Sec. 2521. Combatting sexual harassment in science
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This section may be cited as the . Combating Sexual Harassment in Science Act of 2021 In this section: The term Director means the Director of the National Science Foundation. The term Federal science agency means any Federal agency with an annual extramural research expenditure of over $100,000,000. The term grant personnel means principal investigators and co-principal investigators supported by a grant award under Federal law and their trainees. The term institution of higher education has the meaning given such term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1001 ).
The term National Academies means the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The term recipient means an entity, usually a non-Federal entity, that receives a Federal award directly from a Federal awarding agency. The term recipient does not include entities that receive subgrants or individuals that are the beneficiaries of the award. The term sexual harassment has the meaning given such term in section 1604.11 of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulations).
The Director shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to institutions of higher education or nonprofit organizations (or consortia of such institutions or organizations)— to expand research efforts to better understand the factors contributing to, and consequences of, sexual harassment affecting individuals in the scientific, technical, engineering, and mathematics workforce, including students and trainees; and to examine best practices to reduce the incidence and negative consequences of such harassment.
Activities funded by a grant under this subsection may include— research on the sexual harassment experiences of individuals in underrepresented or vulnerable groups, including communities of color, disabled individuals, foreign nationals, sexual- and gender-minority individuals, and others; development and assessment of policies, procedures, trainings, and interventions, with respect to sexual harassment, conflict management, and ways to foster respectful and inclusive climates; research on approaches for remediating the negative impacts and outcomes of such harassment on individuals experiencing such harassment; support for institutions of higher education or nonprofit organizations to develop, adapt, implement, and assess the impact of innovative, evidence-based strategies, policies, and approaches to policy implementation to prevent and address sexual harassment; research on alternatives to the power dynamics and hierarchical and dependent relationships in academia that have been shown to create higher levels of risk for and lower levels of reporting of sexual harassment; and research related to the ongoing compilation, management, and analysis of organizational climate survey data.
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this division, the Director, through the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics and with guidance from the Office of Management and Budget given their oversight of the Federal statistical agencies, shall convene a working group composed of representatives of Federal statistical agencies— to develop questions on sexual harassment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics departments to gather national data on the prevalence, nature, and implications of sexual harassment in institutions of higher education that builds on the work conducted by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics in response to recommendations from the National Academies to develop questions on harassment; and to include such questions as appropriate, with sufficient protections of the privacy of respondents, in relevant surveys conducted by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics and other relevant entities.
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this division, the Director shall enter into an agreement with the National Academies to update the report entitled On Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research issued by the National Academies. The report, as so updated, shall include— updated professional standards of conduct in research; standards of treatment individuals can expect to receive under such updated standards of conduct; evidence-based practices for fostering a climate intolerant of sexual harassment; methods, including bystander intervention, for identifying and addressing incidents of sexual harassment; professional standards for mentorship and teaching with an emphasis on power diffusion mechanisms and preventing sexual harassment; recommended vetting and hiring practices scientific research entities are urged to implement to eliminate serial harassers; and other topics as the National Academies determines appropriate.
In updating the report under paragraph (1), the National Academies shall take into account recommendations made in the report issued by the National Academies in 2018 entitled Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and other relevant studies and evidence. Not later than 18 months after the effective date of the agreement under paragraph (1), the National Academies, as part of such agreement, shall submit to the Director and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate the report referred to in such subsection, as updated pursuant to such subsection.
The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, in coordination with the working group on inclusion in STEM fields established under section 308 of the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act ( 42 U.S.C. 6626 ) and the Safe Inclusive Research Environments Subcommittee of the National Science and Technology Council, and in consultation with representatives from each Federal science agency, the Department of Education, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, shall— not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this division, submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate an inventory of Federal science agency policies, procedures, and resources dedicated to preventing and responding to reports of sexual harassment; not later than 6 months after the date on which the inventory is submitted under subparagraph (A)— in consultation with outside stakeholders, develop a set of policy guidelines for Federal science agencies; and submit a report to the committees referred to in subparagraph
(A)containing such guidelines; encourage Federal science agencies to develop or maintain and implement policies based on the guidelines developed under subparagraph (B); not later than 1 year after the date on which the inventory under subparagraph
(A)is submitted, and every 5 years thereafter, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall report to Congress on the implementation by Federal science agencies of the policy guidelines developed under subparagraph (B); and update such policy guidelines as needed. In developing policy guidelines under paragraph (1)(B), the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall consider guidelines that require, to the extent practicable— recipients to submit to the Federal science agency or agencies from which the recipients receive funding reports relating to— any decision made to launch a formal investigation of sexual harassment by, or of, grant personnel; and findings or determinations of sexual harassment by, or of, grant personnel, including the final disposition of a matter involving a violation of organizational policies and processes, to include the exhaustion of permissible appeals, or a conviction of a sexual offense in a criminal court of law; the updating and sharing of reports of sexual harassment submitted under clause
(i)with relevant Federal science agencies by agency request; and consistency among relevant Federal agencies with regards to the policies and procedures for receiving reports submitted pursuant to clause (i). The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall ensure that such guidelines and requirements are consistent with the requirements of section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act ( 20 U.S.C. 1232g ) (commonly referred to as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 ). The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall ensure that such guidelines and requirements— do not infringe upon the privacy rights of individuals associated with reports submitted to Federal science agencies; and do not require recipients to provide interim reports to Federal science agencies. In developing policy guidelines under paragraph (1)(B), the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall consider protocols that require or incent— recipients that receive funds from Federal science agencies to periodically assess their organizational climate, which may include the use of climate surveys, focus groups, or exit interviews; recipients that receive funds from Federal science agencies to publish on a publicly available internet website the results of assessments conducted pursuant to paragraph (1), disaggregated by gender and, if possible, race, ethnicity, disability status, and sexual orientation, and in a manner that does not include personally identifiable information; recipients that receive funds from Federal science agencies to make public on an annual basis the number of determinations of sexual harassment at that institution or organization; recipients that receive funds from Federal science agencies to regularly assess and improve policies, procedures, and interventions to reduce the prevalence of and improve the reporting of sexual harassment; each entity applying for Federal assistance awards from a Federal science agency to have a code of conduct for maintaining a healthy and welcoming workplace for grant personnel posted on their public website; each recipient that receives funds from Federal science agencies to have in place mechanisms for the re-integration of individuals who have experienced sexual harassment; and recipients that receive funds from Federal science agencies to work to create a climate intolerant of sexual harassment and that values and promotes diversity and inclusion. Each Federal science agency shall— develop or maintain and implement policies with respect to sexual harassment that are consistent with policy guidelines under paragraph (1)(B) and that protect the privacy of all parties involved in any report and investigation of sexual harassment; and broadly disseminate such policies to current and potential recipients of research grants awarded by such agency. Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this division, the Director shall enter into an agreement with the National Academies to undertake a study and issue a report on the influence of sexual harassment in institutions of higher education on the career advancement of individuals in the scientific, engineering, technical, and mathematics workforce. The study shall assess— the state of research on sexual harassment in such workforce; whether research demonstrates a decrease in the prevalence of sexual harassment in such workforce; the progress made with respect to implementing recommendations promulgated in the National Academies consensus study report entitled Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine ; where to focus future efforts with respect to decreasing sexual harassment in such institutions, including specific recommendations; and other recommendations and issues, as the National Academies determines appropriate. Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this division, the Comptroller General of the United States shall— complete a study that assesses the degree to which Federal science agencies have implemented the policy guidelines developed under subsection (f)(1)(B) and the effectiveness of that implementation; and submit a report to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate on the results of such study, including recommendations on potential changes to practices and policies to improve those guidelines and that implementation. The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, in consultation with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, shall develop a definition of “harassment on the basis of pregnancy status” for the purposes of carrying out this section.
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