101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
SB3825

 

Introduced 2/14/2020, by Sen. Heather A. Steans

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
110 ILCS 155/35 new

    Amends the Preventing Sexual Violence in Higher Education Act. Provides that the amendatory Act may be referred to as the Every Voice Act. Requires each higher education institution to conduct a sexual misconduct climate survey every 2 years of all students at its institution. Creates the Task Force on Campus Sexual Climate Surveys to develop and recommend to the Attorney General a base survey to be distributed to higher education institutions to be used with the institutions' sexual misconduct climate surveys. Provides that there shall be established within the Office of the Attorney General a data repository for all summaries of sexual misconduct climate surveys submitted by higher education institutions to the Attorney General. Requires each higher education institution to publish the campus level results of its survey. Requires the Attorney General to establish rules and procedures. Allows the Attorney General to impose a fine not to exceed $150,000 on a higher education institution that violates or fails to carry out the provisions. Defines terms.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB3825LRB101 17938 CMG 67374 b

1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. This Act may be referred to as the Every Voice
5Act.
 
6    Section 5. The Preventing Sexual Violence in Higher
7Education Act is amended by adding Section 35 as follows:
 
8    (110 ILCS 155/35 new)
9    Sec. 35. Sexual misconduct climate survey.
10    (a) As used in this Section:
11    "Base survey" means a base set of common questions
12recommended by the Task Force on Campus Sexual Misconduct
13Climate Surveys that is approved by the Attorney General.
14    "Student" means a person who is enrolled in a public or
15private degree-granting post-secondary higher education
16institution, whether part-time, full-time, or as an extension
17student, including any person who has taken a leave of absence
18or who has withdrawn from the higher education institution due
19to being a victim of sexual misconduct.
20    (b) Every 2 years, each higher education institution shall
21conduct a sexual misconduct climate survey of all students at
22its institution. Each higher education institution's sexual

 

 

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1misconduct climate survey shall include the base survey, which
2the Attorney General shall provide to the institution. Each
3institution may append its own campus-specific questions to the
4base survey if questions do not require the disclosure of any
5personally-identifying information by the students and are not
6unnecessarily traumatizing for victims of sexual violence. The
7Attorney General shall review any complaints submitted by
8students who believe that questions included in the campus
9sexual misconduct climate survey are unnecessarily
10traumatizing. Within 120 days after completion of a sexual
11misconduct climate survey, but no later than one year after the
12Attorney General issued the last base survey, each institution
13shall compile a summary of the results of the sexual misconduct
14climate survey, including, but not limited to, the complete
15aggregated results for each base survey question, and shall
16submit the summary to the Attorney General as well as publish
17the summary on the institution's website in an easily
18accessible manner.
19    (c) The Task Force on Campus Sexual Misconduct Surveys is
20created. The Task Force shall consist of the following 17
21members:
22        (1) the Illinois Attorney General, or a designee, who
23    shall serve as a co-chair;
24        (2) the executive director of the Illinois Board of
25    Higher Education, or a designee, who shall serve as a
26    co-chair;

 

 

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1        (3) the Director of Public Health, or a designee; and
2        (4) fourteen other members who shall be appointed by
3    the Governor as follows:
4            (A) one of whom shall be a student attending a
5        public higher education institution in Illinois;
6            (B) one of whom shall be a student attending a
7        private higher education institution in Illinois;
8            (C) one of whom shall be a representative of the
9        University of Illinois recommended by the president of
10        the university;
11            (D) one of whom shall be a representative of the
12        Illinois Community College Board;
13            (E) one of whom shall be a representative of
14        private colleges and universities recommended by the
15        Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and
16        Universities;
17            (F) three of whom shall be representatives of
18        survivors of sexual assault recommended by the
19        Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault, with one
20        specifically representing survivors in rural
21        communities and one specifically representing
22        survivors in urban communities;
23            (G) one of whom shall be a representative of a
24        non-profit legal services organization that provides
25        legal representation to victims of campus sexual
26        assault in Illinois;

 

 

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1            (H) one of whom shall be a representative
2        recommended by the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic
3        Violence;
4            (I) one of whom shall be a representative
5        recommended by Equality Illinois;
6            (J) one of whom shall be a representative
7        recommended by Every Voice Coalition or any successor
8        organization of Every Voice Coalition;
9            (K) one of whom shall be a researcher with
10        experience in the development and design of sexual
11        misconduct climate surveys; and
12            (L) one of whom shall be a researcher of
13        statistics, data analytics, or econometrics with
14        experience in higher education survey analysis.
15    The Task Force shall hold its first meeting as soon as
16practicable after the effective date of this amendatory Act of
17the 101st General Assembly. Members of the Task Force shall
18receive no compensation from serving as members.
19Administrative and other support for the Task Force shall be
20provided by the Office of the Attorney General.
21    (d) The Task Force shall develop and recommend to the
22Attorney General the base survey for distribution to higher
23education institutions and provide the Attorney General with
24any related recommendations regarding the content, timing, and
25application of the base survey. The Task Force shall deliver
26the base survey and related recommendations, including, but not

 

 

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1limited to, recommendations on achieving statistically valid
2response rates, to the Attorney General no less often than
3every 2 years and for the first time on or before June 31,
42021.
5    (e) In developing the base survey, the Task Force shall:
6        (1) utilize best practices from peer-reviewed research
7    and consult with individuals with expertise in the
8    development and use of sexual misconduct climate surveys by
9    higher education institutions;
10        (2) review sexual misconduct climate surveys which
11    have been developed and previously utilized by higher
12    education institutions in Illinois and by other states that
13    mandate campus climate surveys;
14        (3) provide opportunities for written comment from
15    survivors and organizations that work directly with
16    survivors of sexual misconduct to ensure the adequacy and
17    appropriateness of the proposed content;
18        (4) consult with institutions on strategies for
19    optimizing the effectiveness of the survey; and
20        (5) account for the diverse needs and differences of
21    Illinois' higher education institutions.
22    (f) The base survey shall gather information on topics,
23including, but not limited to:
24        (1) the number and type of incidents, both reported to
25    the higher education institution and unreported to the
26    higher education institution, of sexual misconduct at the

 

 

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1    higher education institution;
2        (2) when and where incidents of sexual misconduct
3    occurred;
4        (3) student awareness of institutional policies and
5    procedures related to campus sexual misconduct;
6        (4) whether a student reported the sexual misconduct to
7    the higher education institution and, if so, to which
8    campus resource such report was made and, if not, the
9    reason for the student's decision not to report;
10        (5) whether a student reported the sexual misconduct to
11    law enforcement and, if so, to which law enforcement agency
12    such report was made;
13        (6) whether a student was informed of or referred to
14    local, State, campus, or other resources, or victim support
15    services, including appropriate medical care, advocacy,
16    counseling, and legal services;
17        (7) whether a student was provided information
18    regarding his or her right to protection from retaliation,
19    access to school-based accommodations, and criminal
20    justice remedies;
21        (8) contextual factors, such as the involvement of
22    force, incapacitation, coercion, or drug or alcohol
23    facilitation;
24        (9) demographic information that could be used to
25    identify at-risk groups, including, but not limited to,
26    gender;

 

 

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1        (10) perceptions of campus safety among members of the
2    campus community and confidence in the institution's
3    ability to protect against and respond to incidents of
4    sexual misconduct;
5        (11) whether the student has chosen to withdraw or has
6    taken a leave of absence from the institution or
7    transferred to another institution;
8        (12) whether the student has withdrawn from any classes
9    or has been placed on academic probation as a result of the
10    incident; and
11        (13) other questions as determined by the Task Force.
12    (g) The sexual misconduct climate survey shall collect
13anonymous responses and shall not provide for the public
14disclosure of any personally identifying information. No
15institution shall use or attempt to use information collected
16through the sexual misconduct climate survey to identify or
17contact any individual student on campus, nor shall the results
18of the survey be used as the basis for any type of
19investigation or disciplinary or legal proceeding.
20    (h) There shall be established within the Office of the
21Attorney General a data repository for all summaries of sexual
22misconduct climate surveys submitted by higher education
23institutions to the Attorney General in accordance with
24subsection (b). The Attorney General shall ensure that the
25sexual misconduct climate survey data submitted by all
26institutions will be available to the public in an easily

 

 

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1accessible manner on the Attorney General's website.
2    (i) Each higher education institution shall publish on the
3institution's website in an easily accessible manner: (i) the
4campus level results of the survey; (ii) the annual security
5report required under 20 U.S.C. 1092, the federal Clery Act;
6and (iii) a link to the Attorney General's statewide data on
7sexual misconduct climate survey data as set forth in
8subsection (h).
9    (j) The Attorney General shall establish rules and
10procedures, including deadlines for dissemination and
11collection of survey information, consistent with the purposes
12of this Section and shall promote the effective solicitation to
13achieve the highest practical response rate, collection, and
14publication of statistical information gathered from Illinois'
15higher education institutions.
16    (k) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
17contrary, upon determination and after reasonable notice and
18opportunity for a hearing that a higher education institution
19has violated or failed to carry out any provision of this
20Section or any rule adopted under this Section, the Attorney
21General may impose a civil penalty upon such institution not to
22exceed $150,000, which shall be adjusted for inflation
23annually, for each violation. The Attorney General shall use
24any such civil penalty funds to provide oversight of this
25Section and to provide services to sexual assault victims.