20 U.S.C. § 1161l–6: Online survey tool for…

Summary

The Secretary of Education must create a secure, easy-to-use online survey for college and university students about experiences with domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and stalking. The Secretary must work with the Attorney General, the CDC director, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and experts. The survey must be built using the best research methods. The Secretary must also talk to colleges, survey experts, and victim advocacy groups, including groups for specific cultures and people with disabilities. The tool must be accessible to people with disabilities. The survey must be fair, scientifically sound, and use language that avoids re-traumatizing people. It must tell participants that anonymous results may be shared. Questions will cover optional demographic info, how often incidents happen, knowledge of campus policies, who was told and how they responded, referrals and investigations, context like force or incapacitation, whether the accused was a student, reports to police, reasons for reporting or not, impacts on education and money, how well prevention programs work, and attitudes about violence and bystander action. Schools may add extra approved questions. Answers must be kept confidential, not counted in crime stats, and reports cannot include names. The Secretary must give schools a way to run and, if approved, add to the survey without charging them. Once the tool is available, schools that get federal aid must use it within 1 year and then every 2 years. The Secretary must require a large, random sample of students. Beginning no later than 2 years after March 15, 2022, the Department must publish a biennial report with campus-level results on its website and send it to Congress. Schools must also post their campus results online.

Title 20, §1161l–6

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(a)In general

The Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Attorney General, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and experts in domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and stalking, shall develop, design, and make available through a secure and accessible online portal, a standardized online survey tool regarding postsecondary student experiences with domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and stalking.

(b)Development of survey tool

In developing the survey tool required under subsection (a), the Secretary of Education shall—

(1)use best practices from peer-reviewed research measuring domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and stalking;

(2)consult with the higher education community, experts in survey research related to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and stalking, and organizations engaged in the prevention of and response to, and advocacy on behalf of victims of, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and stalking, including victims from culturally specific populations and victims with disabilities, regarding the development and design of such survey tool and the methodology for administration of such survey tool; and

(3)ensure that the survey tool is readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.

(c)Elements

(1)In general

The survey tool developed pursuant to this section shall be fair and unbiased, be scientifically valid and reliable, meet the highest standards of survey research, and notify the participant that anonymized results of the survey may be published.

(2)Survey questions

Survey questions included in the survey tool developed pursuant to this section shall—

(A)be designed to gather information on student experiences with domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and stalking, including the experiences of victims of such incidents;

(B)use trauma-informed language to prevent re-traumatization; and

(C)include—

(i)questions that give students the option to report their demographic information;

(ii)questions designed to determine the incidence and prevalence of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and stalking;

(iii)questions regarding whether students know about institutional policies and procedures related to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and stalking;

(iv)questions designed to determine, if victims reported domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, or stalking—

(I)to whom the incident was reported and what response the victim may have received;

(II)whether the victim was informed of, or referred to, national, State, local, Tribal, or on-campus resources; and

(III)whether the entity to whom the victim reported the incident conducted an investigation and the duration and final resolution of such an investigation;

(v)questions regarding contextual factors, such as whether force, incapacitation, or coercion was involved;

(vi)questions to determine whether an accused individual was a student at the institution;

(vii)questions to determine whether a victim reported an incident to Federal, State, local, Tribal, or campus law enforcement;

(viii)questions to determine why the victim chose to report or not report an incident to the institution or State, local, or campus law enforcement;

(ix)questions to determine the impact of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and stalking on the victim’s education, including diminished grades, dropped classes, leaves of absence, and negative financial consequences (such as costs associated with loss in paid tuition due to leaves of absence, loss in scholarship awards due to diminished grades, loss of foreign-student visas, and costs associated with counseling, medical services, or housing changes);

(x)questions to determine the impact and effectiveness of prevention and awareness programs and complaints processes;

(xi)questions to determine attitudes toward sexual violence and harassment, including the willingness of individuals to intervene as a bystander to sex-based (including against lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (commonly referred to as “LGBT”) individuals), race-based, national origin-based, and disability-based discrimination, harassment, assault, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and stalking; and

(xii)other questions, as determined by the Secretary of Education.

(3)Additional elements

In addition to the standardized questions developed by the Secretary of Education under paragraph (2), subject to the review and approval of the Secretary of Education, an institution of higher education may request additional information from students that would increase the understanding of the institution of school climate factors unique to the campuses affiliated with the institution.

(4)Responses

The responses to the survey questions described in paragraph (2) shall—

(A)be submitted confidentially;

(B)not be included in crime statistics; and

(C)in the case of such responses being included in a report, not include personally identifiable information.

(d)Administration of survey

(1)Federal administration

The Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Attorney General, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall develop a mechanism by which institutions of higher education may, with respect to the survey tool developed pursuant to this section— (A)

(B)modify such survey tool to include additional elements or requirements, as determined by the institution, subject to the review and approval of the Secretary of Education.

(2)Costs

The Secretary of Education may not require an institution of higher education to pay to modify the survey tool in accordance with paragraph (1)(B).

(3)Accessibility

The Secretary of Education shall ensure that the survey tool is administered in such a way as to be readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.

(4)Institutional administration

Beginning not later than 1 year after the date on which the Secretary of Education makes available to institutions the mechanism described in paragraph (1), and every 2 years thereafter, each institution of higher education that receives Federal educational assistance shall administer the survey tool developed pursuant to this section.

(e)Completed surveys

The Secretary of Education shall require each institution of higher education that administers the survey tool developed pursuant to this section to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that an adequate, random, and representative sample size of students (as determined by the Secretary) enrolled at the institution complete the survey tool developed pursuant to this section.

(f)Report

(1)In general

Beginning not later than 2 years after March 15, 2022, the Secretary of Education shall—

(A)prepare a biennial report on the information gained from the standardized elements of the survey under this section and publish such report in an accessible format on the website of the Department of Education, including as part of any online consumer tool offered or supported by the Department of Education that provides information to students regarding specific postsecondary educational institutions, such as the College Scorecard or any successor or similar tool; and

(B)submit such report to Congress.

(2)Inclusions and exclusions

The report required to be prepared under paragraph (1)—

(A)shall include campus-level data for each institution and attributed by name of each campus in a manner that permits comparisons across institutions and campuses; and

(B)shall not publish any individual survey responses.

(g)Publication

Each institution of higher education shall publish, in a manner that is readily accessible and usable by individuals, including individuals with disabilities—

(1)the campus-level results of the standardized elements of the survey under this section on the website of the institution and in the biennial report required under subsection (f) for the campuses affiliated with the institution; and

(2)the campus-level results of the additional elements modifying the survey by the institution, if any, on the website of the institution.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section was enacted as part of the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022, and also as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, and not as part of the Higher Education Act of 1965 which comprises this chapter.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section not effective until Oct. 1 of the first fiscal year beginning after Mar. 15, 2022, see section 4(a) of div. W of Pub. L. 117–103, set out as a note under section 6851 of Title 15, Commerce and Trade. Definitions For definitions of terms used in this section, see section 12291 of Title 34, Crime Control and Law

Enforcement

, as made applicable by section 2(b) of div. W of Pub. L. 117–103, which is set out as a note under section 12291 of Title 34.

§1161l–6 Online Survey Tool for Campus Safety