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Code · BILL · 117th Congress · S. 5158 (Introduced in Senate) — To strengthen civil rights protections against harassment based on sex, race, color, national origin, disability, or... · Sec. 205

Sec. 205. Support for students

650 words·~3 min read·/bill/117/s/5158/is/section-205·

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

The Secretary of Education shall require Title IX Coordinators and school administrators, upon receiving notice of possible sex-based harassment, to notify the complainant in writing and orally, about available assistance to support the complainant of sexual harassment and ensure the complainant's continued and equal access to education, regardless of the location of the harassment, including— academic adjustment or other accommodations, such as adapting course schedules, assignments, or tests, issuing no-contact orders, altering housing, or taking other measures to ensure the complainant’s access to educational opportunities is not interrupted after a report has been made or during a grievance process; information about and access to support services for the complainant, such as counseling, mental health and other health services, and disability accommodations; providing increased monitoring or supervision at locations or activities where the misconduct occurred or may have occurred; and reasonable accommodations for complainants and respondents with disabilities, including pre-existing disabilities and disabilities arising out of sex-based harassment, consistent with laws that protect students with disabilities, including section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ( 29 U.S.C. 794 ), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ( 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq. ), and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ( 20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq. ).
Working in collaboration with the Title IX Coordinator, institutions of higher education and local educational agencies shall issue guidance and disseminate guidance that explicitly address protections for students from punishment or retaliation when making reports of sexual harassment. Guidance shall be issued to all persons who participate in or receive any benefit, service, or opportunity from the issuing institution of higher education or local educational agency. Such guidance shall apply to all reports of harassment, including in the context of a same-gender relationship or encounter, and ensure that for all reports of sexual harassment— the school will not take disciplinary action against individuals, including witnesses, disclosing code-of-conduct offenses that are related to the reported incident, including the use of intoxicating substances occurring at or around the time of a reported incident, reasonable actions taken to defend against harassment, or actions taken to avoid contact with the respondent; if a school’s code-of-conduct prohibits sexual activity (or certain forms of sexual activity), the school will not take disciplinary action against individuals disclosing in good faith (including witnesses) non-harassing sexual activity related to the reported incident, or for other non-harassing sexual activity discovered during an investigation into the reported incident; the Title IX Coordinator shall review any disciplinary actions related to a complaint of harassment to ensure that such actions do not further discriminate or harass a complainant (such as requiring therapy or participation in programming focused on altering a student’s sexual orientation or gender identity); a party who reports harassment shall not be disciplined for a false report or for prohibited sexual conduct solely because the school has decided there is insufficient evidence for a finding of responsibility or because the respondent is found not responsible; and the school will address reports of retaliation against complainants, which may include investigation or discipline for retaliation.
In this section: The terms elementary school , local educational agency , and secondary school have the meanings given the terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 7801 ). The term institution of higher education has the meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1002 ). The term sexual harassment has the meaning given the term in section 203(i). The term Title IX Coordinator means the employee of a recipient of Federal financial assistance (as such term is defined in section 7501(a)(5) of title 31, United States Code) from the Department of Education, designated or authorized to coordinate the recipient’s efforts to comply with its obligations under title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 ( 20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq. ).
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