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Pennsylvania House of Representatives
04/19/2024 07:50 AM
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20190&cosponId=29275
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House of Representatives
Session of 2019 - 2020 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: April 17, 2019 11:48 AM
From: Representative Brian Sims
To: All House members
Subject: Campus Sexual Assault Report Cards
 
Nationally, 11.2 percent of all college students experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation. That number jumps to about 28.5 percent when considering only undergraduate students. However, we may not know the full extent of the issue of sexual assault on campuses, because more than 90 percent of victims do not report the assault to college or university officials. Some school districts and colleges are better than others at preventing sexual assault and harassment, and at responding to incidents when they do occur. Students and their families should know ahead of time about the prevalence of sexual assault and harassment at their chosen school.

That is why I am introducing legislation to require school districts and postsecondary institutions to submit information annually to the Department of Education (PDE) regarding the number of sexual violence and harassment incidents that occurred there. PDE would then be required to use this information to publish an annual report card on sexual violence and harassment incidents reported by school districts and postsecondary institutions, including the number of alleged incidents and how many of those incidents were investigated. The report cards would be made public so that families can know what is going on at their child’s school district, and so that prospective college students can be better informed when choosing where to study. Additionally, the report cards would encourage accountability for educational institutions and increase awareness of sexual assault on campuses.

Please join me in this effort to make schools across the Commonwealth more transparent when it comes to sexual assault and harassment. Your consideration and co-sponsorship are appreciated.


Introduced as HB1495