[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4760 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4760
To establish requirements for investigations of certain complaints of
discrimination.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 24, 2024
Mr. Cassidy (for himself, Ms. Ernst, Mrs. Capito, and Mr. Grassley)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish requirements for investigations of certain complaints of
discrimination.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Restoring Civility on Campus Act of
2024''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Antisemitic incidents on college campuses in the United
States surged by 700 percent after the October 7, 2023 attack
in Israel.
(2) Islamophobic incidents in the United States rose by 178
percent after the October 7, 2023 attack in Israel.
(3) The Antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents on college
campuses have received the most public attention in the United
States.
(4) Antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents on college
campuses are often violations of title VI of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.) (referred to in this
section as ``title VI'').
(5) The Office for Civil Rights of the Department of
Education has received a surge in complaints and investigations
involving title VI following October 7, 2023.
(6) Based on the history of the Office for Civil Rights
handling complaints regarding title IX of the Education
Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) (referred to in
this section as ``title IX''), the Government Accountability
Office recognized that the Office for Civil Rights of the
Department of Education resolves compliance issues extremely
slowly and should establish timeliness goals.
(7) The Government Accountability Office found that the
Office for Civil Rights did not communicate with some colleges
following the finding of a title IX violation and a resolution
agreement for 5 years or more.
(8) It is imperative that the Secretary of Education direct
the Office for Civil Rights to swiftly address violent
incidents of discrimination on college campuses that may be a
violation of title VI based on shared ancestry or ethnic
characteristics.
(9) Compliance monitoring will be necessary to ensure that
further title VI violations do not reoccur on college campuses.
SEC. 3. EMERGENCY PRIORITY FOR CAMPUS INVESTIGATIONS OF DISCRIMINATION
ON THE BASIS OF SHARED ANCESTRY OR ETHNIC
CHARACTERISTICS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Education (referred to in this
Act as ``the Secretary'') shall direct the Office for Civil Rights of
the Department of Education (referred to in this Act as ``the Office'')
to send an investigator, in-person, to each covered entity that
participates in a program under title IV of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) and that was the site of a covered
complaint of alleged discrimination, in order to conduct an
investigation of, and meet with the president or chancellor of the
covered entity regarding, such complaint--
(1) in the case of a complaint that was submitted before
the date of enactment of this Act, not later than 30 days after
such date of enactment; and
(2) in the case of a complaint that is submitted on or
after the date of enactment of this Act, not later than 30 days
after the date the complaint is submitted.
(b) Reports.--Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, and every 30 days thereafter until the date specified in
subsection (e), the Office shall prepare and make publicly available a
report that--
(1) describes the number, findings, and determinations of
covered complaints of alleged discrimination that were
investigated in accordance with this Act;
(2) lists any similarities between covered complaints of
alleged discrimination in order to help covered entities
identify potential mitigation strategies and to ensure that
covered entities can operate safely;
(3) indicates if any criminal charges were filed or filed
and dropped in association with the covered complaint of
alleged discrimination;
(4) indicates if any criminal convictions resulted from
criminal charges filed in association with such covered
complaint;
(5) indicates if the covered entity pursued any
institutional disciplinary procedures in association with such
covered complaint, and the outcome of any such procedures;
(6) indicates if the covered complaint involved any alleged
violations of the time, place, and manner policy held by the
covered entity; and
(7) indicates if the covered complaint involved any alleged
retaliation by the covered entity or the complainant.
(c) Updates for Complainant and Covered Entity.--
(1) In general.--The Office shall provide an update, upon
request of a complainant or covered entity and not less than
every 30 days, regarding whether the status of the covered
complaint is in intake, under investigation, in negotiation, or
in resolution.
(2) Continuation.--Before the date described in subsection
(f), the Secretary shall evaluate the efficacy of the provision
of updates provided under paragraph (1) and consider extending
such updates to all complaints received by the Office.
(d) Covered Complaint.--For purposes of this section, the term
``covered complaint'' means a complaint--
(1) alleging discrimination in violation of title VI of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.) on the basis
of shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics;
(2) that is based on actions that occurred on or after
October 7, 2023 and before the date that is 2 years after the
date of enactment of this Act;
(3) was filed not later than 180 days after the date of the
incident on which the covered complaint is based; and
(4) was not dismissed based on the policies and procedures
of the Office of Civil Rights case processing manual, as in
effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
(e) Covered Entity.--In this section the term ``covered entity''
means an entity described in section 606(2) of the Civil Rights Act of
1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d-4a(2).
(f) Sunset.--The requirements under this section shall cease to
have force or effect on the date that is 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act.
SEC. 4. REQUIREMENTS FOR THE OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS.
Beginning not later than 10 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall require staff of the Office to report to
the Office in-person, except for the purpose of conducting in-person
investigations.
SEC. 5. CLERY ACT COMPLIANCE AND ADDITIONAL FINES.
(a) Audit.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Education shall begin an
audit to evaluate compliance with paragraph (1)(F)(ii) of
section 485(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1092(f)) (known as the ``Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus
Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act''), and
specifically to ensure that each covered institution of higher
education has properly disclosed the category of prejudice
associated with each applicable criminal offense in accordance
with such paragraph (1)(F)(ii) for the covered time period.
(2) Temporary increase in fines.--The Secretary of
Education shall impose a fine in the amount of $1,000,000 for
an institution of higher education for each instance of
noncompliance found through the audit described in paragraph
(1) after a covered institution has been provided with the
covered institution's due process rights under section 487(b)
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.1094(b)).
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Covered institution.--The term ``covered institution''
means an institution of higher education--
(A) that participates in title IV of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.); and
(B) with respect to which there is a pending
complaint with the Office for Civil Rights of the
Department of Education alleging discrimination in
violation of title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
(42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.) on the basis of shared
ancestry or ethnic characteristics.
(2) Covered time period.--The term ``covered time period''
means on or after October 7, 2023 and before the date that is 2
years after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 6. DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURE REPORTING REQUIREMENT.
Section 487(a)(26) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1094(a)(26)) is amended by inserting ``or an offense in connection with
an alleged violation of title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964''
after ``nonforcible sex offense''.
<all>