[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2990 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2990
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 and the Jeanne Clery
Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act to
combat campus sexual assault, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 8, 2025
Mrs. Gillibrand (for herself and Mr. Grassley) 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 and the Jeanne Clery
Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act to
combat campus sexual assault, 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 ``Campus Accountability and Safety
Act''.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE CLERY ACT.
Section 485(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1092(f)) (known as the ``Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security
Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act'') is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by inserting ``which shall include, at a
minimum, publication in an easily accessible manner and
available in different languages, to be prominently
displayed on the website of the institution,'' after
``through appropriate publications or mailings,'';
(B) in subparagraph (C)--
(i) by striking clause (ii) and inserting
the following:
``(ii) if applicable, any memorandum of
understanding between the institution and law
enforcement, or a description of the working
relationship between the institution, campus security
personnel, or campus law enforcement and State or local
law enforcement agencies; and''; and
(ii) by moving the margins of clauses (i)
and (iii) 2 ems to the left;
(C) in subparagraph (F)--
(i) in clause (i)--
(I) by redesignating subclauses
(III) through (IX) as subclauses (VI)
through (XII); and
(II) by striking subclause (II) and
inserting the following:
``(II) rape;
``(III) fondling;
``(IV) incest;
``(V) statutory rape;''; and
(ii) in clause (ii), by striking
``subclauses (I) through (VIII) of clause (i)''
and inserting ``subclauses (I) through (XI) of
clause (i)''; and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
``(M)(i) With respect to the criminal activity
described in subclauses (II) and (III) of subparagraph
(F)(i), the eligible institution shall prepare for the
annual security report that is due on the date that is
1 year after the date of enactment of the Campus
Accountability and Safety Act, and annually thereafter,
the following additions:
``(I) The number of such incidents where
the respondent is a student at the institution.
``(II) Of the incidents described in
subclause (I), the number of such incidents
that were reported to the title IX coordinator
or other higher education responsible employee
of the institution.
``(III) Of the incidents described in
subclause (II), the number of victims who
sought campus disciplinary action at the
institution.
``(IV) Of the victims described in
subclause (III), the number of cases processed
through the student and employee disciplinary
process of the institution.
``(V) Of the cases described in subclause
(IV), the number of respondents who were found
responsible through the student disciplinary
process of the institution.
``(VI) Of the cases described in subclause
(IV), the number of respondents who were found
not responsible through the student
disciplinary process of the institution.
``(VII) A description of the final
sanctions imposed by the institution for each
incident for which a respondent was found
responsible through the student disciplinary
process of the institution, if such description
will not reveal personally identifiable
information about an individual student.
``(VIII) The number of student disciplinary
proceedings at the institution that have closed
without resolution since the previous annual
security report due to withdrawal from the
institution of higher education by the
respondent pending resolution of the student
disciplinary proceeding.
``(ii) The Secretary shall provide technical
assistance to eligible institutions to assist such
institutions in meeting the requirements of this
subparagraph.'';
(2) in paragraph (6)(A), by adding at the end the
following:
``(viii) The term `complainant' means an individual who is
alleged to be the victim of conduct that could constitute
domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sexual
harassment, or stalking.
``(ix) The term `respondent' means an individual who is
alleged to be the perpetrator of conduct that could constitute
domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sexual
harassment, or stalking.
``(x) The term `title IX coordinator' has the meaning given
to the individual designated as a responsible employee in
section 106.8(a) of title 34, Code of Federal Regulations, as
such section is in effect on the date of enactment of the
Campus Accountability and Safety Act.
``(xi) The term `higher education responsible employee'
means an employee of an institution of higher education who--
``(I) has the authority to take action to redress
domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault,
sexual harassment, or stalking; or
``(II) has the duty to report domestic violence,
dating violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, or
stalking or any other misconduct by students or
employees to appropriate school officials.'';
(3) by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the following:
``(7) The statistics described in clauses (i), (ii), and
(iii) of paragraph (1)(F)--
``(A) shall not identify complainants or
respondents or contain any other information from which
complainants or respondents could be identified; and
``(B) shall be compiled in accordance with the
following definitions:
``(i) For the offenses of domestic
violence, dating violence, and stalking, such
statistics shall be compiled in accordance with
the definitions used in section 40002(a) of the
Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C.
12291(a)).
``(ii) For the offense of rape, such
statistics shall be compiled in accordance with
the definition of rape as the penetration, no
matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with
any body part or object, or oral penetration by
a sex organ of another person, without the
consent of the victim.
``(iii) For the offenses of fondling,
incest, and statutory rape, such statistics
shall be compiled in accordance with the
definition used in the National Incident Based
Reporting System.
``(iv) For offenses not described in clause
(i), (ii), or (iii), such statistics shall be
compiled in accordance with the Uniform Crime
Reporting Program of the Department of Justice,
Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the
modifications to such definitions as
implemented pursuant to the Hate Crime
Statistics Act (34 U.S.C. 41305).''; and
(4) in paragraph (8)(B)--
(A) in clause (i)--
(i) in the matter preceding subclause (I),
by inserting ``, developed in consultation with
local, State, or national sexual assault,
dating violence, domestic violence, and
stalking victim advocacy, victim services, or
prevention organizations, and local law
enforcement,'' after ``Education programs'';
and
(ii) in subclause (I)(aa), by inserting ``,
including the fact that these are crimes for
the purposes of this subsection and reporting
under this subsection, and the institution of
higher education will, based on the
complainant's wishes, cooperate with local law
enforcement with respect to any alleged
criminal offenses involving students or
employees of the institution of higher
education, including by notifying and obtaining
written consent from a complainant who has been
fully and accurately informed about what
procedures shall occur if information is
shared, when the institution of higher
education seeks to share information regarding
an alleged criminal offenses with a law
enforcement agency'' after ``stalking''; and
(B) in clause (iv)--
(i) by redesignating subclauses (II) and
(III) as subclauses (III) and (IV),
respectively;
(ii) by inserting after subclause (I) the
following:
``(II) the institution will comply
with the requirements of paragraph
(21)(B), and shall include a
description of such requirements;'';
and
(iii) in subclause (IV), as redesignated by
clause (i), in item (bb), by inserting
``simultaneously with the notification of the
outcome described in item (aa),'' before ``the
institution's''.
SEC. 3. TRANSPARENCY.
Section 485(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1092(f)) (known as the ``Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security
Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act''), as amended by this Act, is
further amended by adding at the end the following:
``(20) The Secretary shall ensure there is a publicly
available, searchable, accessible, and user-friendly campus
safety website that includes the following:
``(A) A brief description of the role of the title
IX coordinator for each institution of higher education
receiving funds under this Act and the roles of other
officials who may be contacted to discuss or report
sexual harassment.
``(B) A brief description of the role of the sexual
and interpersonal violence specialist and the name and
contact information of the specialist for each
institution of higher education receiving funds under
this Act.
``(C) The Department's pending investigations,
enforcement actions, letters of finding, final
resolutions, and voluntary resolution agreements for
all media audits, complaints, and compliance reviews
under this subsection and under title IX of the
Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681) related
to sexual harassment. The Secretary shall indicate
whether the investigation, action, letter, resolution,
or agreement is based on a complaint or compliance
review. The Secretary shall make the information under
this subparagraph available regarding a complaint once
the Department receives a written complaint, and
conducts an initial evaluation, and has determined that
the complaint should be opened for investigation of an
allegation that, if substantiated, would constitute a
violation of such title IX or this subsection. In
carrying out this subparagraph, the Secretary shall
ensure that personally identifiable information is not
reported and shall comply with section 444 of the
General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g),
commonly known as the `Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act of 1974'.
``(D) The download of data that institutions of
higher education subject to this subsection are
required to report under this Act.
``(E) Information regarding how to file complaints
with the Department related to alleged violations of
title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C.
1681) and of this subsection.
``(F) Information regarding the Department's
policies for reviewing complaints, initiating
compliance reviews, and conducting and resolving
investigations related to alleged violations of title
IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681)
and of this subsection. This information shall
include--
``(i) the contact information for at least
one individual at the Department who can answer
questions from institutions of higher
education, complainants, and other interested
parties about such policies;
``(ii) potential outcomes of an
investigation; and
``(iii) the expected timeframe for
resolution of an investigation and any
circumstance that may change such timeframe.''.
SEC. 4. UNIVERSITY SUPPORT FOR SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING
VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, SEXUAL HARASSMENT, AND
STALKING.
(a) In General.--Section 485(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1092(f)) (known as the ``Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus
Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act''), as amended by this
Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following:
``(21) University support for survivors of domestic
violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment,
and stalking.--
``(A) Victim-centered, trauma-informed interview
techniques.--In this paragraph, the term `victim-
centered, trauma-informed interview techniques' means
asking questions of an individual who reports that the
individual has been a victim of domestic violence,
dating violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, or
stalking, in a manner that is focused on the experience
of the victim, does not judge or blame the victim for
the alleged act, is informed by evidence-based research
on the neurobiology of trauma, and contains information
on cultural competence based on practices of rape
crisis centers, victim advocacy centers, sexual assault
response teams, title IX offices, and similar groups,
including organizations that work with underserved
populations (as defined in section 40002 of the
Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291)).
``(B) Campus security policy.--Each institution of
higher education that receives funds under this Act,
shall establish a campus security policy that includes
the following:
``(i) Sexual and interpersonal violence
specialists.--The designation of one or more
sexual and interpersonal violence specialists
at the institution to whom student complainants
of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual
assault, sexual harassment, or stalking can
report, including anonymously, which shall be
part of a policy that complies with the
following:
``(I) The sexual and interpersonal
violence specialist--
``(aa) shall not be an
undergraduate student, a full-