HB 6374 — AN ACT CONCERNING SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES.

Sec.Public Act No.

21-81 9 of 11 Substitute House Bill No.

6374 Sec.

(b) Each institution of higher education shall include with the sexual sHB6374misconduct /climate Fileassessment No.a statement that (1) the identity of assessment respondents shall be confidential, (2) students should not disclose personally identifying information with their assessment responses, and (3) no assessment responses may be used as a basis of disciplinary action or legal proceeding.

748 sHB6374 File No.

748 misconduct climate assessment a statement that (1) the identity of assessment respondents shall be confidential, (2) students should not disclose personally identifying information with their assessment responses, and (3) no assessment responses may be used as a basis of disciplinary action or legal proceeding.

(f)Public NotAct later than October 1, 2015, and annually thereafter, each institution of higher education shall report to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to higher education, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, concerning, for the immediately preceding calendar year, (1) a copy of its most recent policies regarding sexual assault, stalking andintimate partnerviolence adoptedinaccordance withsubsection (b) of this section, or any revisions thereto, (2) a copy of its most recent concise written notification of the rights and options of a student or employee who reports or discloses an alleged violation of its sexual assault, stalking and intimate partner violence policy or policies required pursuant to subsection (e) of this section, (3) the number and type of sexual assault, stalking and intimate partner violence prevention, awareness and risk reduction programs at the institution, (4) the type of sexual assault, stalking and intimate partner violence sHB6374 / File No.

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7486374 (f) Not later than October 1, 2015, and annually thereafter, each institution of higher education shall report to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to higher education, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, concerning, for the immediately preceding calendar year, (1) a copy of its most recent policies regarding sexual assault, stalking andintimate partnerviolence adoptedinaccordance withsubsection (b) of this section, or any revisions thereto, (2) a copy of its most recent concise written notification of the rights and options of a student or employee who reports or discloses an alleged violation of its sexual assault, stalking and intimate partner violence policy or policies required pursuant to subsection (e) of this section, (3) the number and type of sexual assault, stalking and intimate partner violence prevention, awareness and risk reduction programs at the institution, (4) the type of sexual assault, stalking and intimate partner violence prevention and awareness campaigns held by the institution, (5) the number of incidences of sexual assault, stalking and intimate partner violence reported or disclosed to such institution, (6) the number of confidential or anonymous reports or disclosures to the institution of sexual assault, stalking and intimate partner violence, (7) the number of disciplinary cases at the institution related to sexual assault, stalking and intimate partner violence, [and] (8) the final outcome of all disciplinary cases at the institution related to sexual assault, stalking andintimate partnerviolence, including,but not limitedto,theoutcome of any appeals of such final outcome, to the extent reporting on such outcomes does not conflict with federal law, and (9) on a biennial basis, the summary results of the sexual misconduct climate assessment conducted by the institution pursuant to section 3 of this act.

ThisApproved actJune shall28, take2021 effectPublic asAct followsNo. and shall amend the following sections:

Section21-81 111 Julyof 1,11 2021 10a-55m(a) and (b) Sec.

2 July 1, 2021 New section Sec.

3 July 1, 2021 New section Sec.

4 July 1, 2021 10a-55m(f) sHB6374 / File No.

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748 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.

In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.

Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:

Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 22 $ FY 23 $ Legislative Mgmt.

GF - Potential Minimal Minimal Cost Board of Regents for Higher Various - None Up to Education Potential Cost 83,000 UConn Various - None None Potential Cost Note:

GF=General Fund;

Various=Various Municipal Impact:

None Explanation The bill results in a potential cost to the constituent units associated with the requirement for all institutions of higher education to survey all students every two years, beginning in FY 23, regarding sexual misconduct climate.

The cost is potential because it is dependent on the survey substance and implementation guidelines that will be determined by the legislative council established by the bill.

The University of Connecticut will have no survey costs in FY 23 due to preexisting plans but may bear costs in certain out years.

The bill also results in a minimal potential cost to the Office of Legislative Management in FY 22 and FY 23, associated with the council.

Section 2 of the bill establishes a Council on Sexual Misconduct Climate Surveys, which will be part of the legislative department.

The council members will be reimbursed for expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties.

This potential cost is anticipated to be minimal.

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748 By January 1, 2022, and every two years thereafter, the council will submit a report to the higher education committee including the data pointsthat eachinstitution'ssurvey must encompass,therecommended sexual misconduct climate surveys, and the recommended guidelines for survey implementation.

Section 3 of the bill requires each higher education institution to survey its students regarding sexual misconduct climate in FY 23 and every two years thereafter.

The potential cost of the surveys to the Board of Regents may reach approximately $83,000 in every survey year (FY 23 and every two years thereafter), based on past similar surveys carried out by a few state universities.

Forexample,CentralConnecticutStateUniversity(Central CSU) implemented a similar survey in 2020, including students, faculty, and staff.

The costs associated with the student survey totaled approximately $22,450, composed of $6,875 for the cost of using an established survey and platform, $5,500 in incentives to encourage completion, and $10,075 in staff time to prepare, market, and analyze thesurveyanditsresults.

ThesurveyusedbyCentralCSUhasaslightly lower cost for institutions with fewer students, resulting in estimated institution-based total costs for the four CSUs ranging from $19,950 to $22,450.

However, the cost is potential because if the council prescribes survey data points that are limited in scope, with no survey incentives included in the survey guidelines, then the universities may be able to integrate the sexual misconduct questions into existing survey efforts.

It is anticipated the community colleges (under the Board of Regents) will have no cost due to the bill as they will likely use current personnel and resources, including an online survey license and in-house research staff, to execute the survey.

The bill results in no fiscal impact to the University of Connecticut in FY 23 as the university was already planning to survey its students that year regarding sexual misconduct climate, using an American Association of Universities (AAU) survey.

The AAU survey is executed sHB6374 / File No.

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748 every four years;

therefore, the bill will result in no additional cost to UConn in mandated survey years that align with the AAU cycle (FY 23, FY 27, et cetera).

The estimated cost of the AAU survey is nearly $100,000, including completion incentives.

House "A" alters the original bill by changing the composition of the council established by the bill and makes a change to the bill's reporting requirements.

These changes have no fiscal impact.

The Out Years State Impact:

Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 24 $ FY 25 $ FY 26 $ Legislative GF - Potential Minimal Minimal Minimal Mgmt.

Cost Board of Regents Various - None Up to 83,000 None for Higher Potential Cost Education UConn Various - None Up to 10,000 None Potential Cost Note:

GF=General Fund;

Various=Various In odd-numbered out years, the Board of Regents will experience the same potential costs regarding survey administration as in FY 23, subject to inflation.

In FY 25 and other survey years that do not align with the AAU cycle, the University of Connecticut is considering using an existing survey with an estimated administration cost of approximately $10,000 (subject to inflation).

However, the cost is potential as whether this survey is used will depend in part on the parameters set by the Council.

The potential minimal costs to the Office of Legislative Management, associated with the council, continue into the out years.

Municipal Impact:

None sHB6374 / File No.

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748 OLR Bill Analysis sHB 6374 (as amended by House "A")* AN ACT CONCERNING SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES.

SUMMARY This bill makes various changes related to the handling of sexual misconduct (i.e., sexual assault, stalking, or intimate partner violence) at higher education institutions.

Principally, it:

1.

establishes a 20-member Council on Sexual Misconduct Climate Assessments and requires the council to report every two years to the Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee, starting by January 1, 2022;

2.

requires the council to, among other things, develop a list of data points for higher education institutions to collect using sexual misconduct climate assessments and establish guidelines for implementing the assessments;

3.

requires higher education institutions to, every two years, (a) conduct a sexual misconduct climate assessment and distribute it to enrolled students, starting by March 1, 2023, and (b) report to the Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee and higher education institutions on the assessment results;

and 4.

generally prohibits a higher education institution from taking disciplinary action against students or employees for violating the institution’s drug or alcohol policy, if they, in good faith and regardless of whether they were the alleged victim, report or disclose an alleged sexual misconduct incident that occurred sHB6374 / File No.

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748 during, or was connected to, the policy violation.

The bill also makes technical changes.

*House Amendment "A" (1) reduces the Council on Sexual Misconduct Climate Assessments membership from 22 to 20, (2) adds the sexual misconduct climate assessment survey results to the sexual misconduct information higher education institutions must submit under current law, and (3) makes technical and conforming changes.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

July 1, 2021 COUNCIL ON SEXUAL MISCONDUCT CLIMATE ASSESSMENTS Duties The bill establishes the Council on Sexual Misconduct Climate Assessments within the legislative department, and requires it to:

1.

develop a list of data points for higher education institutions to collect through student responses to sexual misconduct climate assessments, including (a) student awareness of institutional sexual misconduct policies and procedures;

(b) the response to, and results of, a student’s reported sexual misconduct to the institution or law enforcement and (c) student perceptions of campus safety;

2.

recommend one or more sexual misconduct climate assessments that collect the data points the council identified;

3.

recommend assessment implementation guidelines, including procedures for (a) achieving a high response rate to ensure statistical accuracy, (b) protecting respondents’ confidentiality, and (c) receiving responses from the most broad and diverse segment of the student population possible;

and 4.

perform other acts necessary and appropriate to carry out required duties.

Membership sHB6374 / File No.

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748 Under the bill, the council’s 20 members include the (1) Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee co-chairpersons and (2) public health commissioner, (3) UConn president, and (4) Every Voice Coalition of Connecticut staff director, or their designees.

The council also includes four appointed members and 11 designated members, as shown in Table 1 below.

Appointed and designated members may be legislators.

Table 1:

Appointed and Designated Council Members Appointed Members Appointing Authority Number of Qualifications Appointees House speaker One Expert in developing and designing sexual misconduct climate assessments Senate president pro One Expert in statistics, data tempore analytics, or econometrics related to higher education assessments House minority leader One Representative of the Victim Rights Center of Connecticut Senate minority leader One Title IX coordinator at a Connecticut higher education institution Designated Members Board of Regents for Higher Two One representative each from the Education Connecticut State University System and the regional community-technical college system Connecticut Conference of One Representative of a Connecticut Independent Colleges independent higher education institution Connecticut Alliance to End Three Two sexual assault or intimate Sexual Violence partner violence victims, one each who lives in a rural and urban community in Connecticut At least one designee must be a person who is black, indigenous, sHB6374 / File No.

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748 or a person of color Connecticut Coalition Against A victim of intimate partner One Domestic Violence violence True Colors, Inc.

One A person who identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer Every Voice Coalition of Three One public higher education Connecticut institution student One independent higher education student At least one student who is black, indigenous, or a person of color The bill requires appointing and designating authorities to make their appointments by September 1, 2021, and fill any vacancies within days.

A vacancy that occurs other than when a term expires must be filled for the balance of the term.

Under the bill, members serve four-year terms, except for initial appointments, which terminate on June 30, 2026.

Members may serve more than one term and must continue to serve until their successors are appointed or designated.

Council members are not paid but may be reimbursed for necessary expenses, within available funds.

Meetings and Procedures The bill requires the Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee co-chairpersons to select the chairperson from among the council’s members.

The chairperson must schedule the first meeting, which must be held by September 1, 2021.

After that, the council must meet upon the call of the chairperson or a majority of council members.

Appointed or designated members who fail to attend three consecutive meetings, or 50% of all meetings held in any calendar year, are deemed to have resigned from the council.

Under the bill, a majority of members constitutes a quorum to sHB6374 / File No.

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The Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee’s administrative staff serve as the council’s administrative staff.

Reporting Requirements Starting by January 1, 2022, the bill requires the council to report every two years to the Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee and each Connecticut higher education institution on the (1) list of data points it developed and (2) recommended sexual misconduct climate assessments and guidelines for their implementation.

SEXUAL MISCONDUCT CLIMATE ASSESSMENT The bill requires each Connecticut higher education institution, by March 1, 2023, and every two years after that, to (1) conduct a sexual misconduct climate assessment that collects the data points the council develops and (2) distribute the assessment to each enrolled student in accordance with the council’s recommended guidelines.

Assessment Requirements The bill allows an institution to use any sexual misconduct climate assessment, including one recommended by the council or developed by a higher education institution or a national association, provided it collects all data points the council developed.

It requires each higher education institution to include with the assessment a statement that the (1) respondents’ identities are confidential, (2) students should not disclose personally identifying information with their responses, and (3) responses cannot be used as a basis for a disciplinary action or legal proceeding.

Disclosure Requirements The bill requires each higher education institution, starting within six months after distributing the biennial assessment described above, to post on its website:

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the assessment’s campus-level results;

2.

the uniform campus crime report required under existing law;

and 3.

an Internet link to the sexual assault, stalking, and intimate partner violence report it submits to the committee on the assessment results.

(See below).

Existing law requires each higher education institution to annually submit certain information about sexual assault, stalking, and intimate partner violence to the Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee.

This information must include, among other things, (1) a copy of its most recent policies on sexual assault, stalking, and intimate partner violence;

(2) a copy of its most recent notification about the rights and options of a student or employee who reports or disclosesanallegedviolationofitsrequiredsexualassault,stalking,and intimate partner violence policy or policies;

and (3) the number of incidences of sexual assault, stalking, and intimate partner violence reported and disclosed to the institution.

The bill adds the sexual misconduct climate assessment summary results to this list and requires institutions to submit them every two years.

INSTITUTIONAL DRUG AND ALCOHOL POLICY VIOLATIONS AND ALLEGED INCIDENTS OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT The bill prohibits a higher education institution from taking disciplinary action against a student or employee for violating the institution’s drug or alcohol policy if (1) he or she reports an alleged incident of sexual assault, stalking, or intimate partner violence that occurred during, or was connected to, the policy violation and (2) the policy violation did not place another person’s health or safety at risk.

COMMITTEE ACTION Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee sHB6374 / File No.

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748 Joint Favorable Substitute Yea 22 Nay 0 (03/18/2021) sHB6374 / File No.

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