II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 540 

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

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 10, 2011 

Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. SANDERS, 

Mr. WYDEN, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. AKAKA, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, and Mrs. 

MURRAY) 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 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. INSTITUTIONAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IN7 FORMATION FOR STUDENTS. 

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

9 (20 U.S.C. 1092(f)) is amended— 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 540 IS

1 (1) by striking the subsection heading and in2 serting ‘‘DISCLOSURE OF CAMPUS SECURITY AND

3 HARASSMENT POLICY AND CAMPUS CRIME STATIS4 TICS.’’; 

5 (2) in paragraph (6)(A)— 

6 (A) by redesignating clauses (ii) and (iii) 

7 as clauses (vi) and (vii), respectively; and 

8 (B) by inserting after clause (i) the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(ii) The term ‘commercial mobile service’ has 

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

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

13 ‘‘(iii) The term ‘electronic communication’ 

14 means any transfer of signs, signals, writing, im15 ages, sounds, or data of any nature transmitted in 

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

17 photoelectronic, or photooptical system. 

18 ‘‘(iv) The term ‘electronic messaging services’ 

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

20 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement 

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

22 ‘‘(v) The term ‘harassment’ means conduct, in23 cluding acts of verbal, nonverbal, or physical aggres24 sion, intimidation, or hostility (including conduct 

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


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 540 IS

1 use of electronic messaging services, commercial mo2 bile services, electronic communications, or other 

3 technology) that— 

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

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

6 participate in or benefit from a program or ac7 tivity at an institution of higher education, or 

8 to create a hostile or abusive educational envi9 ronment at an institution of higher education; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(II) is based on a student’s actual or per12 ceived— 

13 ‘‘(aa) race; 

14 ‘‘(bb) color; 

15 ‘‘(cc) national origin; 

16 ‘‘(dd) sex; 

17 ‘‘(ee) disability; 

18 ‘‘(ff) sexual orientation; 

19 ‘‘(gg) gender identity; or 

20 ‘‘(hh) religion.’’; 

21 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (9) through 

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

23 and 

24 (4) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol25 lowing: 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 540 IS

1 ‘‘(9)(A) Each institution of higher education partici2 pating in any program under this title, other than a for3 eign institution of higher education, shall develop and dis4 tribute as part of the report described in paragraph (1) 

5 a statement of policy regarding harassment, which shall 

6 include— 

7 ‘‘(i) a prohibition of harassment of enrolled stu8 dents by other students, faculty, and staff— 

9 ‘‘(I) on campus; 

10 ‘‘(II) in noncampus buildings or on non11 campus property; 

12 ‘‘(III) on public property; 

13 ‘‘(IV) through the use of electronic mail 

14 addresses issued by the institution of higher 

15 education; 

16 ‘‘(V) through the use of computers and 

17 communication networks, including any tele18 communications service, owned, operated, or 

19 contracted for use by the institution of higher 

20 education or its agents; or 

21 ‘‘(VI) during an activity sponsored by the 

22 institution of higher education or carried out 

23 with the use of resources provided by the insti24 tution of higher education; 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 540 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) a description of the institution’s programs 

2 to combat harassment, which shall be aimed at the 

3 prevention of harassment; 

4 ‘‘(iii) a description of the procedures that a stu5 dent should follow if an incident of harassment oc6 curs; and 

7 ‘‘(iv) a description of the procedures that the 

8 institution will follow once an incident of harassment 

9 has been reported. 

10 ‘‘(B) The statement of policy described in subpara11 graph (A) shall address the following areas: 

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

13 cases of alleged harassment, which procedures shall 

14 include a clear statement that the accuser and the 

15 accused shall be informed of the outcome of any dis16 ciplinary proceedings in response to an allegation of 

17 harassment. 

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

19 the final determination of an institutional discipli20 nary procedure regarding harassment. 

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

22 health, or student services for victims or perpetra23 tors of harassment, both on campus and in the com24 munity. 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 540 IS

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

2 office at the institution that will be responsible for 

3 receiving and tracking each report of harassment by 

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

5 SEC. 3. ANTI-HARASSMENT COMPETITIVE GRANT PRO6 GRAM. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti9 ty’’ means— 

10 (A) an institution of higher education, in11 cluding an institution of higher education in a 

12 collaborative partnership with a nonprofit orga13 nization; or 

14 (B) a consortium of institutions of higher 

15 education located in the same State. 

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

17 has the meaning given the term in section 

18 485(f)(6)(A) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

19 (20 U.S.C. 1092(f)(6)(A)), as amended by section 2 

20 of this Act. 

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

22 the Secretary of Education. 

23 (b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary is au24 thorized to award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 540 IS

1 entities to enable eligible entities to carry out the author2 ized activities described in subsection (d). 

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

4 shall ensure that each grant awarded under this section 

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

6 purpose of this section. 

7 (d) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—An eligible entity 

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

9 made available through the grant to address one or more 

10 of the types of harassment listed in section 

11 485(f)(6)(A)(v)(II) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

12 (20 U.S.C. 1092(f)(6)(A)(v)(II)), as amended by section 

13 2 of this Act, by initiating, expanding, or improving pro14 grams— 

15 (1) to prevent the harassment of students at in16 stitutions of higher education; 

17 (2) at institutions of higher education that pro18 vide counseling or redress services to students who 

19 have suffered such harassment or students who have 

20 been accused of subjecting other students to such 

21 harassment; or 

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

23 staff of institutions of higher education about ways 

24 to prevent harassment or ways to address such har25 assment if it occurs. 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 540 IS

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

2 under this section, an eligible entity shall submit an appli3 cation to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 

4 containing such information, as the Secretary may re5 quire. 

6 (f) DURATION; RENEWAL.—A grant under this sec7 tion shall be awarded for a period of not more than 3 

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

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

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

11 under this section, the Secretary shall select eligible enti12 ties that demonstrate the greatest need for a grant and 

13 the greatest potential benefit from receipt of a grant. 

14 (h) REPORT AND EVALUATION.— 

15 (1) EVALUATION AND REPORT TO THE SEC16 RETARY.—Not later than 6 months after the end of 

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

18 shall— 

19 (A) evaluate the effectiveness of the activi20 ties carried out with the use of funds awarded 

21 pursuant to this section in decreasing harass22 ment and improving tolerance; and 

23 (B) prepare and submit to the Secretary a 

24 report on the results of the evaluation con25 ducted by the entity. 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 540 IS

1 (2) EVALUATION AND REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

2 Not later than 12 months after the date of receipt 

3 of the first report submitted pursuant to paragraph 

4 (1) and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall pro5 vide to Congress a report that includes the following: 

6 (A) The number and types of eligible enti7 ties receiving assistance under this section. 

8 (B) The anti-harassment programs being 

9 implemented with assistance under this section 

10 and the costs of such programs. 

11 (C) Any other information determined by 

12 the Secretary to be useful in evaluating the 

13 overall effectiveness of the program established 

14 under this section in decreasing incidents of 

15 harassment at institutions of higher education. 

16 (3) BEST PRACTICES REPORT.—The Secretary 

17 shall use the information provided under paragraph 

18 (1) to publish a report of best practices for com19 bating harassment at institutions of higher edu20 cation. The report shall be made available to all in21 stitutions of higher education and other interested 

22 parties. 

23 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

24 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

25 $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 through 2018. 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 540 IS

1 SEC. 4. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 

2 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to invalidate 

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

4 available to victims of discrimination under any other Fed5 eral law or law of a State or political subdivision of a 

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

7 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), title IX of the Education 

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

9 504 or 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 

10 794, 794a), or the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 

11 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). The obligations imposed by this 

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

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

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

15 1681 et seq.), section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 

16 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), and the Americans with Disabil17 ities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). 

Æ 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS