I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3403 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to protect victims of sexual 

violence, to improve the adjudication of allegations related to sexual 

violence, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 29, 2015 

Mr. SALMON (for himself, Mr. SESSIONS, and Ms. GRANGER) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 

Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to protect 

victims of sexual violence, to improve the adjudication 

of allegations related to sexual violence, 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 ‘‘Safe Campus Act of 

5 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION REQUIRE2 MENTS FOR PROTECTING VICTIMS OF SEX3 UAL VIOLENCE AND INVESTIGATING AND AD4 JUDICATING ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL VIO5 LENCE. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Higher Education 

7 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) is amended by add8 ing at the end the following new part: 

9 ‘‘PART F—TREATMENT OF ALLEGATIONS OF 

10 SEXUAL VIOLENCE 

11 ‘‘SEC. 161. APPLICATION; DEFINITION. 

12 ‘‘(a) APPLICATION.—The requirements of this part 

13 shall apply to any institution of higher education receiving 

14 Federal financial assistance under this Act, including fi15 nancial assistance provided to students under title IV, 

16 other than a foreign institution of higher education. 

17 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this part, the following defi18 nitions shall apply: 

19 ‘‘(1) COVERED ALLEGATION.—The term ‘cov20 ered allegation’ means, with respect to an institution 

21 of higher education, an allegation that a student of 

22 the institution committed an act of sexual violence, 

23 or that members of a student organization of the in24 stitution or the organization itself committed or were 

25 involved in creating a hostile environment resulting 

26 in an act of sexual violence. 


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1 ‘‘(2) INSTITUTIONAL DISCIPLINARY PRO2 CEEDING.—The term ‘institutional disciplinary pro3 ceeding’ means the process by which an institution 

4 of higher education investigates and adjudicates a 

5 covered allegation and imposes a sanction with re6 spect to the allegation, in accordance with the insti7 tution’s own code of conduct or similar internal 

8 rules. 

9 ‘‘(3) SEXUAL VIOLENCE.—The term ‘sexual vio10 lence’ means, with respect to an institution of higher 

11 education— 

12 ‘‘(A) aggravated sexual abuse under sec13 tion 2241 of title 18, United States Code; 

14 ‘‘(B) assault resulting in substantial bodily 

15 injury under section 113(a)(7) of title 18, 

16 United States Code; 

17 ‘‘(C) battery, as defined under the applica18 ble criminal law of the jurisdiction in which the 

19 institution is located; 

20 ‘‘(D) rape, as defined under the applicable 

21 criminal law of the jurisdiction in which the in22 stitution is located; 

23 ‘‘(E) sexual abuse under section 2242 of 

24 title 18, United States Code; and 


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1 ‘‘(F) sexual assault, as defined under the 

2 applicable criminal law of the jurisdiction in 

3 which the institution is located. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 162. EDUCATION, REPORTING, AND STUDENT CARE 

5 STRATEGIES FOR PREVENTING SEXUAL VIO6 LENCE. 

7 ‘‘(a) EDUCATION PROGRAMS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each institution of higher 

9 education which is subject to this part is encouraged 

10 to provide education programs designed to address 

11 sexual violence that, at a minimum, provide training 

12 for reporting covered allegations, intervening as a 

13 bystander, and fostering development of healthy re14 lationships. 

15 ‘‘(2) ACCESS TO PROGRAMS.—The institution is 

16 encouraged— 

17 ‘‘(A) to provide access to the programs re18 quired under this subsection for each student 

19 during each academic year; and 

20 ‘‘(B) to ensure new students are made 

21 aware of the programs and can access them as 

22 soon as possible after beginning the course of 

23 study at the institution. 

24 ‘‘(b) SUPPORT SERVICES.—Each institution of higher 

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1 priate resources for the care, support, and guidance for 

2 students affected by sexual violence. 

3 ‘‘(c) ROLE OF VOLUNTEER ADVISORS TO STUDENT

4 ORGANIZATIONS.—An institution of higher education 

5 which is subject to this part— 

6 ‘‘(1) may not designate an adult volunteer advi7 sor to a student organization, or any employee of a 

8 student organization who is not also an employee of 

9 the institution, as a campus security authority under 

10 section 485 or regulations implementing that sec11 tion; and 

12 ‘‘(2) may not deny recognition to a student or13 ganization because an advisor or employee described 

14 in paragraph (1) does not register or serve as a 

15 campus security authority under section 485 or reg16 ulations implementing that section. 

17 ‘‘(d) TRAINING.—Each institution of higher edu18 cation which is subject to this part shall provide appro19 priate annual training to campus security personnel, cam20 pus disciplinary committee members, and other relevant 

21 institutional personnel regarding the requirements of this 

22 part, and shall at a minimum require each student who 

23 serves as a resident advisor in housing facilities which are 

24 owned or supervised by the institution to participate in 

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1 ments of this section regarding the reporting of allegations 

2 to law enforcement agencies and the effects of the con3 fidentiality exception under section 163(a)(2). 

4 ‘‘SEC. 163. ROLE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES IN IN5 VESTIGATION OF ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL 

6 VIOLENCE. 

7 ‘‘(a) REFERRAL OF ALLEGATIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) REFERRAL.—Except as provided in para9 graph (2), if an institution of higher education which 

10 is subject to this part receives a covered allegation, 

11 along with written consent to proceed from the al12 leged victim, the institution shall report and refer 

13 the allegation to the law enforcement agency of the 

14 unit of local government with jurisdiction to respond 

15 to such allegations in the location of the institution 

16 immediately, but not later than 48 hours after re17 ceiving written consent from the alleged victim. 

18 ‘‘(2) CONFIDENTIALITY EXCEPTION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) does 

20 not apply if the individual who is the alleged 

21 victim of an act of sexual violence included in 

22 the covered allegation provides a written notifi23 cation to the institution that the individual does 

24 not want the allegation to be investigated by a 

25 law enforcement agency. 


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1 ‘‘(B) EFFECT OF NOTIFICATION OF CON2 FIDENTIALITY.—If an individual provides a no3 tification to the institution under this para4 graph with respect to an allegation, the institu5 tion may not initiate or otherwise carry out any 

6 institutional disciplinary proceeding with re7 spect to the allegation, including imposing in8 terim measures described in subsection (c), but 

9 only if the individual includes in the notification 

10 a statement that the individual understands the 

11 effect under this subparagraph of providing the 

12 notification. 

13 ‘‘(b) RESTRICTIONS ON INSTITUTIONAL DISCIPLI14 NARY PROCEEDINGS DURING PERIOD OF LAW ENFORCE15 MENT INVESTIGATION.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—During the period in which 

17 a law enforcement agency is investigating a covered 

18 allegation reported by an institution under sub19 section (a), the institution may not initiate or other20 wise carry out any institutional disciplinary pro21 ceeding with respect to the allegation, except to the 

22 extent that the institution may impose interim sanc23 tions under subsection (c). 

24 ‘‘(2) PERIOD OF LAW ENFORCEMENT INVES25 TIGATION DESCRIBED.—For purposes of this subVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Aug 07, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3403.IH H3403

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1 section and subsection (c), the period in which a law 

2 enforcement agency is investigating an allegation re3 ported under subsection (a) shall be considered— 

4 ‘‘(A) the 30-day period beginning on the 

5 date on which the institution reported the alle6 gation to the agency, together with 

7 ‘‘(B) any subsequent 30-day period for 

8 which the agency notifies the institution that it 

9 is continuing to investigate the allegation and 

10 that the public interest is best served by pre11 venting the institution from beginning its own 

12 investigation and disciplinary proceeding. 

13 ‘‘(3) TOLLING.—For purposes of satisfying any 

14 federally prescribed time period for an institution to 

15 complete an adjudication of an allegation to which 

16 this subsection applies, the time period shall be 

17 deemed to begin upon the expiration of the period in 

18 which the law enforcement agency is investigating 

19 the allegation, in accordance with this subsection. 

20 ‘‘(4) PERMITTING INVOLVEMENT OF ACCRED21 ITED CAMPUS PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS.—Not22 withstanding paragraph (1), if an institution of 

23 higher education operates an accredited public safety 

24 department that employs sworn officers, such de25 partment may carry out investigative functions with 


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1 respect to an allegation provided to a law enforce2 ment agency under subsection (a) if authorized to do 

3 so by the law enforcement agency. 

4 ‘‘(c) PERMITTING INSTITUTION TO IMPOSE INTERIM

5 SANCTIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—During the period in which 

7 a law enforcement agency is investigating a covered 

8 allegation reported by an institution under sub9 section (a), the institution may impose interim sanc10 tions against the subject of the allegation with re11 spect to the allegation (including temporary suspen12 sions, no contact orders, adjustments of class sched13 ules, or changes in housing assignments) and carry 

14 out investigations and adjudications with respect to 

15 the imposition of such sanctions, but only if the in16 stitution determines that the imposition of such a 

17 sanction is a reasonable measure to promote campus 

18 safety and student well-being. 

19 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULES FOR DURATION OF PERI20 ODS OF TEMPORARY SUSPENSIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) STUDENTS.—Subject to paragraph 

22 (3), if the subject of an allegation is a student, 

23 an institution may impose a temporary suspen24 sion for a period of not more than 15 days as 

25 an interim sanction under this subsection, and 


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1 may extend the suspension for additional peri2 ods of not more than 30 days per period if, pur3 suant to a hearing held in accordance with the 

4 requirements of section 164 for each such addi5 tional period, the institution finds that exten6 sion is necessary because the student poses an 

7 immediate threat to campus safety and student 

8 well-being. 

9 ‘‘(B) STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS.—If the 

10 subject of an allegation is a student organiza11 tion, an institution may impose a temporary 

12 suspension for a period of not more than 10 

13 days on the operations of the organization as 

14 an interim sanction under this subsection, but 

15 only if the institution determines that the orga16 nization has engaged in activity that presents a 

17 significant risk to the health and physical safety 

18 of campus community members, and that the 

19 imposition of the suspension is not done merely 

20 for punitive purposes. 

21 ‘‘(3) PERIOD IN WHICH INTERIM SANCTION IS

22 IN EFFECT.—An interim sanction imposed under 

23 this subsection with respect to an allegation shall 

24 terminate upon the expiration of the period in which 

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1 tion (as described in subsection (b)), except that if 

2 an indictment has been issued with respect to the al3 legation and the subject of the allegation is a stu4 dent, the institution may continue the sanction, in5 cluding a temporary suspension the duration of 

6 which would otherwise be limited under paragraph 

7 (2)(A), until the completion of the case or the com8 pletion of any sentence imposed. 

9 ‘‘(4) PROHIBITING IMPOSITION OF INTERIM

10 SANCTIONS UPON JOINT REQUEST OF ALLEGED VIC11 TIM AND LAW ENFORCEMENT.—In addition to the 

12 period described in subsection (b)(2), an institution 

13 may not impose an interim sanction under this sub14 section with respect to a covered allegation during 

15 any period for which the alleged victim and the law 

16 enforcement agency which is investigating the allega17 tion submit a joint request to the institution to not 

18 impose such an interim sanction. 

19 ‘‘(d) SAFE HARBORS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) INSTITUTIONS.—No institution of higher 

21 education which is subject to this part shall be con22 sidered to have violated any provision of title IX of 

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

24 1681 et seq.) or any policy or regulation imple25 menting any such provision on the grounds that the 


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1 institution did not investigate or adjudicate a cov2 ered allegation, or did not impose any sanction with 

3 respect to a covered allegation, to the extent that the 

4 institution was prohibited under this section from 

5 initiating or carrying out any institutional discipli6 nary proceeding with respect to the allegation. 

7 ‘‘(2) STUDENTS.—An institution of higher edu8 cation which is subject to this part may not impose 

9 a sanction on a student who is a victim of, or a by10 stander witness to, an act of sexual violence on the 

11 grounds that the student engaged in conduct prohib12 ited under the institution’s code of conduct (other 

13 than violent conduct) if the institution learned that 

14 the student engaged in such conduct as part of a re15 port of a covered allegation which was made in good 

16 faith by the student to an agent of the institution. 

17 ‘‘(e) PRIVACY.—It shall not be a violation of section 

18 444 of the General Education Provisions Act (commonly 

19 known as the ‘Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act 

20 of 1974’) (20 U.S.C. 1232g) for an institution of higher 

21 education to report an allegation to a law enforcement 

22 agency under subsection (a). 

23 ‘‘(f) NO EFFECT ON CIVIL REMEDIES.—Nothing in 

24 this section may be construed to limit the authority of any 


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1 person to seek a civil remedy in a court of competent juris2 diction with respect to any covered allegation. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 164. DUE PROCESS REQUIREMENTS FOR INSTITU4 TIONAL DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS. 

5 ‘‘(a) DUE PROCESS RIGHTS.—Each institution of 

6 higher education which is subject to this part may not im7 pose any sanction on any person, including a student orga8 nization, in response to a covered allegation unless the 

9 sanction is imposed under a formal hearing or similar ad10 judicatory proceeding, in accordance with institutional dis11 ciplinary proceedings that meet each of the following re12 quirements: 

13 ‘‘(1) The institution shall provide all parties to 

14 the proceeding with adequate written notice of the 

15 allegation not later than 2 weeks prior to the start 

16 of any formal hearing or similar adjudicatory pro17 ceeding, and shall include in such notice a descrip18 tion of all rights and responsibilities under the pro19 ceeding, a statement of all relevant details of the al20 legation, and a specific statement of the sanctions 

21 which may be imposed. 

22 ‘‘(2) The institution shall provide each person 

23 against whom the allegation is made with a mean24 ingful opportunity to admit or contest the allegation. 


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1 ‘‘(3) The institution shall ensure that all parties 

2 to the proceeding have access to all material evi3 dence, including both inculpatory and exculpatory 

4 evidence, not later than one week prior to the start 

5 of any formal hearing or similar adjudicatory pro6 ceeding. Such evidence may include but is not lim7 ited to complainant statements, third-party witness 

8 statements, electronically stored information, written 

9 communications, social media posts, and demonstra10 tive evidence. 

11 ‘‘(4) The institution shall permit each party to 

12 the proceeding to be represented, at the sole expense 

13 of the party, by an attorney or other advocate for 

14 the duration of the proceeding, including during the 

15 investigation of the allegation and other preliminary 

16 stages prior to a formal hearing or similar adjudica17 tory proceeding, and shall permit the attorney or 

18 other advocate to ask questions in the proceeding, 

19 file relevant papers, examine evidence, and examine 

20 witnesses (subject to paragraph (5)). 

21 ‘‘(5) The institution shall permit each party to 

22 the proceeding to safely confront witnesses, includ23 ing the complainant, in an appropriate manner, in24 cluding by submitting written questions to be asked 

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1 mal hearing or similar adjudicatory proceeding, ex2 cept that it shall be presumptively improper for any 

3 person to make any inquiry about the sexual history 

4 of the individual reporting the covered allegation 

5 (other than an inquiry made by the individual 

6 against whom the allegation is made, or such indi7 vidual’s counsel or advocate, about the sexual history 

8 between such individual and the individual reporting 

9 the covered allegation). 

10 ‘‘(6) The institution shall ensure that the pro11 ceeding is carried out free from conflicts of interest 

12 by ensuring that there is no commingling of admin13 istrative or adjudicative roles. For purposes of this 

14 paragraph, an institution shall be considered to com15 mingle such roles if any individual carries out more 

16 than one of the following roles with respect to the 

17 proceeding: 

18 ‘‘(A) Victim counselor and victim advocate. 

19 ‘‘(B) Investigator. 

20 ‘‘(C) Prosecutor. 

21 ‘‘(D) Adjudicator. 

22 ‘‘(E) Appellate adjudicator. 

23 ‘‘(b) STANDARD OF PROOF.—An institution of higher 

24 education may establish and apply such standard of proof 

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1 tion carried out as part of an institutional disciplinary pro2 ceeding under this section. 

3 ‘‘(c) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

4 ‘‘(1) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—Any indi5 vidual who is aggrieved by a decision to impose a 

6 sanction under an institutional disciplinary pro7 ceeding under this section may bring a civil action 

8 in an appropriate district court of the United States, 

9 but only if the action is brought not later than 1 

10 year after the date on which the individual received 

11 final notice of the sanction imposed on the individual 

12 under the proceeding. 

13 ‘‘(2) STANDARD FOR REVIEW.—In any action 

14 brought under this subsection, the court may find 

15 for the plaintiff only if the court finds that the im16 position of the sanction was arbitrary, capricious, or 

17 contrary to law. 

18 ‘‘(3) RECORDS.—As soon as practicable after a 

19 civil action is filed under this subsection, the institu20 tion of higher education involved shall forward the 

21 administrative record of the institutional disciplinary 

22 proceeding to the court. 

23 ‘‘(4) DAMAGES AND PREVAILING PARTY

24 FEES.—In any civil action under this subsection, the 

25 court may award the prevailing party (other than 


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1 the institution of higher education) compensatory 

2 damages, reasonable court costs, attorney fees, in3 cluding expert fees, and any other relief in equity or 

4 law that the court deems appropriate. 

5 ‘‘(d) PUBLICATION IN STUDENT HANDBOOK.—Each 

6 institution of higher education which is subject to this part 

7 shall publish annually in the institution’s Student Hand8 book (or equivalent publication) a statement of the proce9 dures applicable to institutional disciplinary proceedings 

10 under this section, and shall publish such statement in the 

11 form of a contract between the institution and its students 

12 and student organizations. 

13 ‘‘(e) NO RIGHT TO PAID ADVOCATE.—Nothing in 

14 this section shall be construed to create a right for any 

15 individual to be represented by an attorney or other advo16 cate at an institution of higher education’s expense. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 165. PRESERVATION OF SINGLE-SEX EXEMPTION FOR 

18 STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS. 

19 ‘‘(a) RESTATEMENT OF CONGRESSIONAL POSITION

20 ON TITLE IX AND SINGLE-SEX ORGANIZATIONS.—Con21 gress finds as follows: 

22 ‘‘(1) The enactment of title IX of the Education 

23 Amendments of 1972 (commonly known as ‘title 

24 IX’) continues to be a vital element of ensuring all 

25 Americans have equal access to higher education. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The exemption under title IX that allows 

2 single-sex organizations to continue to flourish at in3 stitutions of higher education is still essential to de4 veloping a wide range of enrichment opportunities 

5 for students to learn and grow. 

6 ‘‘(3) While title IX has done much to provide 

7 opportunities for women and men alike, the single8 sex exemption is a part of that tapestry of opportu9 nities, and institutions of higher education may not 

10 take actions that undermine this single-sex exemp11 tion. 

12 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITING INSTITUTIONS FROM REQUIRING

13 SINGLE-SEX STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS TO WAIVE TITLE

14 IX PROTECTIONS.—An institution of higher education 

15 which is subject to this part may not— 

16 ‘‘(1) require a student organization which is au17 thorized under section 901(a)(6)(A) of the Edu18 cation Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 

19 1681(a)(6)(A)) to limit its membership to individ20 uals of one sex to admit individuals as members who 

21 do not meet the organization’s membership require22 ments; 

23 ‘‘(2) compel a student organization or the gov24 erning body of a student organization that is itself 

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1 nizations or individuals that do not meet the organi2 zation’s or governing body’s membership qualifica3 tions; or 

4 ‘‘(3) require an organization which is covered 

5 by section 901(a)(6)(A) of the Education Amend6 ments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681(a)(6)(A)) to waive 

7 its coverage under such section as a disciplinary or 

8 punitive measure.’’. 

9 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

10 this Act shall apply with respect to allegations made on 

11 or after the expiration of the 1-year period that begins 

12 on the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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