84R6297 KJE-D
By: González H.B. No. 1744
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of a survey and report on campus
safety at public institutions of higher education.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 61.081 to read as follows:
Sec. 61.081. SURVEY AND REPORT ON CAMPUS SAFETY. (a) In
this section, "sexual assault" means an offense under Section
22.011 or 22.021, Penal Code.
(b) Each institution of higher education shall submit to the
board an annual report on crime occurring at the institution. The
report must include:
(1) if applicable, a copy of the institution's annual
security report required under the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of
Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (20 U.S.C.
Section 1092(f)); and
(2) if known by the institution, the number of
students convicted during the year covered by the report of an
offense based on the commission of a sexual assault or attempted
sexual assault at the institution.
(c) The board shall establish and conduct an annual survey
on campus safety to collect data relating to the reported crime
rates and the perception of safety among students at institutions
of higher education. In establishing the survey, the board must
consider:
(1) recommendations of the Office on Violence Against
Women for developing a campus safety climate survey; and
(2) empirically validated surveys on campus safety.
(d) The survey must be:
(1) voluntary;
(2) anonymous;
(3) conducted online through the board's Internet
website;
(4) available for participation only to students
expected to graduate from an institution of higher education during
the academic year in which the survey is conducted; and
(5) limited to incidents that occurred while the
student was enrolled at the institution.
(e) The board shall assign each student taking the survey a
unique code to access the survey. The code may not be associated
with the student's survey responses or otherwise used in a manner
that would identify the student.
(f) As part of the survey, the board shall request a
student's demographic information. The board may not require a
student to provide the information and must include in the survey a
statement that the student is not required to provide the
information. The information requested must include:
(1) the student's:
(A) gender identity;
(B) race, nationality, and ethnicity; and
(C) age; and
(2) whether the student lives on or off campus.
(g) The board shall analyze the results of the survey and
information reported to the board by institutions of higher
education under Subsection (b) and post a report on its findings on
the board's Internet website. The report must include:
(1) in total and disaggregated by campus, the number
of:
(A) property crimes and violent crimes, other
than sexual assault, reported on the survey;
(B) sexual assaults or attempted sexual assaults
reported on the survey;
(C) sexual assaults or attempted sexual assaults
reported to an institution of higher education or to a law
enforcement agency;
(D) disciplinary actions taken by an institution
of higher education against a student based on the commission of a
sexual assault or attempted sexual assault; and
(E) students convicted of an offense based on the
commission of a sexual assault or attempted sexual assault at an
institution of higher education; and
(2) aggregated demographic information on students
who reported being victims of a sexual assault or an attempted
sexual assault.
(h) The board shall make available to an institution of
higher education on request demographic information disaggregated
by campus on students enrolled at the institution who reported on
the survey being victims of a sexual assault or an attempted sexual
assault, unless the information could identify a student.
(i) Each institution of higher education shall notify
students enrolled at the institution that the board's report under
Subsection (g) has been posted on the board's Internet website as
soon as practicable after the report is posted.
(j) The board shall adopt rules as necessary to implement
this section, including rules that ensure implementation of this
section in a manner that complies with federal law regarding
confidentiality of student educational information, including the
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C.
Section 1232g).
SECTION 2. Not later than August 1, 2016, the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board shall establish the survey on campus
safety under Section 61.081, Education Code, as added by this Act.
Not later than May 1, 2017, the board shall post on the board's
Internet website the initial report required by Section 61.081(g),
Education Code, as added by this Act.
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 September 1, 2015.