Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SB1610
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Full Text of SB1610  102nd General Assembly

SB1610enr 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  
  

 


 
SB1610 EnrolledLRB102 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17or who has withdrawn from the higher education institution due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) one member of the Senate, appointed by the
6    President of the Senate;
7        (4) one member of the House of Representatives,
8    appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
9        (5) one member of the Senate, appointed by the
10    Minority Leader of the Senate;
11        (6) one member of the House of Representatives,
12    appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of
13    Representatives;
14        (7) the Attorney General or a designee;
15        (8) the Director of Public Health or a designee; and
16        (9) the following members appointed by the Governor:
17            (A) one member who is a student attending a public
18        higher education institution in Illinois;
19            (B) one member who is a student attending a
20        private higher education institution in Illinois;
21            (C) one member who is a student attending a
22        community college in Illinois;
23            (D) one member who is a representative of the
24        University of Illinois recommended by the president of
25        the university;
26            (E) one member who is a representative of the

 

 

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1        Illinois Community College Board;
2            (F) one member who is a representative of private
3        colleges and universities recommended by the
4        Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and
5        Universities;
6            (G) 3 members who are representatives of survivors
7        of sexual assault recommended by the Illinois
8        Coalition Against Sexual Assault, with one
9        specifically representing survivors in rural
10        communities and one specifically representing
11        survivors in urban communities;
12            (H) one member who is a representative of a
13        non-profit legal services organization that provides
14        legal representation to victims of campus sexual
15        assault in Illinois;
16            (I) one member who is a representative recommended
17        by the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence;
18            (J) one member who is a representative recommended
19        by Equality Illinois;
20            (K) one member who is a representative of an
21        immigrant rights advocacy organization;
22            (L) one member who is a representative recommended
23        by the Every Voice Coalition or any successor
24        organization of the Every Voice Coalition;
25            (M) one member who is a researcher with experience
26        in the development and design of sexual misconduct

 

 

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1        climate surveys; and
2            (N) one member who is a researcher of statistics,
3        data analytics, or econometrics with experience in
4        higher education survey analysis.
5    The Task Force shall hold its first meeting as soon as
6practicable after the effective date of this amendatory Act of
7the 102nd General Assembly. Administrative and other support
8for the Task Force shall be provided by the Board of Higher
9Education. Members of the Task Force shall serve 2-year terms
10that commence on the date of appointment. Members shall
11continue to serve until their successors are appointed. Any
12vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority. Any
13vacancy occurring other than by expiration of the term shall
14be filled for the balance of the unexpired term. A majority of
15the Task Force shall constitute a quorum for the transaction
16of any business.
17    Members of the Task Force shall serve without compensation
18but shall be reimbursed for expenses necessarily incurred in
19the performance of their duties if funds are available.
20However, the higher education institution in which a student
21member is enrolled may compensate that student for
22participating on the Task Force through a work-study program
23or by providing a stipend to support the work of the student
24member on the Task Force.
25    (d) The Task Force shall develop and recommend to the
26Board of Higher Education the base survey for distribution to

 

 

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1higher education institutions and provide the Board of Higher
2Education with any related recommendations regarding the
3content, timing, and application of the base survey. The Task
4Force shall deliver the base survey and related
5recommendations, including, but not limited to,
6recommendations on achieving statistically valid response
7rates, to the Board of Higher Education no less often than
8every 2 years and for the first time on or before July 31,
92022. Thereafter, the Task Force shall meet in the year 2024
10and in the year 2026 to review the results of the survey and to
11implement updates and improvements. The Task Force is
12dissolved after the completion of the 2026 base survey. After
13the dissolution of the Task Force, the Executive Director of
14the Board of Higher Education or a designee shall review the
15base survey every 2 years to consider any feedback that has
16been received and to implement improvements.
17    (e) In developing the base survey, the Task Force shall:
18        (1) utilize best practices from peer-reviewed research
19    and consult with individuals with expertise in the
20    development and use of sexual misconduct climate surveys
21    by higher education institutions;
22        (2) review sexual misconduct climate surveys that have
23    been developed and previously utilized by higher education
24    institutions in Illinois and by other states that mandate
25    campus climate surveys;
26        (3) provide opportunities for written comment from

 

 

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1    survivors and organizations that work directly with
2    survivors of sexual misconduct to ensure the adequacy and
3    appropriateness of the proposed content;
4        (4) consult with institutions on strategies for
5    optimizing the effectiveness of the survey;
6        (5) account for the diverse needs and differences of
7    higher education institutions; and
8        (6) review the base survey to ensure that the strategy
9    for gathering information is trauma informed.
10    (f) The base survey shall gather information on topics,
11including, but not limited to:
12        (1) the number and type of incidents, both reported to
13    the higher education institution and unreported to the
14    higher education institution, of sexual misconduct at the
15    higher education institution;
16        (2) when and where incidents of sexual misconduct
17    occurred, such as on campus, off campus, abroad, or
18    online;
19        (3) student awareness of institutional policies and
20    procedures related to campus sexual misconduct;
21        (4) whether a student reported the sexual misconduct
22    to the higher education institution and, if so, to which
23    campus resource such report was made and, if not, the
24    reason for the student's decision not to report;
25        (5) whether a student reported the sexual misconduct
26    to law enforcement and, if so, to which law enforcement

 

 

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1    agency such report was made;
2        (6) whether a student was informed of or referred to
3    local, State, campus, or other resources or victim support
4    services, including appropriate medical care, advocacy,
5    counseling, and legal services;
6        (7) whether a student was provided information
7    regarding his or her right to protection from retaliation,
8    access to school-based accommodations, and criminal
9    justice remedies;
10        (8) contextual factors, such as the involvement of
11    force, incapacitation, coercion, or drug or alcohol
12    facilitation;
13        (9) demographic information that could be used to
14    identify at-risk groups, including, but not limited to,
15    gender, race, immigration status, national origin,
16    ethnicity, disability status, sexual orientation, and
17    gender identity;
18        (10) perceptions of campus safety among members of the
19    campus community and confidence in the institution's
20    ability to protect against and respond to incidents of
21    sexual misconduct;
22        (11) whether the student has chosen to withdraw or has
23    taken a leave of absence from the institution or
24    transferred to another institution;
25        (12) whether the student has withdrawn from any
26    classes or has been placed on academic probation as a

 

 

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1    result of the incident; and
2        (13) other questions as determined by the Task Force.
3All questions on the base survey shall be optional or shall
4offer the student the option to select "I prefer not to answer"
5as a response on the survey.
6    (g) The sexual misconduct climate survey shall collect
7anonymous responses and shall not provide for the public
8disclosure of any personally identifying information. No
9institution may use or attempt to use information collected
10through the sexual misconduct climate survey to identify or
11contact any individual student on campus, nor shall the
12results of the survey be used as the basis for any type of
13investigation or disciplinary or legal proceeding.
14    (h) There shall be established within the Office of the
15Board of Higher Education a data repository for all summaries
16of sexual misconduct climate surveys submitted by higher
17education institutions to the Board of Higher Education in
18accordance with subsection (b). The Board of Higher Education
19shall ensure that the sexual misconduct climate survey data
20submitted by all institutions is available to the public in an
21easily accessible manner on the Board of Higher Education's
22website.
23    (i) Each higher education institution shall publish on the
24institution's website in an easily accessible manner:
25        (1) the campus level results of the survey;
26        (2) the annual security report required under the

 

 

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1    federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy
2    and Campus Crime Statistics Act;
3        (3) the reports required under Section 9.21 of the
4    Board of Higher Education Act; and
5        (4) a link to the Board of Higher Education's
6    statewide data on sexual misconduct climate survey data as
7    set forth in subsection (h).
8    (j) The Board of Higher Education shall establish rules
9and procedures, including deadlines for dissemination and
10collection of survey information, consistent with the purposes
11of this Section and shall promote effective solicitation to
12achieve the highest practical response rate, collection, and
13publication of statistical information gathered from higher
14education institutions.
15    (k) Upon determination, after reasonable notice and
16opportunity for a hearing, that a higher education institution
17has violated or failed to carry out any provision of this
18Section or any rule adopted under this Section, the Board of
19Higher Education may impose a civil penalty upon such
20institution not to exceed $50,000, which shall be adjusted for
21inflation annually, for each violation. The Board of Higher
22Education shall use any such civil penalty funds to provide
23oversight of this Section and to provide funding to community
24organizations that provide services to sexual assault victims.
25The Attorney General may bring an action in the circuit court
26to enforce the collection of any monetary penalty imposed

 

 

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1under this subsection (k).
 
2    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
3becoming law.