I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3141 
To support the provision of safe relationship behavior education and training. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 21, 2015 
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York (for herself, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. 
BONAMICI, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. LEE, Mrs. DAVIS of California, and Mr. 
MURPHY of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To support the provision of safe relationship behavior 
education and training. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Teach Safe Relation-
ships Act of 2015’’. 
SEC. 2. FUND FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF EDUCATION. 
Part D of title V of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7241 et seq.) is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘Subpart 22—Providing Safe Relationship Behavior 
Education and Training 
‘‘SEC. 5621. SHORT TITLE. 
‘‘This subpart may be cited as the ‘Teach Safe Rela-
tionships Act of 2015’. 
‘‘SEC. 5622. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. 
‘‘It is the purpose of this subpart: 
‘‘(1) To help ensure that all students receive 
evidence-informed safe relationship behavior edu-
cation and training, including education and training 
regarding the prevention of teen and adolescent dat-
ing violence or relationship abuse, domestic abuse, 
and sexual violence and harassment. 
‘‘(2) To promote safe and healthy relationships 
between and among students. 
‘‘(3) To help students and school faculty and 
staff to develop healthy and respectful attitudes and 
insights necessary for students to understand them-
selves in the context of relationships with others and 
with society. 
‘‘(4) To provide financial assistance to support 
local educational agencies in meeting the require-
ments of title IX of the Educational Amendments of 
1972. 
‘‘SEC. 5623. FINDINGS. 
‘‘Congress finds the following: 
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‘‘(1) Educating students about safe relationship 
behavior will aid in the prevention of unsafe dating 
practices, including dating violence, sexual assault, 
and stalking. 
‘‘(2) The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 
(42 U.S.C. 13925 et seq.) included programs to de-
velop and implement prevention and intervention 
policies in middle and high schools, including appro-
priate responses to, and identification and referral 
procedures for, students who are experiencing or 
perpetrating domestic violence, dating violence, sex-
ual assault, sexual harassment, stalking, or sex traf-
ficking. 
‘‘(3) Schools can play an important role in pro-
viding students with a knowledge base that may 
allow students to make informed decisions and form 
a healthy lifestyle. 
‘‘(4) According to the Department of Justice, 
there is an average of 293,066 victims (age 12 or 
older) of rape and sexual assault each year. 
‘‘(5) Young women between the ages of 16 and 
24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner 
violence. According to one national study, 29 percent 
of the young women surveyed who had ever been in 
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a relationship said they had been pressured to have 
sex or to engage in sexual activity they did not want. 
‘‘(6) From 1997 to 2013, females ages 18 to 24 
consistently experienced higher rates of rape and 
sexual assault than females in other age brackets. 
‘‘(7) Partners of all genders and those in same- 
sex relationships also experience dating violence. A 
2013 survey of grade school students found that 43 
percent of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender 
youth reported being victims of physical dating vio-
lence, compared to 29 percent of heterosexual youth. 
‘‘(8) Experiencing dating violence is associated 
with an increase in sexual risk-taking behaviors, 
health risks, and is associated with adolescent and 
unintended pregnancy. 
‘‘(9) Teaching and learning practices in the 
United States frequently do not address safe rela-
tionship behavior education and training, for exam-
ple— 
‘‘(A) sex education curriculum should ad-
dress emotional relationship health; 
‘‘(B) sexual harassment undermines the 
ability of schools to provide safe and equitable 
learning or workplace environments; and 
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‘‘(C) classroom textbooks and educational 
materials do not sufficiently reflect the pro-
motion of safe and healthy relationships. 
‘‘(10) Efforts to improve the quality of public 
education must also include efforts to ensure pro-
grams for safe relationship behavior training. 
‘‘(11) Federal support should address not only 
research and development of innovative model cur-
ricula and teaching and learning strategies to pro-
mote healthy behavior, but should also assist schools 
and local communities with implementing a cur-
riculum that includes sexual assault and teen dating 
violence. 
‘‘SEC. 5624. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘In this subpart: 
‘‘(1) CONSENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘consent’ 
means affirmative, unambiguous, and voluntary 
agreement to engage in a specific sexual activity 
during a sexual encounter. 
‘‘(B) LIMITATIONS.—Consent cannot be 
given by an individual who is— 
‘‘(i) asleep, or mentally or physically 
incapacitated, either through the effect of 
drugs or alcohol or for any other reason; 
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‘‘(ii) under duress or experiencing a 
threat, coercion, or force; or 
‘‘(iii) inferred under circumstances in 
which consent is not clear, including the 
absence of language or actions that indi-
cate unwillingness (such as saying ‘no’ or 
‘stop’), or the existence of a prior or cur-
rent relationship or prior or current sexual 
activity. 
‘‘(2) SAFE
RELATIONSHIP
BEHAVIOR
EDU-
CATION.—The term ‘safe relationship behavior edu-
cation’ means education that— 
‘‘(A) is medically accurate and appropriate 
for an individual’s age, developmental stage, 
and culture; 
‘‘(B) promotes safe relationships and 
teaches students to recognize and prevent— 
‘‘(i) physical and emotional relation-
ship abuse; and 
‘‘(ii) coercion, violence, or abuse, in-
cluding teen and adolescent dating vio-
lence, domestic abuse, and sexual violence 
and harassment; 
‘‘(C) includes education regarding relation-
ship communication skills, emotional health, ac-
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countability, and well-being in relationships, 
and consent; and 
‘‘(D) includes education regarding healthy 
relationships, including the development of 
healthy attitudes and insights necessary for un-
derstanding relationships between oneself, fam-
ily, partners, others, and society, including 
skills on healthy self-esteem, and self-efficacy 
and stress management. 
‘‘(3) SEXUAL ASSAULT.—The term ‘sexual as-
sault’ means any nonconsensual sexual act pro-
scribed by Federal, State, or tribal law, including 
when a victim lacks capacity to consent. 
‘‘(4) SEXUAL HARASSMENT.—The term ‘sexual 
harassment’ means unwelcome conduct of a sexual 
nature, including unwelcome sexual advances, re-
quests for sexual favors, and other verbal, nonverbal, 
or physical conduct of a sexual nature. 
‘‘(5) SEXUAL VIOLENCE.—The term ‘sexual vio-
lence’ means physical sexual acts perpetrated 
against a person’s will or when or where a person 
is incapable of giving consent. 
‘‘(6) TEEN
AND
ADOLESCENT
DATING
VIO-
LENCE.—The term ‘teen and adolescent dating vio-
lence’ means— 
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‘‘(A) violence committed by a person who 
is or has been in a social relationship of a ro-
mantic or intimate nature with the victim; and 
‘‘(B) where the existence of such a rela-
tionship shall be determined based on a consid-
eration of factors, including— 
‘‘(i) the length of the relationship; 
‘‘(ii) the type of relationship; and 
‘‘(iii) the frequency of interaction be-
tween the persons involved in the relation-
ship. 
‘‘SEC. 5625. GRANTS AUTHORIZED. 
‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary is authorized to 
award grants to local educational agencies in order to en-
able such agencies— 
‘‘(1) to provide professional development to 
school administrators, teachers, and staff in safe re-
lationship behavior education and teaching and 
learning practices; and 
‘‘(2) to provide educational programming and 
curricula that is age appropriate and develop-
mentally and culturally appropriate for students re-
garding safe relationship behavior education and 
training. 
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‘‘(b) AWARD BASIS.—The Secretary is authorized to 
award grants under this section— 
‘‘(1) on a competitive basis; and 
‘‘(2) in a manner that ensures that such grants 
are equitably distributed among local educational 
agencies located in rural, urban, and suburban 
areas. 
‘‘(c) DURATION.—Grants awarded under this section 
shall be for a period of 4 years. 
‘‘(d) POLICY DISSEMINATION.—The Secretary shall 
disseminate to local educational agencies any Department 
policy guidance regarding safe relationship behavior train-
ing and the promotion of safe and healthy relationships. 
‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.—Each local educational agency 
that receives a grant under this subpart shall use grant 
funds to develop and implement curricula for students 
that— 
‘‘(1) incorporate elements of effective and evi-
dence-based or evidence-informed programs that in-
clude— 
‘‘(A) safe relationship behavior training, 
including for the prevention of teen and adoles-
cent dating violence, domestic abuse, and sexual 
violence and harassment; and 
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