Bill Text: TX HB113 | 2017 | 85th Legislature 1st Special Session | Introduced

Texas House Bill 113 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: 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.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-07-20 - Referred to Higher Education [HB113 Detail]

Download: Texas-2017-HB113-Introduced.html



	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.