| 1 | 1 | | By: Uresti H.B. No. 113 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to requiring a public institution of higher education to |
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| 7 | 7 | | post on its Internet website a status report regarding certain |
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| 8 | 8 | | disciplinary processes involving an incident of sexual assault or |
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| 9 | 9 | | sexual harassment. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is |
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| 12 | 12 | | amended by adding Section 51.9367 to read as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | Sec. 51.9367. STATUS REPORT OF DISCIPLINARY PROCESSES |
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| 14 | 14 | | INVOLVING SEXUAL ASSAULT OR SEXUAL HARASSMENT. (a) In this |
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| 15 | 15 | | section: |
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| 16 | 16 | | (1) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning |
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| 17 | 17 | | assigned by Section 61.003. |
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| 18 | 18 | | (2) "Sexual assault" means sexual contact or |
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| 19 | 19 | | intercourse with a person without the person's consent, including |
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| 20 | 20 | | sexual contact or intercourse against the person's will or in a |
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| 21 | 21 | | circumstance in which the person is incapable of consenting to the |
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| 22 | 22 | | contact or intercourse. |
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| 23 | 23 | | (3) "Sexual harassment" means unwelcome, sex-based |
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| 24 | 24 | | verbal or physical conduct that: |
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| 25 | 25 | | (A) in the employment context, unreasonably |
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| 26 | 26 | | interferes with an employee's work performance or creates an |
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| 27 | 27 | | intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment; or |
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| 28 | 28 | | (B) in the education context, is sufficiently |
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| 29 | 29 | | severe, persistent, or pervasive that the conduct interferes with a |
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| 30 | 30 | | student's ability to participate in or benefit from educational |
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| 31 | 31 | | programs or activities. |
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| 32 | 32 | | (b) Each institution of higher education shall post on the |
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| 33 | 33 | | institution's Internet website in a manner accessible by the public |
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| 34 | 34 | | a status report regarding the institution's pending or recently |
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| 35 | 35 | | concluded disciplinary processes involving an incident of sexual |
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| 36 | 36 | | assault or sexual harassment. The status report: |
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| 37 | 37 | | (1) must: |
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| 38 | 38 | | (A) be updated at least once per semester; and |
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| 39 | 39 | | (B) include: |
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| 40 | 40 | | (i) the total number of those incidents |
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| 41 | 41 | | reported to the institution during the semester for which the |
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| 42 | 42 | | report is made; |
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| 43 | 43 | | (ii) the employee or employees of the |
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| 44 | 44 | | institution responsible for resolving disciplinary processes |
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| 45 | 45 | | involving those incidents; and |
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| 46 | 46 | | (iii) the total number of disciplinary |
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| 47 | 47 | | processes involving those incidents resolved during the semester |
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| 48 | 48 | | for which the report is made, disaggregated by outcome; and |
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| 49 | 49 | | (2) may not identify any alleged perpetrator or |
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| 50 | 50 | | alleged victim of those incidents. |
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| 51 | 51 | | (c) Information regarding a disciplinary process required |
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| 52 | 52 | | to be included in the status report under Subsection (b): |
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| 53 | 53 | | (1) may not be removed from the institution's Internet |
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| 54 | 54 | | website until at least the 90th day after the date on which the |
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| 55 | 55 | | disciplinary process concludes; and |
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| 56 | 56 | | (2) must be preserved by the institution indefinitely |
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| 57 | 57 | | after removal from the institution's Internet website. |
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| 58 | 58 | | SECTION 2. Section 51.9367, Education Code, as added by |
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| 59 | 59 | | this Act, applies only to a disciplinary process initiated by a |
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| 60 | 60 | | public institution of higher education during or after the 2018 |
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| 61 | 61 | | spring semester. A disciplinary process initiated before the 2018 |
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| 62 | 62 | | spring semester is governed by the law in effect on the date the |
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| 63 | 63 | | disciplinary process was initiated, and the former law is continued |
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| 64 | 64 | | in effect for that purpose. |
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| 65 | 65 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 66 | 66 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 67 | 67 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 68 | 68 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 69 | 69 | | Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the |
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| 70 | 70 | | legislative session. |
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