| 1 | 1 | | 85R13244 KJE-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Alvarado H.B. No. 3187 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the campus sexual assault policy at a public |
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| 8 | 8 | | institution of higher education. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 51.9363, Education Code, is amended by |
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| 11 | 11 | | amending Subsection (e) and adding Subsections (f), (g), and (h) to |
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| 12 | 12 | | read as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (e) Each institution of higher education shall provide to |
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| 14 | 14 | | students enrolled at the institution information regarding the |
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| 15 | 15 | | protocol for reporting incidents of campus sexual assault adopted |
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| 16 | 16 | | under Subsection (b), including the name, office location, and |
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| 17 | 17 | | contact information of the institution's Title IX coordinator, by: |
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| 18 | 18 | | (1) e-mailing the information to each student at the |
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| 19 | 19 | | beginning of each semester or other academic term; and |
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| 20 | 20 | | (2) including the information in the orientation |
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| 21 | 21 | | required under Subsection (d). |
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| 22 | 22 | | (f) As part of the protocol for responding to reports of |
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| 23 | 23 | | campus sexual assault adopted under Subsection (b), each |
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| 24 | 24 | | institution of higher education shall: |
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| 25 | 25 | | (1) ensure that each alleged victim or alleged |
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| 26 | 26 | | perpetrator of an incident of campus sexual assault and any other |
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| 27 | 27 | | person who reports such an incident is offered counseling provided |
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| 28 | 28 | | by a counselor who does not provide counseling to any other person |
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| 29 | 29 | | involved in the incident; and |
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| 30 | 30 | | (2) notwithstanding any other law, allow an alleged |
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| 31 | 31 | | victim or alleged perpetrator of an incident of campus sexual |
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| 32 | 32 | | assault to drop a course in which both parties are enrolled without |
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| 33 | 33 | | any academic penalty. |
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| 34 | 34 | | (g) An institution of higher education may not take any |
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| 35 | 35 | | disciplinary action against a student enrolled at the institution |
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| 36 | 36 | | who reports to the institution being the victim of, or a witness to, |
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| 37 | 37 | | an incident of campus sexual assault for a violation by the student |
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| 38 | 38 | | of the institution's policies on student conduct that involves |
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| 39 | 39 | | alcohol or drug use and occurs in relation to the incident. This |
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| 40 | 40 | | subsection may not be construed to limit an institution's ability |
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| 41 | 41 | | to provide amnesty from application of the institution's policies |
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| 42 | 42 | | in circumstances not described by this subsection. |
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| 43 | 43 | | (h) Each biennium, each institution of higher education |
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| 44 | 44 | | shall review the institution's campus sexual assault policy and, |
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| 45 | 45 | | with approval of the institution's governing board, revise the |
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| 46 | 46 | | policy as necessary. |
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| 47 | 47 | | SECTION 2. Section 51.9363, Education Code, as amended by |
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| 48 | 48 | | this Act, applies beginning with the 2017-2018 academic year. |
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| 49 | 49 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 50 | 50 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 51 | 51 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 52 | 52 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 53 | 53 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |
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