Creating Positive College Campus Racial Climates Act

Bill: 118-hr-10534
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Lee, Summer L. [D-PA-12]
Introduced: 2024-12-19
Policy area: Education
Latest action: action_date: 2024-12-19
text: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Summaries:

tv_txt: I 118th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 10534 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES December 19, 2024 Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania (for herself, Mr. Carson , Mrs. Watson Coleman , and Ms. Williams of Georgia ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce A BILL To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education, as a condition of participating in programs under title IV of such Act, to annually conduct a survey to measure student experiences with discrimination at such institutions, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Creating Positive College Campus Racial Climates Act . 2. Assessing discrimination at institutions of higher education (a) National Campus Climate Survey Part B of title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1011 et seq. ) is amended by adding at the end the following: 124. National Campus Climate Survey (a) Survey The Secretary shall develop an annual survey to measure student experiences with discrimination at institutions of higher education that participate in any program under title IV, which shall be known as the National Campus Climate Survey (in this section referred to as the Survey ). The Survey shall collect from students the following information: (1) The demographic information of the student, including the number of years of an undergraduate or graduate education the student has completed. (2) The number of instances of covert and overt acts of racial discrimination the student has experienced on a campus or other property of the institution. (3) Responses from the student recorded on a numeric scale from 1 to 10 regarding the extent that the student— (A) feels prepared to engage in a racially diverse democracy and workforce; (B) is concerned about experiencing covert and overt acts of racial discrimination on a campus or other property of the institution; and (C) is satisfied with how the institution responds to alleged incidents of racial discrimination reported to the institution. (4) Any additional information as determined appropriate by the Secretary. (b) Distribution Not later than September 30, 2025, and not later than each September 30 thereafter, the Secretary shall— (1) prepare the content of the Survey; and (2) distribute the Survey to each institution of higher education that participates in any program under title IV through the portal established under subsection (d)(1). (c) Response collection Not later than May 31, 2026, and not later than each May 31 thereafter, each institution of higher education that participates in any program under title IV shall— (1) conduct the Survey distributed through the portal established under subsection (d)(1) among students of the institution and accept student responses to such Survey for a period of at least 60 days; (2) publish a report of the results of the Survey collected by the institution that excludes any personally identifiable information on a publically available website of the institution; (3) notify students and staff of the institution when such report is published; and (4) upload the results of the Survey collected by the institution to the portal established under subsection (d)(1). (d) Portal (1) In general The Secretary shall publish a portal on a publically available website of the Department to facilitate the distribution of the Survey to, and to collect responses to the Survey uploaded by, institutions of higher education that participate in any program under title IV. (2) Database The portal established under paragraph (1) shall include a searchable database of the responses to the Survey uploaded to the portal. Such responses shall be— (A) disaggregated by the institution of higher education that the response pertains to; and (B) anonymized to remove any personally identifiable information. (e) Assistance The Secretary shall establish a website and a toll-free telephone number to provide assistance and resources to institutions of higher education regarding the collection of responses to the Survey. (f) Anonymous responses The Survey shall include an option for students to submit responses anonymously. (g) Monitoring The Office for Civil Rights of the Department— (1) shall monitor the responses to the Survey uploaded to the portal established under subsection (d)(1); and (2) may use such responses as the basis for opening an investigation of alleged discrimination at an institution of higher education. 125. Transparency regarding complaints related to discrimination (a) Not later than October 31, 2025, and not less than twice each year thereafter, each institution of higher education that participates in any program under title IV shall post on a publically available website of the institution and email students of the institution the following information: (1) A guide of the policies of the institution that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin (including discrimination based on actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics), including discrimination against individuals who are or are perceived to be members of a religion. (2) Data from the most recently completed academic year regarding— (A) complaints asserting instances of discrimination described in paragraph (1) against a student that are reported to the institution; and (B) complaints asserting instances of discrimination described in paragraph (1) against a student that are reported to the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Education, to the extent such complaints are known to the institution. (b) Not later than October 31, 2025, and not less than once every 4 years thereafter, each institution of higher education that participates in any program under title IV shall audit all reporting systems of the institution that accept complaints asserting instances of discrimination described in subsection (a)(1) against a student. Each such audit shall evaluate— (1) how each such reporting system— (A) accepts, processes, and resolves a complaint; and (B) solicits input and feedback on the reporting system from the individual who submitted such complaint, including how the institution communicates with such individual on matters regarding the complaint; and (2) how the institution— (A) sanctions an individual found to be non-complaint with the policies of the institution regarding instances of discrimination described in subsection (a)(1) against a student; and (B) could improve the accessibility and ease of navigation of reporting systems. . (b) OCR annual report (1) In general Section 203(b) of the Department of Education Organization Act ( 20 U.S.C. 3413(b) ) is amended by adding at the end the following: (3) The report required by paragraph (1) shall include an analysis of the complaints the Office for Civil Rights has received during the period covered by such report regarding alleged discrimination against a student or staff of an institution of higher education in violation of title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ( 42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq. ). Such analysis shall include— (A) such complaints disaggregated by— (i) the race or ethnicity of the alleged victim, to the extent such information is available; (ii) in the case of a complaint filed by a student, the number of years of an undergraduate or graduate education the student had completed at the time such complaint was filed; (iii) the specific violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that is the basis for the complaint; and (iv) the name of the institution, if any, upon which the complaint was alleged against; and (B) information pertaining to the period covered by such report on— (i) the number of such complaints, including through what means the complaint was filed and disaggregated by such means, including electronic submissions through forms provided by the Office for Civil Rights; and (ii) the number of complaints with waivers approved for filing after the 180-day filing period has expired. . (2) Effective date The amendment made by this subsection shall take effect 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act. (c) Program participation agreement requirements Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1094(a) ) is amended by adding at the end the following: (30) The institution will comply with the requirements of section 124(c). (31) The institution will comply with the requirements of section 125. . (d) Audit Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the Department of Education shall conduct an audit of the complaint process used by the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Education for complaints of alleged violations of title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ( 42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq. ).