of the program established 


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1 under this section in decreasing incidents of 

2 harassment at institutions of higher education. 

3 (3) BEST PRACTICES REPORT.—The Secretary 

4 shall use the information provided under paragraph 

5 (1) to publish a report of evidence-based best prac6 tices for combating harassment at institutions of 

7 higher education, which shall be based on scientific 

8 research that meets nationally recognized standards. 

9 The report shall be made available to all institutions 

10 of higher education and other interested parties. 

11 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

13 $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2017 through 2022. 

14 SEC. 4. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 

15 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to invalidate 

16 or limit rights, remedies, procedures, or legal standards 

17 available to victims of discrimination under any other Fed18 eral law or law of a State or political subdivision of a 

19 State, including title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 

20 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), title IX of the Education 

21 Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), section 

22 504 or 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 

23 794, 794a), or the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 

24 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). The obligations imposed by this 

25 Act are in addition to those imposed by title VI of the 


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1 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), title 

2 IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 

3 1681 et seq.), section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 

4 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), and the Americans with Disabil5 ities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). 

Æ 


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