SB2839eng 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB2839 Engrossed LRB099 18919 MLM 43307 b

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Preventing Sexual Violence in Higher Education Act is amended by changing Section 10 as follows:

(110 ILCS 155/10)

Sec. 10. Comprehensive policy. On or before August 1, 2016, all higher education institutions shall adopt a comprehensive policy concerning sexual violence, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking consistent with governing federal and State law. The higher education institution's comprehensive policy shall include, at a minimum, all of the following components:

(1) A definition of consent that, at a minimum, recognizes that (i) consent is a freely given agreement to sexual activity, (ii) a person's lack of verbal or physical resistance or submission resulting from the use or threat of force does not constitute consent, (iii) a person's manner of dress does not constitute consent, (iv) a person's consent to past sexual activity does not constitute consent to future sexual activity, (v) a person's consent to engage in sexual activity with one person does not constitute consent to engage in sexual activity with another, (vi) a person can withdraw consent at any time, and (vii) a person cannot consent to sexual activity if that person is unable to understand the nature of the activity or give knowing consent due to circumstances, including without limitation the following:

(A) the person is incapacitated due to the use or influence of alcohol or drugs;

(B) the person is asleep or unconscious;

(C) the person is under age; or

(D) the person is incapacitated due to a mental disability.

Nothing in this Section prevents a higher education institution from defining consent in a more demanding manner.

(2) Procedures that students of the higher education institution may follow if they choose to report an alleged violation of the comprehensive policy, regardless of where the incident of sexual violence, domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking occurred, including all of the following:

(A) Name and contact information for the Title IX coordinator, campus law enforcement or security, local law enforcement, and the community-based sexual assault crisis center.

(B) The name, title, and contact information for confidential advisors and other confidential resources and a description of what confidential reporting means.

(C) Information regarding the various individuals, departments, or organizations to whom a student may report a violation of the comprehensive policy, specifying for each individual and entity (i) the extent of the individual's or entity's reporting obligation, (ii) the extent of the individual's or entity's ability to protect the student's privacy, and (iii) the extent of the individual's or entity's ability to have confidential communications with the student.

(D) An option for students to electronically report.

(E) An option for students to anonymously report.

(F) An option for students to confidentially report.

(G) An option for reports by third parties and bystanders.

(3) The higher education institution's procedure for responding to a report of an alleged incident of sexual violence, domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking, including without limitation (i) assisting and interviewing the survivor, (ii) identifying and locating witnesses, (iii) contacting and interviewing the respondent, (iv) contacting and cooperating with law enforcement, when applicable, and (v) providing information regarding the importance of preserving physical evidence of the sexual violence and the availability of a medical forensic examination at no charge to the survivor.

(4) A statement of the higher education institution's obligation to provide survivors with concise information, written in plain language, concerning the survivor's rights and options, upon receiving a report of an alleged violation of the comprehensive policy, as described in Section 15 of this Act.

(5) The name, address, and telephone number of the medical facility nearest to each campus of the higher education institution where a survivor may have a medical forensic examination completed at no cost to the survivor, pursuant to the Sexual Assault Survivors Emergency Treatment Act.

(6) The name, telephone number, address, and website URL, if available, of community-based, State, and national sexual assault crisis centers.

(7) A statement notifying survivors of the interim protective measures and accommodations reasonably available from the higher education institution that a survivor may request in response to an alleged violation of the comprehensive policy, including without limitation changes to academic, living, dining, transportation, and working situations, obtaining and enforcing campus no contact orders, and honoring an order of protection or no contact order entered by a State civil or criminal court.

(8) The higher education institution's complaint resolution procedures if a student alleges violation of the comprehensive violence policy, including, at a minimum, the guidelines set forth in Section 25 of this Act.

(9) A statement of the range of sanctions the higher education institution may impose following the implementation of its complaint resolution procedures in response to an alleged violation of the comprehensive policy. Sanctions may include, but are not limited to, suspension, expulsion, or removal of the student found, after complaint resolution procedures, to be in violation of the comprehensive policy of the higher education institution.

(10) A statement of the higher education institution's obligation to include an amnesty provision that provides immunity to any student who reports, in good faith, an alleged violation of the higher education institution's comprehensive policy to a responsible employee, as defined by federal law, so that the reporting student will not receive a disciplinary sanction by the institution for a student conduct violation, such as underage drinking, that is revealed in the course of such a report, unless the institution determines that the violation was egregious, including without limitation an action that places the health or safety of any other person at risk.

(11) A statement of the higher education institution's prohibition on retaliation against those who, in good faith, report or disclose an alleged violation of the comprehensive policy, file a complaint, or otherwise participate in the complaint resolution procedure and available sanctions for individuals who engage in retaliatory conduct.

(Source: P.A. 99-426, eff. 8-21-15.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.