Stop Sexual Harassment in K–12 Act

Bill: 119-hr-1557
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Casten, Sean [D-IL-6]
Introduced: 2025-02-25
Policy area: Education
Latest action: action_date: 2025-02-25
text: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

Summaries:
action_date: 2025-02-25
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><strong>Stop Sexual Harassment in K-12 Act</strong></p><p>This bill outlines the role and duties of Title IX coordinators in elementary and secondary schools, including by requiring local educational agencies to increase the number of full-time employees designated to serve as a Title IX coordinator per specified student population. The bill also creates a grant program to train teachers and staff on how to respond to signs of sex-based&nbsp;harassment and assault of students and requires the Department of Education to develop a sex-based harassment&nbsp;survey.</p>

tv_txt: I 119th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 1557 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 25, 2025 Mr. Casten (for himself, Ms. Lois Frankel of Florida , Mrs. Hayes , and Ms. Titus ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce A BILL To implement title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 with respect to elementary and secondary schools, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Stop Sexual Harassment in K–12 Act . 2. Title IX Coordinator (a) In general For each local educational agency that receives Federal financial assistance, the following requirements shall apply: (1) The recipient shall increase the number of full-time employees designated to serve as a Title IX Coordinator by at least one per— (A) 75,000 students in 7th grade or above served by the recipient; and (B) 150,000 students in 6th grade or below served by the recipient. (2) The recipient shall ensure that students, parents and guardians of students, and staff are made aware of these employees, their role, and the times at which they are available to meet. (3) A Title IX Coordinator shall not have any other school-related responsibilities that may create a conflict of interest, including serving in the school administrative leadership or local educational agency administrative leadership (such as serving as a principal, vice principal, headmaster, superintendent, board member, general counsel, or athletics director). (4) A Title IX Coordinator, along with a principal, campus security, bus driver, teacher, counselor or social worker, equity officer, coach, or any other staff member, shall be considered an appropriate person to whom to disclose discrimination on the basis of sex for purposes of the legal standards under title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 ( 20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq. ). (b) Duties Each Title IX Coordinator for a local educational agency shall ensure the local educational agency’s compliance under Federal policies against discrimination on the basis of sex, including title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 ( 20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq. ), by doing the following: (1) Providing information and outreach so that every individual receives sufficient and accessible information designed to make them aware of their rights under Federal, State, and local laws and policies against discrimination on the basis of sex, including title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 ( 20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq. ) and the regulations promulgated to carry out such title, and that the local educational agency and its employees comply with those laws and policies, including receiving training on the laws and policies. (2) Ensuring that notices of nondiscrimination, relevant policies and grievance procedures, and current contact information of all Title IX Coordinators are disseminated broadly and in an age-appropriate manner accessible to all students, parents, guardians, and employees and applicants for admission or employment, including prominently on school websites and in school handbooks. (3) Monitoring complaints alleging discrimination based on sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, sex characteristics (including intersex traits), pregnancy or related conditions, a medical condition related to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, pregnancy or related conditions, and a sex stereotype), domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sexual violence, stalking, and sex-based harassment, including supportive measures offered to complainants, reasonable accommodations for complainants and respondents with disabilities, and the outcomes of complaints. (4) Identifying patterns of discrimination on the basis of sex from complaints and addressing its impact on the school community. (5) Monitoring the education program or activity for barriers to reporting information about conduct that may constitute discrimination on the basis of sex and taking steps reasonably calculated to address such barriers. (6) Coordinating dissemination, collection, and analysis of climate surveys, including the survey described in section 4, and identifying and proactively addressing discrimination on the basis of sex in the local educational agency based on the results of climate surveys. (7) Overseeing age-appropriate, accessible, and trauma-informed annual sex-based harassment prevention education and training for students, employees, volunteers, contractors, and other government employees who work in or with the local educational agency. (8) Ensuring that prevention education and training is inclusive of diverse communities and identities, informed by research, and conducted in partnership with local rape crisis centers, State sexual assault coalitions or domestic violence coalitions, or community organizations that work on addressing discrimination on the basis of sex, including sex-based harassment in schools. (c) Waiver authorized (1) In general A local educational agency that receives Federal financial assistance may request a waiver from the Secretary of one or more of the requirements under thus section on the basis that the requirement poses an insurmountable financial burden to the recipient and the recipient has been unable to secure sufficient grants under subsection (d). (2) Alternative plan The waiver process shall include requiring the recipient to submit an alternative plan for ensuring students are aware of their rights under title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 ( 20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq. ) and have access to a Title IX Coordinator. At the very minimum within their alternative plan, the recipient shall establish a partnership, through a memorandum of understanding, with a local rape crisis center or a national or community-based organization that specializes in trauma or crisis management and support. The memorandum of understanding shall establish a clear delineation of the roles and responsibilities of the partners, which shall also include providing prevention training and supporting measures when addressing reports about incidents of sex-based harassment. (3) Failure to follow alternative plan If the Secretary determines (based on a submitted complaint or otherwise) that a recipient has such a waiver approved but has not followed their alternative plan, or if the Secretary determines that their plan was insufficient to prevent and respond to sex-based harassment and assault, the Secretary shall attempt a voluntary resolution. If a voluntary resolution is not possible during a reasonable period of time, the Secretary shall take such action as may be appropriate to withhold Federal financial assistance. A waiver granted under this subsection shall be valid for 2 years. (d) Grants To carry out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for each of the first five fiscal years that begin after the effective date in subsection (e) for grants to local educational agencies to offset the financial burden of satisfying the requirements of this section. In making grants under this subsection, the Secretary shall give priority to local educational agencies that otherwise would face a high financial burden in fulfilling such requirements. (e) Effective date This section shall take effect 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act. 3. Grants for training on how to respond to signs of sex-based harassment and assault of students (a) In general The Secretary is authorized to make grants to local educational agencies to train elementary school and secondary school teachers and other school staff on how to prevent, recognize, and respond to signs of sex-based harassment and assault among students or between students and adults. (b) Applications (1) In general Any local educational agency desiring to receive a grant under this section for any fiscal year shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may require. Each such application shall— (A) include a plan to provide the training described in subsection (a); and (B) demonstrate how the grant funds will be used to meet the needs for such training. (2) Deadline The Secretary shall award grants under this section not later than 6 months after the deadline for grant application submission established under paragraph (1). (c) Equitable distribution To the extent practicable, in awarding grants under this section, the Secretary shall— (1) ensure an equitable geographic distribution of grants under this section, including the distribution of such grants between rural and urban areas; and (2) give priority to local educational agencies that have jurisdiction over an underserved area or areas. (d) Priorities In allocating funds to local educational agencies under this section, the Secretary shall consider the quality of the applications submitted, but the Secretary shall give priority to local educational agencies whose applications include any of the following: (1) A demonstration that the applicant does not receive other Federal, State, or local funds to carry out the activities described in this section. (2) Statements of support from students or student groups. (e) Supplement, not supplant Grant funds provided under this section shall be used to supplement, not supplant, other Federal or State funds available to carry out the activities described in this section. (f) Authorization of appropriations To carry out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Education $50,000,000 for each of the first five fiscal years that begin after the date of the enactment of this Act. 4. Sex-based harassment surveys (a) Sex-Based harassment survey (1) In general The Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Director of the Centers for Disease Control of the Department of Health and Human Services, shall develop an empirically validated sex-based harassment survey to be conducted on an anonymous basis of elementary school and secondary school students and staff. The survey shall assess, for the preceding calendar year for which data is available, instances of sex-based harassment carried out by students or staff, including instances of sex-based harassment that occur off school property and that involve online conduct. The Secretary shall ensure that the survey questions vary between staff and students and for different age groups in order to ensure that the questions are developmentally appropriate. (2) Development of administration mechanism The Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Director of the Centers for Disease Control of the Department of Health and Human Services, shall develop a mechanism by which local educational agencies may, with respect to the survey developed pursuant to this section— (A) administer such survey; and (B) modify such survey to include additional elements or requirements, as determined by the agency. (3) Local administration (A) In general Beginning not later than 2 years after the date on which the Secretary of Education makes available to local educational agencies the mechanism described in paragraph (2), and every year thereafter, each local educational agency that receives Federal financial assistance shall administer the survey developed pursuant to this section to elementary school and secondary school students and staff. (B) Accessibility Local educational agencies shall ensure that the survey is administered in such a way as to be readily accessible to, and usable by, individuals with disabilities. (b) Requirements The survey developed pursuant to this section— (1) shall be fair and unbiased, be reliable, be trauma-informed, meet the highest standards of survey research, and notify the participant using age-appropriate language that anonymized results of the survey may be published; and (2) shall ensure that the responses to the survey questions— (A) are collected by individuals who are not in daily or close contact with the students; and (B) in a case in which such responses are included in a report, do not include personally identifiable information. (c) Statistics Beginning 6 months after the results of the first survey developed pursuant to this section are available, the Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Director of the Centers for Disease Control of the Department of Health and Human Services, shall compile statistics based upon their analysis of the results of such survey. Such officials shall update, conduct, and compile the results of, the survey every 2 years thereafter. The compiled statistics should be disaggregated by local educational agency, except that such disaggregation shall not be required in the case of a local educational agency of a size such that the results would reveal personally identifiable information about an individual student, in which case, an alternate basis for disaggregation shall be selected. (d) Public availability The statistics compiled under subsection (c) shall be made publicly available on the website of the Department of Education and readily accessible to and usable by individuals, including individuals with disabilities. (e) Options The survey shall give— (1) students the option to report their demographic information; and (2) parents and guardians of students the option to opt their student out of the survey. (f) Topics Survey questions included in the survey tool developed pursuant to this section— (1) shall be designed to gather information on student experiences with sex-based harassment; (2) shall use trauma-informed language to prevent re-traumatization; and (3) subject to subsection (a), shall address— (A) whether the instances of sex-based harassment described were experienced in-person or through electronic means; (B) the effectiveness of school sexual violence awareness and prevention programs and policies for the overall student body and different student populations, such as students of color, students in the LGBTQ communities, immigrant students, pregnant and parenting students, and students with disabilities; (C) students’ awareness of school policies and procedures, including the location and process for accessing school resources, such as a Title IX Coordinator designated by the school pursuant to title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 ( 20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq. ) and the regulations promulgated to carry out such title; (D) whether individuals impacted by sex-based harassment have experienced negative effects on their education, including diminished grades, dropped classes, or leaves of absence; (E) whether the alleged discrimination on the basis of sex or sex-based harassment was allegedly committed by a student, school employee, or volunteer and other contextual factors; (F) whether individuals impacted by sex-based harassment reported or did not report the incident to the school; (G) if such an individual did so report to the school, to whom they reported, and what response the survivor received to include being informed of, or referred to, national, State, local, tribal, or resources; (H) if such an individual reported to the school— (i) did the school conduct an investigation; (ii) if an investigation was conducted, how long did the investigation take; and (iii) if an investigation was conducted, what was the final resolution of the investigation; (I) if such an individual did so report, whether they experienced retaliation following the reporting; (J) attitudes toward sexual violence and harassment, including individuals’ willingness to intervene as a bystander of sex-based, race-based, national-origin-based, sexual-orientation-based, gender-identity-based, and disability-based discrimination, harassment, assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking; (K) perception of school safety and confidence in the school’s ability to appropriately address sex-based, race-based, national-origin-based, sexual-orientation-based, gender-identity-based, and disability-based discrimination, harassment, assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking; and (L) any other issues relating to sex-based, race-based, national-origin-based, sexual-orientation-based, gender-identity-based, and disability-based discrimination, harassment, assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking, as appropriate. (g) Completed surveys The Secretary of Education shall require each local educational agency that administers the survey tool developed pursuant to this section to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that an adequate, random, and representative sample size of students (as determined by the Secretary) enrolled at elementary schools and secondary schools under the jurisdiction of the agency complete the survey tool developed pursuant to this section. (h) Reports Beginning not later than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education— (1) shall prepare an annual report on the information gained from the standardized elements of the survey under this section and publish such report in an accessible format on the website of the Department of Education, including as part of any online consumer tool offered or supported by the Department of Education that provides information to students regarding specific educational institutions; and (2) shall submit such report to the Congress. (i) Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 to carry out this section for each of the first five fiscal years that begin after the date of the enactment of this Act. 5. Rule of construction Nothing in this Act shall be construed to preempt, invalidate, or limit rights, remedies, procedures, or legal standards available to victims of discrimination or retaliation under any other Federal law or law of a State or political subdivision of a State, including titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ( 42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq. ), title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 ( 20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq. ), section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ( 29 U.S.C. 794 ), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ( 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq. ), or section 1979 of the Revised Statutes ( 42 U.S.C. 1983 ). The obligations imposed by this Act are in addition to those imposed by those Acts. 6. Sense of Congress It is the sense of the Congress that it is valuable for students to have access to confidential reporting of sex-based harassment and abuse, and schools should attempt to provide that to the extent possible in accordance with State and local laws. 7. Definitions In this Act: (1) The term dating violence has the meaning given the term in section 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 ( 34 U.S.C. 12291(a) ). (2) The term discrimination on the basis of sex includes discrimination on the basis of sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity. (3) The term domestic violence has the meaning given the term in section 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 ( 34 U.S.C. 12291(a) ). (4) The term elementary school means— (A) an elementary school as defined by section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 7801 ); and (B) a public or private preschool. (5) The term Federal financial assistance means any of the following, when authorized or extended under a law administered by the Secretary: (A) A grant or loan of Federal financial assistance, including funds made available for— (i) the acquisition, construction, renovation, restoration, or repair of a building or facility or any portion thereof; and (ii) scholarships, loans, grants, wages or other funds extended to any entity for payment to or on behalf of students admitted to that entity, or extended directly to such students for payment to that entity. (B) A grant of Federal real or personal property or any interest therein, including surplus property, and the proceeds of the sale or transfer of such property, if the Federal share of the fair market value of the property is not, upon such sale or transfer, properly accounted for to the Federal Government. (C) Provision of the services of Federal personnel. (D) Sale or lease of Federal property or any interest therein at nominal consideration, or at consideration reduced for the purpose of assisting the recipient or in recognition of public interest to be served thereby, or permission to use Federal property or any interest therein without consideration. (E) Any other contract, agreement, or arrangement which has as one of its purposes the provision of assistance to any education program or activity, except a contract of insurance or guaranty. (6) The term institution of vocational education means a school or institution (except an institution of professional or graduate or undergraduate higher education) which has as its primary purpose preparation of students to pursue a technical, skilled, or semiskilled occupation or trade, or to pursue study in a technical field, whether or not the school or institution offers certificates, diplomas, or degrees and whether or not it offers full-time study. (7) The term local educational agency has the meaning given such term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ( 8 U.S.C. 7801 ). (8) The term pregnancy or related conditions includes pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, miscarriage, fertility care, contraceptive care, and related medical care and conditions, including recovery from such conditions. (9) The term recipient means any State or political subdivision thereof, or any instrumentality of a State or political subdivision thereof, any public or private agency, institution, or organization, or other entity, or any person, to whom Federal financial assistance is extended directly or through another recipient and which operates an education program or activity which receives such assistance, including any subunit, successor, assignee, or transferee thereof. (10) The term secondary school means— (A) a secondary school as defined by section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 7801 ); and (B) an institution of vocational education that serves secondary school students. (11) The term Secretary means the Secretary of Education. (12) The term sex-based harassment includes the following: (A) Sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking. (B) Unwelcome conduct, including indirect or nonverbal conduct, of a sexual nature, including conduct undertaken in whole or in part through the use of electronic messaging services, commercial mobile services, electronic communications, or other technology. (C) Other conduct on the basis of sex that is one of the following: (i) Conduct that negatively alters a person’s ability to participate in or receive any aid, benefit, service, or opportunity from an education program or activity that receives Federal financial assistance, including by creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment. (ii) Conduct carried out by an employee, agent, or other person authorized by the recipient to provide any aid, benefit, service, or opportunity under the recipient’s education program or activity that involves such employee, agent, or other person explicitly or impliedly conditioning the provision of such an aid, benefit, service, or opportunity on a person’s participation in sexual conduct, regardless of whether the person submits to or rejects such conduct. (13) The term sexual assault means an offense classified as a forcible or nonforcible sex offense under the uniform crime reporting system of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. (14) The term stalking means engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to— (A) fear for the person’s safety or the safety of others; or (B) suffer substantial emotional distress. (15) The term Title IX Coordinator means— (A) the employee of a recipient designated or authorized to coordinate the recipient’s efforts to comply with its responsibilities under title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 ( 20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq. ) and the regulations promulgated to carry out such title; or (B) one or more designees selected to carry out some of the recipient’s responsibilities for compliance with title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 ( 20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq. ), and the regulations promulgated to carry out such title, under the condition that one Title IX Coordinator must retain ultimate oversight over those responsibilities.