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2015 SESSION

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HB 1930 Higher educational institutions; review committees, reporting of acts of sexual violence, report.

Introduced by: Robert B. Bell | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles | history

SUMMARY AS ENACTED WITH GOVERNOR'S RECOMMENDATION:

Institutions of higher education; reporting acts of sexual violence. Requires any responsible employee of a public or private nonprofit institution of higher education who in the course of his employment obtains information that an act of sexual violence has been committed against a student or on campus property or other property related to the institution to report such information to the Title IX coordinator for the institution as soon as practicable. The bill requires the Title IX coordinator to report such information to a review committee, which shall meet within 72 hours of the receipt of information of an alleged act of sexual violence and which shall include the Title IX coordinator, a representative of law enforcement, and a student affairs representative. If the review committee determines that disclosure of the information regarding the alleged act of sexual violence is necessary to protect the health and safety of the victim or other individuals, the representative of law enforcement on the review committee shall disclose the information, including personally identifiable information, to the law-enforcement agency responsible for investigating the alleged act. In cases involving a felony sexual assault, the representative of law enforcement on the review committee, or in certain situations, another committee member, shall consult with the local attorney for the Commonwealth or other prosecutor responsible for prosecuting the alleged act of sexual violence.

The bill requires the governing board of each public or private nonprofit institution of higher education to (i) establish a written memorandum of understanding with a local sexual assault crisis center or other victim support service and (ii) adopt policies to provide victims with information on contacting such center or service. The bill requires each public or private nonprofit institution of higher education to annually certify to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia that it has reviewed its sexual violence policy. Finally, the bill requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to monitor the impact the legislation will have on the workload of local victim witness programs and report its findings to the Chairmen of the House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice by October 1, 2016. This bill is identical to SB 712.

SUMMARY AS PASSED:

Institutions of higher education; reporting acts of sexual violence. Requires any responsible employee of a public or private nonprofit institution of higher education who in the course of his employment obtains information that an act of sexual violence has been committed against a student or on campus property or other property related to the institution to report such information to the Title IX coordinator for the institution as soon as practicable. The bill requires the Title IX coordinator to report such information to a review committee, which shall meet within 72 hours of the receipt of information of an alleged act of sexual violence and which shall include the Title IX coordinator, a representative of law enforcement, and a student affairs representative. If the review committee determines that disclosure of the information regarding the alleged act of sexual violence is necessary to protect the health and safety of the victim or other individuals, the Title IX coordinator shall disclose the information, including personally identifiable information, to the law-enforcement agency responsible for investigating the alleged act. In cases involving a felony sexual assault, the representative of law enforcement on the review committee, or in certain situations, another committee member, shall consult with the local attorney for the Commonwealth.

The bill requires the governing board of each public or private nonprofit institution of higher education to (i) establish a written memorandum of understanding with a local sexual assault crisis center or other victim support service and (ii) adopt policies to provide victims with information on contacting such center or service. The bill requires each public or private nonprofit institution of higher education to annually certify to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia that it has reviewed its sexual violence policy. Finally, the bill requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to monitor the impact the legislation will have on the workload of local victim witness programs and report its findings to the Chairmen of the House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice by October 1, 2016. This bill is identical to SB 712.

SUMMARY AS PASSED HOUSE:

Institutions of higher education; reporting acts of sexual violence. Requires any responsible employee of a public or private nonprofit institution of higher education who in the course of his employment obtains information that an act of sexual violence has been committed against a student or on campus property or other property related to the institution to report such information to the Title IX coordinator for the institution as soon as practicable. The bill requires the Title IX coordinator to report such information to a review committee, which shall meet within 72 hours of the receipt of information of an alleged act of sexual violence and which shall include the Title IX coordinator, a representative of law enforcement, and a student affairs representative. At the conclusion of the review committee meeting, the Title IX coordinator shall disclose the information regarding the alleged act of sexual violence, including personally identifiable information, to the law-enforcement agency responsible for investigating the alleged act and the representative of law enforcement on the review committee shall consult with the local attorney for the Commonwealth in cases involving a felony sexual assault. The bill also requires the governing board of each public or private institution of higher education to (i) establish a written memorandum of understanding with a local sexual assault crisis center or other victim support service and (ii) adopt policies to provide victims with information on contacting such center or service.

SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:

Institutions of higher education; response to violence; penalty. Requires the protocols and policies for sexual assault response teams to include the campus and community response to criminal sexual assaults and violent felonies committed on the campus of any institution of higher education in the locality. The bill requires any faculty member or administrator of a public institution of higher education who through the course of his employment obtains information alleging that a violent felony has been committed to report such information to the attorney for the Commonwealth or the law-enforcement agency serving the locality in which the alleged violation occurred, with certain exceptions. The bill provides that a person in violation of the reporting requirement is subject to a civil penalty of $500 for the first violation and not more than $1,000 for each subsequent violation. The bill requires the governing board of each public or private institution of higher education to (i) establish a written memorandum of understanding with a local sexual assault crisis center or other victim support service and (ii) adopt policies to provide victims with information on contacting such center or service. The bill requires all persons appointed and employed as campus police officers or as members of auxiliary forces at an institution of higher education to receive training in trauma-informed response, interviewing, and investigation of alleged criminal sexual assaults committed on campus. The bill also requires that mutual aid agreements between a campus police force and law-enforcement agencies contain provisions requiring either the campus police force or an agency with which it has established a mutual aid agreement to notify the local attorney for the Commonwealth of any complaint or investigation involving a violent felony.