| 1 | 1 | | 85R4804 KJE-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Garcia S.B. No. 962 |
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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 requiring public institutions of higher education to |
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| 8 | 8 | | develop and establish an online reporting system for sex offenses. |
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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. Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is |
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| 11 | 11 | | amended by adding Section 51.9365 to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | Sec. 51.9365. ONLINE REPORTING SYSTEM FOR SEX OFFENSES. |
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| 13 | 13 | | (a) In this section: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (1) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning |
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| 15 | 15 | | assigned by Section 61.003. |
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| 16 | 16 | | (2) "Sex offense" means a sex offense that an |
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| 17 | 17 | | institution of higher education is required to report under the |
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| 18 | 18 | | Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime |
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| 19 | 19 | | Statistics Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1092(f)). |
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| 20 | 20 | | (b) Each institution of higher education shall develop and |
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| 21 | 21 | | establish or contract with a third party to develop and establish an |
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| 22 | 22 | | online reporting system through which a student enrolled at the |
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| 23 | 23 | | institution may report to the institution an allegation of a sex |
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| 24 | 24 | | offense committed against or witnessed by the student if: |
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| 25 | 25 | | (1) the perpetrator of the alleged sex offense is a |
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| 26 | 26 | | student enrolled at or an employee of the institution; or |
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| 27 | 27 | | (2) the alleged sex offense occurred: |
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| 28 | 28 | | (A) on the institution's campus or any other |
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| 29 | 29 | | property owned by or under the control of the institution, or in |
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| 30 | 30 | | close proximity to the campus or property; or |
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| 31 | 31 | | (B) during any event or activity sponsored or |
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| 32 | 32 | | sanctioned by the institution. |
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| 33 | 33 | | (c) The online reporting system must enable a student to |
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| 34 | 34 | | choose one or more of the following options: |
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| 35 | 35 | | (1) to report the alleged sex offense to the |
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| 36 | 36 | | institution; |
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| 37 | 37 | | (2) to electronically record a statement of the |
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| 38 | 38 | | alleged sex offense, including in the form of a photograph, video, |
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| 39 | 39 | | voice recording, or similar medium that contains information |
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| 40 | 40 | | relating to the alleged sex offense, or an addendum to the |
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| 41 | 41 | | statement, that: |
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| 42 | 42 | | (A) includes an electronic stamp of the time and |
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| 43 | 43 | | date the statement or addendum was made; |
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| 44 | 44 | | (B) may not be edited or otherwise altered; and |
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| 45 | 45 | | (C) may be submitted to the institution by the |
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| 46 | 46 | | student at a time chosen by the student; |
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| 47 | 47 | | (3) to submit the student's report of the alleged sex |
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| 48 | 48 | | offense to the institution, but only if: |
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| 49 | 49 | | (A) another student enrolled at the institution |
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| 50 | 50 | | reports to the institution through the system an allegation of a sex |
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| 51 | 51 | | offense committed by the same perpetrator; and |
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| 52 | 52 | | (B) both students identify the alleged |
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| 53 | 53 | | perpetrator through the system by a student or employee |
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| 54 | 54 | | identification number or e-mail address issued by the institution |
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| 55 | 55 | | or a similar form of identification selected for that purpose by the |
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| 56 | 56 | | institution; |
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| 57 | 57 | | (4) to access at any time any information entered into |
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| 58 | 58 | | the system by the student; and |
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| 59 | 59 | | (5) to remain anonymous. |
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| 60 | 60 | | (d) Each institution of higher education shall ensure that |
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| 61 | 61 | | information contained in the online reporting system is encrypted |
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| 62 | 62 | | using zero-knowledge encryption. |
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| 63 | 63 | | (e) An institution of higher education shall initiate an |
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| 64 | 64 | | investigation into a report submitted to the institution through |
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| 65 | 65 | | the online reporting system as soon as practicable after receiving |
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| 66 | 66 | | the report. |
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| 67 | 67 | | (f) A protocol for reporting sexual assault adopted under |
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| 68 | 68 | | Section 51.9363 must comply with this section. |
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| 69 | 69 | | (g) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall |
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| 70 | 70 | | adopt rules as necessary to implement this section in a manner that |
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| 71 | 71 | | complies with federal law regarding confidentiality of student |
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| 72 | 72 | | educational information, including the Family Educational Rights |
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| 73 | 73 | | and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g). |
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| 74 | 74 | | SECTION 2. Not later than January 1, 2018, each public |
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| 75 | 75 | | institution of higher education shall develop and establish the |
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| 76 | 76 | | online reporting system required under Section 51.9365, Education |
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| 77 | 77 | | Code, as added by this Act. |
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| 78 | 78 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 79 | 79 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 80 | 80 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 81 | 81 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 82 | 82 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |
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