SB1610 EngrossedLRB102 16432 CMG 21823 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 5. The Preventing Sexual Violence in Higher
5Education Act is amended by adding Section 35 as follows:
 
6    (110 ILCS 155/35 new)
7    Sec. 35. Sexual misconduct climate survey.
8    (a) As used in this Section:
9    "Base survey" means a base set of common questions
10recommended by the Task Force on Campus Sexual Misconduct
11Climate Surveys and approved by the Executive Director of the
12Board of Higher Education.
13    "Student" means a person who is enrolled in a public or
14private degree-granting, post-secondary higher education
15institution, whether part-time, full-time, or as an extension
16student, including any person who has taken a leave of absence
17or who has withdrawn from the higher education institution due
18to being a victim of sexual misconduct.
19    "Trauma informed" means an understanding of the
20complexities of sexual violence, domestic violence, dating
21violence, or stalking through training centered on the
22neurobiological impact of trauma, the influence of societal
23myths and stereotypes surrounding sexual violence, domestic

 

 

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1violence, dating violence, or stalking, and understanding the
2behavior of perpetrators.
3    (b) Each higher education institution shall annually
4conduct a sexual misconduct climate survey of all students at
5the institution. Each higher education institution's sexual
6misconduct climate survey shall include the base survey, which
7the Board of Higher Education shall provide to the institution
8every 2 years. Each institution may append its own
9campus-specific questions to the base survey if questions do
10not require the disclosure of any personally identifying
11information by the students and are trauma informed. The Board
12of Higher Education, in consultation with the Office of the
13Attorney General, as necessary, shall review any complaints
14submitted by students who believe that questions included in
15the campus sexual misconduct climate survey are traumatizing.
16Within 120 days after completion of a sexual misconduct
17climate survey, but no later than one year after the Board of
18Higher Education issued the last base survey, each institution
19shall compile a summary of the results of the sexual
20misconduct climate survey, including, but not limited to, the
21complete aggregated results for each base survey question, and
22shall submit the summary to the Board of Higher Education, as
23well as publish the summary on the institution's website in an
24easily accessible manner.
25    (c) The Task Force on Campus Sexual Misconduct Climate
26Surveys is created. The Task Force shall consist of the

 

 

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1following members:
2        (1) the Executive Director of the Board of Higher
3    Education or a designee, who shall serve as chairperson;
4        (2) the Governor or a designee;
5        (3) the Attorney General or a designee;
6        (4) the Director of Public Health or a designee;
7        (5) the following members appointed by the Governor:
8            (A) one member who is a student attending a public
9        higher education institution in Illinois;
10            (B) one member who is a student attending a
11        private higher education institution in Illinois;
12            (C) one member who is a student attending a
13        community college in Illinois;
14            (D) one member who is a representative of the
15        University of Illinois recommended by the president of
16        the university;
17            (E) one member who is a representative of the
18        Illinois Community College Board;
19            (F) one member who is a representative of private
20        colleges and universities recommended by the
21        Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and
22        Universities;
23            (G) 3 members who are representatives of survivors
24        of sexual assault recommended by the Illinois
25        Coalition Against Sexual Assault, with one
26        specifically representing survivors in rural

 

 

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1        communities and one specifically representing
2        survivors in urban communities;
3            (H) one member who is a representative of a
4        non-profit legal services organization that provides
5        legal representation to victims of campus sexual
6        assault in Illinois;
7            (I) one member who is a representative recommended
8        by the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence;
9            (J) one member who is a representative recommended
10        by Equality Illinois;
11            (K) one member who is a representative of an
12        immigrant rights advocacy organization;
13            (L) one member who is a representative recommended
14        by the Every Voice Coalition or any successor
15        organization of the Every Voice Coalition;
16            (M) one member who is a researcher with experience
17        in the development and design of sexual misconduct
18        climate surveys; and
19            (N) one member who is a researcher of statistics,
20        data analytics, or econometrics with experience in
21        higher education survey analysis.
22    The Task Force shall hold its first meeting as soon as
23practicable after the effective date of this amendatory Act of
24the 102nd General Assembly. Administrative and other support
25for the Task Force shall be provided by the Board of Higher
26Education. Members of the Task Force shall serve 2-year terms

 

 

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1that commence on the date of appointment. Members shall
2continue to serve until their successors are appointed. Any
3vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority. Any
4vacancy occurring other than by expiration of the term shall
5be filled for the balance of the unexpired term. A majority of
6the Task Force shall constitute a quorum for the transaction
7of any business.
8    Members of the Task Force shall serve without compensation
9but shall be reimbursed for expenses necessarily incurred in
10the performance of their duties if funds are available.
11However, the higher education institution in which a student
12member is enrolled may compensate that student for
13participating on the Task Force through a work-study program
14or by providing a stipend to support the work of the student
15member on the Task Force.
16    (d) The Task Force shall develop and recommend to the
17Board of Higher Education the base survey for distribution to
18higher education institutions and provide the Board of Higher
19Education with any related recommendations regarding the
20content, timing, and application of the base survey. The Task
21Force shall deliver the base survey and related
22recommendations, including, but not limited to,
23recommendations on achieving statistically valid response
24rates, to the Board of Higher Education no less often than
25every 2 years and for the first time on or before July 31,
262022. Thereafter, the Task Force shall meet in the year 2024

 

 

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1and in the year 2026 to review the results of the survey and to
2implement updates and improvements. The Task Force is
3dissolved after the completion of the 2026 base survey. After
4the dissolution of the Task Force, the Executive Director of
5the Board of Higher Education or a designee shall review the
6base survey every 2 years to consider any feedback that has
7been received and to implement improvements.
8    (e) In developing the base survey, the Task Force shall:
9        (1) utilize best practices from peer-reviewed research
10    and consult with individuals with expertise in the
11    development and use of sexual misconduct climate surveys
12    by higher education institutions;
13        (2) review sexual misconduct climate surveys that have
14    been developed and previously utilized by higher education
15    institutions in Illinois and by other states that mandate
16    campus climate surveys;
17        (3) provide opportunities for written comment from
18    survivors and organizations that work directly with
19    survivors of sexual misconduct to ensure the adequacy and
20    appropriateness of the proposed content;
21        (4) consult with institutions on strategies for
22    optimizing the effectiveness of the survey;
23        (5) account for the diverse needs and differences of
24    higher education institutions; and
25        (6) review the base survey to ensure that the strategy
26    for gathering information is trauma informed.

 

 

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1    (f) The base survey shall gather information on topics,
2including, but not limited to:
3        (1) the number and type of incidents, both reported to
4    the higher education institution and unreported to the
5    higher education institution, of sexual misconduct at the
6    higher education institution;
7        (2) when and where incidents of sexual misconduct
8    occurred, such as on campus, off campus, abroad, or
9    online;
10        (3) student awareness of institutional policies and
11    procedures related to campus sexual misconduct;
12        (4) whether a student reported the sexual misconduct
13    to the higher education institution and, if so, to which
14    campus resource such report was made and, if not, the
15    reason for the student's decision not to report;
16        (5) whether a student reported the sexual misconduct
17    to law enforcement and, if so, to which law enforcement
18    agency such report was made;
19        (6) whether a student was informed of or referred to
20    local, State, campus, or other resources or victim support
21    services, including appropriate medical care, advocacy,
22    counseling, and legal services;
23        (7) whether a student was provided information
24    regarding his or her right to protection from retaliation,
25    access to school-based accommodations, and criminal
26    justice remedies;

 

 

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1        (8) contextual factors, such as the involvement of
2    force, incapacitation, coercion, or drug or alcohol
3    facilitation;
4        (9) demographic information that could be used to
5    identify at-risk groups, including, but not limited to,
6    gender, race, immigration status, national origin,
7    ethnicity, disability status, sexual orientation, and
8    gender identity;
9        (10) perceptions of campus safety among members of the
10    campus community and confidence in the institution's
11    ability to protect against and respond to incidents of
12    sexual misconduct;
13        (11) whether the student has chosen to withdraw or has
14    taken a leave of absence from the institution or
15    transferred to another institution;
16        (12) whether the student has withdrawn from any
17    classes or has been placed on academic probation as a
18    result of the incident; and
19        (13) other questions as determined by the Task Force.
20All questions on the base survey shall be optional or shall
21offer the student the option to select "I prefer not to answer"
22as a response on the survey.
23    (g) The sexual misconduct climate survey shall collect
24anonymous responses and shall not provide for the public
25disclosure of any personally identifying information. No
26institution may use or attempt to use information collected

 

 

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1through the sexual misconduct climate survey to identify or
2contact any individual student on campus, nor shall the
3results of the survey be used as the basis for any type of
4investigation or disciplinary or legal proceeding.
5    (h) There shall be established within the Office of the
6Board of Higher Education a data repository for all summaries
7of sexual misconduct climate surveys submitted by higher
8education institutions to the Board of Higher Education in
9accordance with subsection (b). The Board of Higher Education
10shall ensure that the sexual misconduct climate survey data
11submitted by all institutions is available to the public in an
12easily accessible manner on the Board of Higher Education's
13website.
14    (i) Each higher education institution shall publish on the
15institution's website in an easily accessible manner:
16        (1) the campus level results of the survey;
17        (2) the annual security report required under the
18    federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy
19    and Campus Crime Statistics Act;
20        (3) the reports required under Section 9.21 of the
21    Board of Higher Education Act; and
22        (4) a link to the Board of Higher Education's
23    statewide data on sexual misconduct climate survey data as
24    set forth in subsection (h).
25    (j) The Board of Higher Education shall establish rules
26and procedures, including deadlines for dissemination and

 

 

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1collection of survey information, consistent with the purposes
2of this Section and shall promote effective solicitation to
3achieve the highest practical response rate, collection, and
4publication of statistical information gathered from higher
5education institutions.
6    (k) Upon determination, after reasonable notice and
7opportunity for a hearing, that a higher education institution
8has violated or failed to carry out any provision of this
9Section or any rule adopted under this Section, the Board of
10Higher Education may impose a civil penalty upon such
11institution not to exceed $50,000, which shall be adjusted for
12inflation annually, for each violation. The Board of Higher
13Education shall use any such civil penalty funds to provide
14oversight of this Section and to provide funding to community
15organizations that provide services to sexual assault victims.
16The Attorney General may bring an action in the circuit court
17to enforce the collection of any monetary penalty imposed
18under this subsection (k).
 
19    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
20becoming law.