By: Uresti H.B. No. 113
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to requiring a public institution of higher education to
post on its Internet website a status report regarding certain
disciplinary processes involving an incident of sexual assault or
sexual harassment.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 51.9367 to read as follows:
Sec. 51.9367. STATUS REPORT OF DISCIPLINARY PROCESSES
INVOLVING SEXUAL ASSAULT OR SEXUAL HARASSMENT. (a) In this
section:
(1) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning
assigned by Section 61.003.
(2) "Sexual assault" means sexual contact or
intercourse with a person without the person's consent, including
sexual contact or intercourse against the person's will or in a
circumstance in which the person is incapable of consenting to the
contact or intercourse.
(3) "Sexual harassment" means unwelcome, sex-based
verbal or physical conduct that:
(A) in the employment context, unreasonably
interferes with an employee's work performance or creates an
intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment; or
(B) in the education context, is sufficiently
severe, persistent, or pervasive that the conduct interferes with a
student's ability to participate in or benefit from educational
programs or activities.
(b) Each institution of higher education shall post on the
institution's Internet website in a manner accessible by the public
a status report regarding the institution's pending or recently
concluded disciplinary processes involving an incident of sexual
assault or sexual harassment. The status report:
(1) must:
(A) be updated at least once per semester; and
(B) include:
(i) the total number of those incidents
reported to the institution during the semester for which the
report is made;
(ii) the employee or employees of the
institution responsible for resolving disciplinary processes
involving those incidents; and
(iii) the total number of disciplinary
processes involving those incidents resolved during the semester
for which the report is made, disaggregated by outcome; and
(2) may not identify any alleged perpetrator or
alleged victim of those incidents.
(c) Information regarding a disciplinary process required
to be included in the status report under Subsection (b):
(1) may not be removed from the institution's Internet
website until at least the 90th day after the date on which the
disciplinary process concludes; and
(2) must be preserved by the institution indefinitely
after removal from the institution's Internet website.
SECTION 2. Section 51.9367, Education Code, as added by
this Act, applies only to a disciplinary process initiated by a
public institution of higher education during or after the 2018
spring semester. A disciplinary process initiated before the 2018
spring semester is governed by the law in effect on the date the
disciplinary process was initiated, and the former law is continued
in effect for that purpose.
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.