HALT Campus Sexual Violence Act

Bill: 113-hr-5269
Sponsor: Rep. Speier, Jackie [D-CA-14]
Introduced: 2014-07-30 in the House
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Assault and harassment offenses
Civil actions and liability
Congressional oversight
Consumer affairs
Crime prevention
Crimes against women
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Criminal justice information and records
Department of Education
Domestic violence and child abuse
Education programs funding
Executive agency funding and structure
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Higher education
School administration
Sex offenses
Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination

Summary:
action_date: 2014-07-30
text: 
Hold Accountable and Lend Transparency on Campus Sexual Violence Act or the HALT Campus Sexual Violence Act - Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to require the Department to make publicly available on its website:
 
 
a list of the institutions of higher education (IHEs) under investigation, and a copy of program reviews and resolution agreements entered into with the Secretary of Education or the Attorney General, under title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) or title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964;
 
the letter terminating the Department's monitoring of such agreements; and
 
a list of the IHEs under investigation, and a copy of the program reviews, fines levied, and resolution agreements entered into with the Secretary or Attorney General, under the provisions of the Higher Education Act of 1965 known as the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act).
 
 
Authorizes the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights to impose a civil penalty on an IHE that has violated a law under the jurisdiction of the Department's Office for Civil Rights.
 
Amends the Clery Act to direct the Secretary to develop an annual sexual violence climate survey and include statistics from such survey in the annual campus security report provided to current and prospective students and employees.
 
Creates a private right of action in a judicial proceeding for individuals allegedly aggrieved by a violation of the Clery Act.
 
Increases the maximum monetary penalty that may be imposed on an IHE for substantially misrepresenting the number, location, or nature of the crimes required to be reported under the Clery Act.
 
Requires an IHE's annual statement of its policy regarding domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking to: 
 
 
 use simple and understandable language and clear formatting; 
 
 be made available and posted on its public website and in conspicuous places in and around student housing and academic buildings;
 
 be provided to each student group, team, or organization that has a specified connection to the IHE or is known by the IHE to act on an unaffiliated basis; and 
 
 ensure that each of those student groups, teams, or organizations distributes a copy of such policy to each of its members or applicants for membership.
 
 
Directs the Secretary and the Attorney General to create a joint interagency Campus Sexual Violence Task Force, the duties of which include: 
 
 
 providing IHEs with recommendations for preventing and responding to campus sexual violence;
 
 reviewing the Department's authority to levy intermediate fines for noncompliance with Title IX and the advisability of additional remedies for such noncompliance; and 
 
 creating a plan for recruiting, retaining, and training a highly qualified Department of Education workforce to investigate alleged violations of and enforce Title IX and the Clery Act with respect to campus sexual violence.
 
 
Authorizes funding to train, hire, and retain such a workforce.
 

 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-11-17
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training.
action_date: 2014-09-26
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
action_date: 2014-07-30
text: Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2014-07-30
text: Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2014-07-30
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2014-07-30
text: Introduced in House