Congressmen and anti-violence groups are introducing a new proposal aimed at improving accountability and transparency when it comes to sexual assault on college campuses.
Following the controversy surrounding the Stanford University rape case, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-California) and Rep. Patrick Meehan (R- Pennsylvania) are sponsoring legislation called the HALT Campus Sexual Violence Act.
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The legislation would increase funding for Title IX investigators by $5 million to deal with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights backlog of cases.
Emily Springston, Title IX Coordinator for all IU campuses, told Call 6 Investigates earlier this year that Office of Civil Rights has been investigating IU Bloomington since March 2014.
“They are also understaffed on their end,” said Springston. “They readily admit that it takes a long time and that they are handling many different cases so they can't give it the full attention they would like. So that's why it's taking a long time. "
PREVIOUS | The trouble with Title IX: Holes in the system
The federal government opened a third Title IX investigation at Indiana University Bloomington on May 17, 2016.
PREVIOUS |Feds open third Title IX investigation at IU Bloomington
The HALT Campus Sexual Violence Act would also do the following:
- Require the U.S. Department of Education to publicly release the names of universities under investigation for violations of Title IX, as well as findings, sanctions and resolution agreements
- Institute campus climate surveys that would include sexual assault and harassment
- Increase notification for students of their rights and resources under Title IX
- Increase penalties for violating the Clery Act, a law aimed at improving campus safety, from $35,000 to $100,000
- Create a private right of action under the Clery Act for students harmed by universities that fail to notify them of safety risks
Congressman Andre Carson (D-Indiana) supports efforts to address sexual assault on college campuses.
“Going to school should be a safe experience where students focus on learning rather than their personal safety. Educational institutions have a responsibility to do everything possible to keep their campuses free from sexual assault and to hold those responsible accountable for their crimes,” said Rep. André Carson. “I look forward to working with Congresswoman Speier on legislation that will keep our young people safe and combat sexual assault and violence on college campuses.”
Many universities already voluntarily perform climate surveys, including IU Bloomington, however there is no federal requirement.
READ | IU releases sexual assault climate survey results
According to Rep. Speier’s office, the climate surveys lack uniformity across the country and the data is hard to compare across institutions.
The HALT act would create a uniform survey administered by the U.S. Department of Education and would include gender-identity and sexual orientation questions.
The proposal has the support of numerous groups including Know Your IX, End Rape on Campus, National Network to End Domestic Violence, and the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence.
Speier is still working on legislation in response to a recent Call 6 Investigation that found universities are not required to list sexual misconduct information on transcripts, allowing students found responsible for sexual misconduct to move from university to university without their past being known.
CALL 6 | The trouble with Title IX: Holes in the system
Speier’s bill would require universities to include sexual misconduct findings on college transcripts, provided the student was found responsible following a Title IX investigation.
“Once there’s a finding that there’s been a violation of Title IX, that should follow that student on their transcript,” said Speier.
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