Bill Text: TX HB371 | 2017 | 85th Legislature 1st Special Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the establishment of a statewide task force to address sexual assault occurring on the campuses of public and private institutions of higher education.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-08-03 - Referred to Higher Education [HB371 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HB371-Introduced.html
| 85S11901 MM-D | ||
| By: Dukes | H.B. No. 371 | |
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| relating to the establishment of a statewide task force to address | ||
| sexual assault occurring on the campuses of public and private | ||
| institutions of higher education. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Chapter 51, Education Code, is amended by adding | ||
| Subchapter W-1 to read as follows: | ||
| SUBCHAPTER W-1. TASK FORCE ON CAMPUS SEXUAL ASSAULT | ||
| Sec. 51.861. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: | ||
| (1) "Institution of higher education" and "private or | ||
| independent institution of higher education" have the meanings | ||
| assigned those terms by Section 61.003. | ||
| (2) "Task force" means the statewide task force | ||
| established under this subchapter to address sexual assault | ||
| occurring on the campuses of public and private institutions of | ||
| higher education. | ||
| Sec. 51.862. TASK FORCE MEMBERSHIP. (a) The task force | ||
| consists of: | ||
| (1) two members appointed by the governor as follows: | ||
| (A) one member from the office of the governor; | ||
| and | ||
| (B) one member from the Crime Victims' Institute | ||
| at Sam Houston State University; | ||
| (2) eight members evenly selected from positions held | ||
| at institutions of higher education and private or independent | ||
| institutions of higher education and appointed by the presiding | ||
| officer of the task force as follows: | ||
| (A) one member from an office of student affairs; | ||
| (B) one member who is a Title IX coordinator; | ||
| (C) one member from an athletics department; | ||
| (D) one member who provides services to students | ||
| as a counselor or therapist; | ||
| (E) one member who is the director of a campus | ||
| health center; | ||
| (F) one member who is the director of a women's | ||
| center; | ||
| (G) one member from a campus police department; | ||
| and | ||
| (H) one member from a department having authority | ||
| over student resident life; | ||
| (3) one member from the general counsel's office of an | ||
| institution of higher education and one member from the general | ||
| counsel's office of a private or independent institution of higher | ||
| education, each appointed by the presiding officer of the task | ||
| force; | ||
| (4) eight members having a specialized interest in | ||
| issues related to sexual assault, appointed by the presiding | ||
| officer of the task force as follows: | ||
| (A) one member who is the survivor of a sexual | ||
| assault committed on the campus of an institution of higher | ||
| education or a private or independent institution of higher | ||
| education; | ||
| (B) one member from a rape crisis center who has a | ||
| background in issues relating to family violence, as defined by | ||
| Section 71.004, Family Code; | ||
| (C) one member who is a counselor or therapist at | ||
| a rape crisis center; | ||
| (D) one member who is a victim advocate at a rape | ||
| crisis center; | ||
| (E) one member who is the executive director of a | ||
| rape crisis center; | ||
| (F) one member who is an attorney representing | ||
| the state in the prosecution of sexual assaults and other similar | ||
| offenses; | ||
| (G) one member who is a sexual assault nurse | ||
| examiner; and | ||
| (H) one member from a statewide sexual assault | ||
| advocacy coalition; and | ||
| (5) any other member whom the presiding officer | ||
| determines to be appropriate and who consents to serve on the task | ||
| force, including a person who works for a federal agency such as the | ||
| United States Department of Education. | ||
| (b) The presiding officer of the task force is the member | ||
| who represents the Crime Victims' Institute at Sam Houston State | ||
| University. | ||
| (c) Before appointing members of the task force under | ||
| Subsection (a)(2), (3), (4), or (5), the presiding officer shall | ||
| solicit and obtain from appropriate institutions and organizations | ||
| the names of recommended persons who are available and willing to | ||
| serve on the task force. | ||
| (d) Appointed members of the task force serve at the will of | ||
| the appointing authority. A vacancy on the task force shall be | ||
| filled in the same manner as the original appointment. | ||
| Sec. 51.863. MEETINGS; EXPENSES. (a) The task force shall | ||
| meet at the call of the presiding officer. | ||
| (b) A member of the task force is not entitled to | ||
| compensation for service on the task force but, from money | ||
| available to the comptroller to pay miscellaneous claims, is | ||
| entitled to reimbursement for travel expenses as provided by | ||
| Chapter 660, Government Code, and the General Appropriations Act. | ||
| Sec. 51.864. GENERAL DUTIES OF TASK FORCE. (a) The task | ||
| force shall: | ||
| (1) review federal laws regarding campus sexual | ||
| assault, including, as applicable: | ||
| (A) the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act | ||
| of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g); | ||
| (B) Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 | ||
| (20 U.S.C. Section 1681 et seq.); and | ||
| (C) the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus | ||
| Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (20 U.S.C. Section | ||
| 1092(f)); | ||
| (2) solicit and receive reports and testimony from | ||
| campus sexual assault survivors or from advocates who provide | ||
| support services to campus sexual assault survivors; and | ||
| (3) develop policy guidelines for institutions of | ||
| higher education and private or independent institutions of higher | ||
| education with respect to campus sexual assault, including: | ||
| (A) recommended definitions of prohibited | ||
| behavior and sanctions for violations; | ||
| (B) a recommended model protocol for responding | ||
| to reports of campus sexual assault; and | ||
| (C) recommended coordinated victim support | ||
| services using campus-based or community-based resources. | ||
| (b) In developing policy guidelines under Subsection | ||
| (a)(3), the task force shall analyze appropriate reports, | ||
| literature, and statistics regarding the prevalence and incidence | ||
| of sexual violence on the campuses of institutions of higher | ||
| education and private or independent institutions of higher | ||
| education, including: | ||
| (1) the United States Department of Justice's report | ||
| "The Sexual Victimization of College Women"; | ||
| (2) the United States Department of Justice's report | ||
| "Sexual Assault on Campus: What Colleges and Universities Are Doing | ||
| About It"; and | ||
| (3) "Not Alone: the First Report of the White House | ||
| Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault". | ||
| Sec. 51.865. REPORT. Not later than December 1 of each | ||
| even-numbered year, the task force shall prepare and submit to the | ||
| governor, the lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of | ||
| representatives a report that includes: | ||
| (1) a description of the activities of the task force; | ||
| (2) the findings of the task force on the current state | ||
| of sexual violence on higher education campuses, to be based on: | ||
| (A) statistics reviewed by the task force | ||
| regarding sexual violence; | ||
| (B) testimony provided by campus sexual assault | ||
| survivors or by advocates who provide support services to campus | ||
| sexual assault survivors; and | ||
| (C) thorough discussion by the task force; | ||
| (3) recommendations on best practices for higher | ||
| education policies and protocols for responding to reports of | ||
| sexual assault and providing coordinated victim support services to | ||
| sexual assault survivors; and | ||
| (4) any other matter that the task force considers | ||
| appropriate. | ||
| Sec. 51.866. COOPERATION WITH STATE AGENCIES. The task | ||
| force may cooperate as necessary with any appropriate agency of | ||
| this state, including institutions of higher education. | ||
| Sec. 51.867. EXPIRATION DATE. The task force is abolished | ||
| and this subchapter expires on January 1, 2023. | ||
| SECTION 2. Initial appointments to the task force required | ||
| under Section 51.862, Education Code, as added by this Act, must be | ||
| made not later than: | ||
| (1) January 1, 2018, if this Act takes effect | ||
| immediately; or | ||
| (2) May 1, 2018, if this Act takes effect on the 91st | ||
| day after the last day of the legislative session. | ||
| SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | ||
| a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
| provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | ||
| Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
| Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the | ||
| legislative session. | ||
