I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8193 

To require the Secretary of Education to ensure that local educational agencies establish full-time title IX coordinators to improve oversight, data 

collection on sexual harassment, student survivor support, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 8, 2020 

Ms. MENG (for herself, Ms. ESCOBAR, Ms. NORTON, Mr. CASTEN of Illinois, 

Ms. LEE of California, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. KENNEDY, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, 

Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, 

Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. COOPER, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. KHANNA, 

Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. FRANKEL, and Mrs. 

HAYES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Education to ensure that local 

educational agencies establish full-time title IX coordinators to improve oversight, data collection on sexual harassment, student survivor support, 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 ‘‘Supporting Survivors 

5 of Sexual Harassment in Schools Act of 2020’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Title IX of the Education Amendments of 

4 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) (in this Act referred 

5 to as ‘‘title IX’’) mandates that no individual in the 

6 United States shall be excluded on the basis of sex 

7 from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or 

8 be subjected to discrimination under any education 

9 program or activity that receives Federal financial 

10 assistance. 

11 (2) Although title IX protects against sexual 

12 and sex-based harassment and violence, sexual as13 saults in K–12 schools and institutions of higher 

14 education remain a pervasive problem. 

15 (3) Peer sexual harassment is a significant so16 cial problem with consequences for both students 

17 and schools. Four out of 5 students report experi18 encing sexual harassment. These experiences have 

19 been linked to poor psychological health and aca20 demic withdrawal. 

21 (4) Many school districts have only a part-time, 

22 single title IX coordinator at the local educational 

23 agency level to oversee principals, school-site specific 

24 title IX coordinators, staff, and the safety of thou25 sands of students. 


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1 (5) Although educational institutions have a 

2 legal responsibility to enforce, monitor, and respond 

3 to sexual harassment and assault, far more students 

4 experience sexual harassment than schools report. 

5 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this Act: 

7 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

8 the Secretary of Education. 

9 (2) FULL-TIME LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY

10 TITLE IX COORDINATOR.—The term ‘‘full-time local 

11 educational agency title IX coordinator’’ means an 

12 individual who is acting as an employee of the local 

13 educational agency, or who is paid by an entity con14 tracting with the local educational agency and acting 

15 on behalf of the local educational agency— 

16 (A) with an average work period of 40 

17 hours per week, 160 hours per month, or full 

18 time as defined by State regulations; and 

19 (B) accountable to fulfill the title IX coor20 dinator requirements under Federal, State, and 

21 local laws and policy. 

22 (3) TITLE IX COORDINATOR.—The term ‘‘title 

23 IX coordinator’’ means a responsible employee, as 

24 described in section 106.8(a) of title 34, Code of 

25 Federal Regulations, designated to coordinate efforts 


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1 under title IX of the Education Amendments of 

2 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.). 

3 (4) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

4 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 

5 the term in section 8101(30) of the Elementary and 

6 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

7 7801(30)). 

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

9 harassment’’ means any unwelcome conduct of a 

10 sexual nature, regardless of whether it is direct or 

11 indirect, or verbal or nonverbal (including conduct 

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

13 use of electronic messaging services, commercial mo14 bile services, electronic communications, or other 

15 technology), that unreasonably alters an individual’s 

16 terms, conditions, benefits, or privileges of an edu17 cational program or activity, including by creating 

18 an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment, 

19 which takes the form of— 

20 (A) a sexual advance; 

21 (B) a request for sexual favors; 

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

23 made either explicitly or implicitly a term or 

24 condition of a program or activity at a school 


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1 or school activity, regardless of a student’s sub2 mission to or rejection of such sexual act; 

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

4 rejection is used as the basis for a decision af5 fecting a term or condition of a program or ac6 tivity at a school or school activity, regardless 

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

8 sexual act; 

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

10 (F) domestic violence, intimate partner vio11 lence (dating violence), and sex-based stalking. 

12 SEC. 4. PURPOSES. 

13 The purposes of this Act are to— 

14 (1) support local educational agencies to ensure 

15 that title IX coordinators at the local educational 

16 agency level and at the school level have the support 

17 to fully carry out their roles and responsibilities; 

18 (2) identify that sexual harassment, including 

19 stalking and dating violence, is a pervasive problem 

20 in K–12 schools and requires increased attention; 

21 (3) protect students, teachers, and administra22 tive staff from inconsistent policies and protocol; 

23 (4) identify, implement, and disseminate best 

24 practices for reducing and preventing sex discrimina25 tion in K–12 schools; 


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1 (5) increase safety standards in schools to en2 sure that sexual harassment does not compromise 

3 students’ access to education; 

4 (6) collect data on prevalence, impact of, and 

5 response to sexual harassment in education; and 

6 (7) protect students who come forward to re7 port sexual harassment. 

8 SEC. 5. SUPPORT FOR TITLE IX COORDINATORS; COLLEC9 TION OF DATA. 

10 (a) ISSUANCE OF RULES.—The Secretary shall issue 

11 rules necessary to ensure that there is not less than 1 full12 time title IX coordinator for each local educational agency 

13 that receives funds under title V of the Elementary and 

14 Secondary Education Act of 1965 and that serves 10,000 

15 or more students. 

16 (b) CIVIL RIGHTS DATA COLLECTION.—The Sec17 retary shall collect and publish within the Civil Rights 

18 Data Collection, in addition to data already collected and 

19 in accordance to Family Educational Rights and Privacy 

20 Act (FERPA)— 

21 (1) the full-time and part-time employment of 

22 title IX coordinators for each local educational agen23 cy; and 


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1 (2) specific data under Offenses: Sexual Vio2 lence, cross-tabulated and disaggregated by sex, dis3 ability, and race, color, or nationality— 

4 (A) number of reported incidents of sexual 

5 harassment, dating violence, stalking, rape, at6 tempted rape, and sexual assault (other than 

7 rape), that alleged to have occurred at the 

8 school or school activity, committed by a stu9 dent; 

10 (B) number of reported incidents of sexual 

11 harassment, dating violence, stalking, rape, at12 tempted rape, and sexual assault (other than 

13 rape), that alleged to have occurred at the 

14 school or school activity, committed by a school 

15 staff member; 

16 (C) number of reports of sexual harass17 ment, dating violence, stalking, rape, attempted 

18 rape, and sexual assault (other than rape) com19 mitted by a student that resulted in a finding 

20 that a student was responsible for the offense 

21 or not responsible for the offense; 

22 (D) number of reports of sexual harass23 ment, dating violence, stalking, rape, attempted 

24 rape, and sexual assault (other than rape), 

25 against a school staff member that were folVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Sep 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8193.IH H8193

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1 lowed by a resignation or retirement prior to 

2 final discipline or termination; 

3 (E) number of reports of sexual harass4 ment, dating violence, stalking, rape, attempted 

5 rape, and sexual assault (other than rape), that 

6 occurred at the school or school activity, against 

7 a school staff member that were followed by a 

8 determination that the school staff member was 

9 responsible or not responsible for the offense; 

10 (F) number of reports of sexual harass11 ment, dating violence, stalking, rape, attempted 

12 rape, and sexual assault (other than rape), that 

13 occurred at the school or school activity, against 

14 a school staff member that had a determination 

15 that remained pending; 

16 (G) number of reports of sexual harass17 ment, dating violence, stalking, rape, attempted 

18 rape, and sexual assault (other than rape), that 

19 occurred at the school or school activity, against 

20 a school staff member that were followed by a 

21 duty reassignment prior to final discipline or 

22 termination; 

23 (H) the median length of the complaint 

24 process from the filing of a report, to the end 

25 of the appeals process; and 


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1 (I) the number of students who took leaves 

2 of absences, transferred schools, or dropped out 

3 within a year after reporting sexual harass4 ment, dating violence, stalking, rape, attempted 

5 rape, and sexual assault (other than rape) to 

6 the school. 

7 (c) CLIMATE SURVEYS.— 

8 (1) Beginning 18 months after the date of en9 actment of the Supporting Survivors of Sexual Har10 assment in Schools Act, the full-time local edu11 cational agency title IX coordinator shall develop 

12 and collect anonymous climate survey data based on 

13 paragraph (2), cross-tabulated and disaggregated by 

14 sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, 

15 and pregnancy), disability, and race, color or na16 tional origin, in accordance to Family Educational 

17 Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and except in cir18 cumstances where small population sizes would mean 

19 collection of this data compromises anonymity, from 

20 each school community, including students, parents, 

21 and staff, and conducted not later than one year 

22 after such date of enactment, and conducted, re23 viewed, and updated annually. 

24 (2) The full-time local educational agency title 

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1 partment anonymous climate survey data cross-tab2 ulated and disaggregated by sex (including sexual 

3 orientation, gender identity, and pregnancy), dis4 ability, and race, color or national origin, in accord5 ance to Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act 

6 (FERPA) and except in circumstances where small 

7 population sizes would mean collection of this data 

8 compromises anonymity, that includes— 

9 (A) the reported incidence and prevalence 

10 of experiences of sexual harassment, sexual vio11 lence, dating violence, domestic violence, and 

12 stalking; 

13 (B) the rate in which the perpetrator was 

14 a student, staff, or teacher and other contextual 

15 factors; 

16 (C) whether students report that they 

17 know about institutional policies and proce18 dures, such as the identity of the title IX coor19 dinator, the location of title IX resources, in20 cluding resources on sexual harassment, gender21 based harassment and violence, and definitions 

22 of sexual misconduct; 

23 (D) if students indicate they have reported 

24 gender-based harassment and violence, the role 

25 of the people to whom they reported; 


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1 (E) types of disciplinary action and the 

2 rate of disciplinary action taken against the 

3 complainant and/or the respondent related to 

4 the report of gender-based harassment; 

5 (F) the types of accommodations and sup6 ports students who indicate they have reported 

7 gender-based harassment report having re8 ceived, such as counseling, medical services, or 

9 class scheduling changes; 

10 (G) any reported short-term or long-term 

11 impacts on physical or mental health from stu12 dents who have experienced gender-based vio13 lence or harassment; 

14 (H) the frequency at which complainants 

15 request to drop classes, take a leave of absence 

16 from school, or leave the institution perma17 nently; 

18 (I) school community members’ attitudes 

19 toward gender-based violence and harassment, 

20 including individuals’ willingness to intervene as 

21 a bystander; and 

22 (J) school community members’ perception 

23 of campus safety and confidence in the institu24 tion’s ability to appropriately address gender25 based violence and harassment. 


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1 (d) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary must provide guid2 ance to LEAs and full-time local educational agency title 

3 IX coordinators on how to implement the climate survey. 

4 (e) REPORT.—The Department must publish an an5 nual report on climate survey data findings from sub6 section (b) on the Department website. The annual report 

7 shall include national, State, and district-level data, cross8 tabulated and disaggregated by sex (including sexual ori9 entation, gender identity, and pregnancy), disability, race, 

10 color, or national origin in accordance to Family Edu11 cational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), on the fol12 lowing: 

13 (1) The incidence and prevalence of sexual har14 assment, sexual violence, dating violence, domestic 

15 violence, and stalking. 

16 (2) The rate of incidences of when the perpe17 trator was a student and other contextual factors, 

18 such as whether force, incapacitation, or coercion 

19 was involved. 

20 (3) The percentage of students who know about 

21 institutional policies and procedures, such as the 

22 identity of the title IX coordinator, the location of 

23 title IX resources, and definitions of sexual mis24 conduct. 


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1 (4) The type of roles of the people to whom 

2 incidences of sexual harassment were most com3 monly reported. 

4 (5) The types and prevalence of accommoda5 tions and supports provided to survivors, such as 

6 counseling, medical services, or class scheduling 

7 changes. 

8 (6) The estimated cost and/or impact of vio9 lence on survivors, such as costs associated with 

10 counseling, medical services, or class scheduling 

11 changes. 

12 (7) The frequency at which complainants re13 quest to drop classes, take a leave of absence from 

14 school, or leave the institution permanently. 

15 (8) Types of long-term impacts on the sur16 vivor’s health, such as disabilities that may have re17 sulted from experiencing gender-based violence or 

18 harassment. 

19 (9) School community attitudes toward gender20 based violence and harassment, including individ21 uals’ willingness to intervene as a bystander. 

22 (10) School community members’ perception of 

23 campus safety and confidence in the institution’s 

24 ability to appropriately address gender-based vio25 lence and harassment. 


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1 (f) BEST PRACTICES.—In addition to the data listed 

2 in subsection (e), the report shall include information on 

3 best practices. 

4 SEC. 6. DISCLOSURE AND USE OF DATA. 

5 The Secretary shall make the data described in sec6 tion 6 for each year publicly available on the website of 

7 the Department of Education and through any other ap8 propriate method, in a timely and user-friendly manner, 

9 and accessible and usable by individuals with disabilities. 

10 SEC. 7. SUPPORT FOR STUDENT SURVIVORS. 

11 (a) NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall require 

12 school-level title IX coordinators and school administra13 tors, upon becoming aware of sexual harassment, to notify 

14 the complainant in writing and orally, about available as15 sistance to support the complainant of sexual harassment 

16 and ensure their continued and equal access to education, 

17 regardless of the location of the harassment, including— 

18 (1) academic adjustment or other accommoda19 tions, such as adapting course schedules, assign20 ments, or tests, issuing no-contact orders, or taking 

21 other measures to separate the complainant and the 

22 respondent that minimize the burden on the com23 plainant; 

24 (2) information about and access to support 

25 services for the complainant, such as counseling, 


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1 mental health and other health services, and dis2 ability accommodations; 

3 (3) providing increased monitoring or super4 vision at locations or activities where the misconduct 

5 occurred or may have occurred; and 

6 (4) reasonable accommodations for complain7 ants and respondents with disabilities, consistent 

8 with laws that protect students with disabilities, in9 cluding Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 

10 1973 (Section 504), the Americans with Disabilities 

11 Act (ADA), and the Individuals with Disabilities 

12 Education Act (IDEA). 

13 (b) GUIDANCE.—Working in collaboration with the 

14 full-time coordinator, the local educational agency title IX 

15 must issue guidance to schools, students, and parents (in16 cluding guardians) to explicitly protect students from pun17 ishment or retaliation when making reports of sexual har18 assment. Such guidance must apply to all reports of har19 assment, including in the context of a same-sex relation20 ship or encounter, and ensure that for all reports of sexual 

21 harassment— 

22 (1) the school will not take disciplinary action 

23 against individuals, including witnesses, disclosing 

24 code-of-conduct offenses that are related to the as25 sault, including, but not limited to, the use of intoxiVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Sep 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8193.IH H8193

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1 cating substances occurring at or around the time of 

2 a reported incident, reasonable actions taken to de3 fend against harassment, or actions taken to avoid 

4 seeing the respondent at school; 

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

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

7 school will not take disciplinary action against indi8 viduals disclosing in good faith (including witnesses) 

9 non-harassing sexual activity related to the reported 

10 incident, or for other non-harassing sexual activity 

11 discovered during an investigation into the reported 

12 incident; and 

13 (3) the full-time local educational agency title 

14 IX coordinator shall review disciplinary actions re15 lated to a complaint of harassment to ensure that 

16 disciplinary action was not taken against a com17 plainant for engaging in action taken as a result of 

18 the sexual harassment. 

19 SEC. 8. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

20 Nothing in this Act shall be construed— 

21 (1) to modify any provision of title IX of the 

22 Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et 

23 seq.); or 


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1 (2) to affect the enforcement of such title by 

2 the Department of Education, the Department of 

3 Justice, or any other Federal entity. 

Æ 


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