I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 781 

To develop a national system of oversight of States for sexual misconduct 

in the elementary and secondary school system. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 28, 2009 

Mr. PUTNAM (for himself and Mr. LEE of New York) introduced the following 

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

A BILL 

To develop a national system of oversight of States for 

sexual misconduct in the elementary and secondary 

school system. 

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 ‘‘Student Protection 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. STATE OVERSIGHT SYSTEMS. 

7 (a) SYSTEMS REQUIRED.—For fiscal year 2012 and 

8 each fiscal year thereafter, each State shall have in effect 

9 laws and policies that, as determined by the Secretary of 

10 Education, ensure the following: 


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1 (1) Whenever an individual who is an eligible 

2 employee has reason to believe that an incident has 

3 occurred in which an eligible employee has com4 mitted an act of sexual misconduct against a stu5 dent, the individual makes a report of that incident 

6 to the State consistent with the State’s laws and 

7 policies regarding reporting of child abuse and ne8 glect or, in the case of a State that does not have 

9 laws and policies regarding the reporting of child 

10 abuse and neglect, as quickly as practicable. 

11 (2) If an individual described in paragraph (1) 

12 fails to comply with State laws and policies ref13 erenced in paragraph (1), such individual is dis14 ciplined. 

15 (3) The State has a single, statewide commis16 sion for receiving and documenting all reports made 

17 under paragraph (1). 

18 (4) The commission required by paragraph 

19 (3)— 

20 (A) has policies for investigating and re21 porting such incidents; and 

22 (B) has a toll-free number that can be 

23 used anonymously to make reports under para24 graph (1). 


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1 (5) Each incident with respect to which a re2 port is made under paragraph (1) is investigated by 

3 individuals who have received training in inves4 tigating such incidents. 

5 (6) The identification and last known address 

6 of an eligible employee, the reason for the termi7 nation, punishment, fines, or sanctions are provided 

8 to the Secretary of Education whenever an eligible 

9 employee is— 

10 (A) terminated from association with the 

11 State educational agency, local educational 

12 agency, public school, or private school, on the 

13 basis of an act of sexual misconduct against a 

14 student; or 

15 (B) punished, fined, or sanctioned by any 

16 level of State government on the basis of an act 

17 of sexual misconduct against a student. 

18 (b) NONCOMPLIANCE.—If a State does not comply 

19 with subsection (a) for a fiscal year, the Secretary of Edu20 cation may reduce by not more than 5 percent the 

21 amounts the State would otherwise be allocated or award22 ed, or both, under the Elementary and Secondary Edu23 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.). Amounts 

24 not allocated or awarded to a State for failure to comply 


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1 with subsection (a) shall be allocated or awarded (as the 

2 case may be) to States that do comply with subsection (a). 

3 SEC. 3. NATIONAL DATABASE. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education shall 

5 maintain a national database of incidents that have oc6 curred in which an eligible employee is— 

7 (1) terminated from association with a State 

8 educational agency, local educational agency, public 

9 school, or private school, on the basis of an act of 

10 sexual misconduct against a student; or 

11 (2) punished, fined, or sanctioned by any level 

12 of State government on the basis of an act of sexual 

13 misconduct against a student. 

14 (b) INCLUDE EVERY DETAIL AND AVAILABILITY.— 

15 The database shall include, at a minimum, every detail 

16 provided by a State under section 2, and shall be available 

17 to the public. 

18 SEC. 4. REPORT. 

19 The Secretary of Education shall, on an annual basis, 

20 submit to Congress a report on the activities carried out 

21 under this Act. The report shall identify each State that 

22 is in compliance, and each State that is not in compliance, 

23 with section 2(a). 

24 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this Act: 


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1 (1) The term ‘‘eligible employee’’ means any in2 dividual who works for, or is employed by, a State 

3 educational agency, local educational agency, public 

4 school, or private school. 

5 (2) The term ‘‘act of sexual misconduct’’ means 

6 any sexual offense, sexual assault, sexual overture, 

7 or sexual communication. 

Æ 


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