By: Guillen H.B. No. 3764
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the authority of a college to adopt a sexual harassment
policy.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 51.282(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Each postsecondary educational institution shall adopt
a policy on sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, and
stalking applicable to each student enrolled at and each employee
of the institution. The policy must:
(1) include:
(A) definitions of prohibited behavior;
(B) sanctions for violations;
(C) the protocol for reporting and responding to
reports of sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, and
stalking;
(D) interim measures to protect victims of sexual
harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, or stalking during the
pendency of the institution's disciplinary process, including
protection from retaliation, and any other accommodations
available to those victims at the institution; and
(E) a statement regarding:
(i) the importance of a victim of sexual
harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, or stalking going to a
hospital for treatment and preservation of evidence, if applicable,
as soon as practicable after the incident;
(ii) the right of a victim of sexual
harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, or stalking to report
the incident to the institution and to receive a prompt and
equitable resolution of the report; and
(iii) the right of a victim of a crime to
choose whether to report the crime to law enforcement, to be
assisted by the institution in reporting the crime to law
enforcement, or to decline to report the crime to law enforcement;
and
(2) be approved by the institution's governing board
before final adoption by the institution.;and
(3) for institutions with an enrollment of less than
5,000 students, any policy changes implemented after the initial
approval can be made by the institution's President's Council or
other body that traditionally approves the institution's internal
policy.
SECTION 2. 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, 2021.