Title: Ravi Thackurdeen Safe Students Study Abroad Act
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Ravi Thackurdeen Safe Students Study Abroad Act
This bill (1) applies campus-security reporting requirements to study-abroad programs of institutions of higher education that participate in federal student-aid programs, and (2) requires such institutions to implement specified policies to protect students participating in study-abroad programs.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1572 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1572

    To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require additional 
reporting on crime and harm that occurs during student participation in 
           programs of study abroad, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 21, 2019

Mr. Portman (for himself and Ms. Smith) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require additional 
reporting on crime and harm that occurs during student participation in 
           programs of study abroad, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Ravi Thackurdeen Safe Students Study 
Abroad Act''.

SEC. 2. APPLICATION OF CLERY ACT TO PROGRAMS OF STUDY ABROAD.

    (a) Reporting of Crime Statistics.--Paragraph (12) of section 
485(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(f)) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (C);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (D) 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(E) while a student is participating in a program of 
        study abroad approved for credit by an institution of higher 
        education, distinguished by whether the criminal offense 
        occurred at a location described in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), 
        or (D), or at another location, without regard to whether the 
        institution owns or controls a building or property at such 
        location.''.
    (b) Additional Reporting for Programs of Study Abroad.--Section 
485(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(f)) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraph (18) as paragraph (19); and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (17), the following new 
        paragraph:
    ``(18)(A) Each institution of higher education participating in any 
program under this title, other than a foreign institution of higher 
education, shall develop and distribute as part of the report described 
in paragraph (1), a statement that the institution has adopted and 
implemented a program to protect students participating in a program of 
study abroad approved for credit by the institution from crime and harm 
while participating in such program of study abroad that, at a minimum, 
includes the following:
            ``(i) A biennial review by the institution of the programs 
        of study abroad approved for credit by the institution to 
        determine--
                    ``(I) the effectiveness of the programs at 
                protecting students from crime and harm, and whether 
                changes to the programs are needed (based on the most 
                recent guidance or other assistance from the Secretary) 
                and will be implemented;
                    ``(II) for the 10 years preceding the date of the 
                report, the number (in the aggregate for all programs 
                of study abroad approved for credit by the institution) 
                of--
                            ``(aa) deaths of program participants 
                        occurring during program participation or 
                        during any other activities during the study 
                        abroad period;
                            ``(bb) accidents and illnesses occurring 
                        during program participation that resulted in 
                        hospitalization;
                            ``(cc) sexual assaults against program 
                        participants occurring during program 
                        participation; and
                            ``(dd) incidents involving program 
                        participants during the program participation 
                        that resulted in police involvement or a police 
                        report; and
                    ``(III) with respect to the incidents described in 
                items (aa) through (dd) of subclause (II), whether the 
                incidents occurred--
                            ``(aa) on campus;
                            ``(bb) in or on a noncampus building or 
                        property;
                            ``(cc) on public property;
                            ``(dd) in dormitories or other residential 
                        facilities for students; or
                            ``(ee) at a location not described in items 
                        (aa) through (dd) of this subclause, without 
                        regard to whether the institution owns or 
                        controls a building or property at the 
                        location.
            ``(ii) The crime statistics described in paragraph (12)(E).
    ``(B) An institution of higher education described in subparagraph 
(A) shall--
            ``(i) provide each student who is interested in 
        participating in a program of study abroad approved for credit 
        by the institution, with a pre-trip orientation session and 
        advising that includes--
                    ``(I) a list of countries in which such programs of 
                study abroad are located;
                    ``(II) all current travel information, including 
                all travel warnings and travel alerts, issued by the 
                Bureau of Consular Affairs of the Department of State 
                for such countries; and
                    ``(III) the information described in clauses (i) 
                and (ii) of subparagraph (A), provided specifically for 
                each program of study abroad approved for credit by the 
                institution in which the student is considering 
                participation; and
            ``(ii) provide each student who returns from such a program 
        of study abroad with a post-trip orientation session, including 
        an exit interview that assists the institution in carrying out 
        subparagraph (A) and clause (i) of this subparagraph.
    ``(C) An institution of higher education shall not disaggregate or 
otherwise distinguish information for purposes of subparagraph (A) or 
(B) in a case in which the number of students in a category is 
insufficient to yield statistically reliable information or the results 
would reveal personally identifiable information about an individual 
student.
    ``(D) The Secretary shall periodically review a representative 
sample of the programs described in subparagraph (A) that have been 
adopted and implemented by institutions of higher education to protect 
students participating in a program of study abroad described in 
subparagraph (A) from crime and harm while participating in such 
program of study abroad.''.
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