Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act of 2025

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5486 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5486

  To prevent harassment at institutions of higher education, and for
                            other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 18, 2025

 Mr. Pocan (for himself, Mr. Amo, Ms. Ansari, Ms. Balint, Mrs. Beatty,
Mr. Bell, Ms. Brownley, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Ms. Castor of Florida,
Mr. Cohen, Ms. Craig, Ms. Crockett, Ms. Davids of Kansas, Mr. Davis of
 Illinois, Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania, Ms. DelBene, Mr. DeSaulnier, Mrs.
 Dingell, Mr. Doggett, Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania, Mr. Foster, Ms. Lois
Frankel of Florida, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mr. Garcia of California, Mr.
   Goldman of New York, Mr. Horsford, Mr. Huffman, Ms. Jayapal, Mr.
Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Keating, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr. Kennedy of
New York, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Mr.
    Lynch, Mr. Magaziner, Mrs. McClain Delaney, Ms. McClellan, Ms.
   McCollum, Mr. McGarvey, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Morelle, Mr.
 Moskowitz, Mr. Mrvan, Ms. Norton, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Mr. Panetta, Ms.
    Pingree, Mr. Quigley, Mrs. Ramirez, Mr. Ryan, Ms. Salinas, Ms.
    Schakowsky, Ms. Scholten, Ms. Sherrill, Ms. Simon, Mr. Smith of
 Washington, Mr. Subramanyam, Mr. Swalwell, Mr. Takano, Mr. Thanedar,
Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Tonko, Ms. Velazquez, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Williams
   of Georgia, Mrs. McBath, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mrs. McIver, Ms.
Underwood, and Mr. Gottheimer) introduced the following bill; which was
          referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

  To prevent harassment at institutions of higher education, and for
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Tyler Clementi Higher Education
Anti-Harassment Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. INSTITUTIONAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE INFORMATION FOR
              STUDENTS.

    Section 485(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1092(f)) is amended--
            (1) by striking the subsection heading and inserting
        ``Disclosure of Campus Security and Harassment Policy and
        Campus Crime Statistics.'';
            (2) in paragraph (6)(A)--
                    (A) by redesignating clauses (iii), (iv), and (v)
                as clauses (vi), (vii), and (viii), respectively; and
                    (B) by inserting after clause (ii) the following:
            ``(iii) The term `commercial mobile service' has the
        meaning given the term in section 332(d) of the Communications
        Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332(d)).
            ``(iv) The term `electronic communication' means any
        transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, or data of
        any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio,
        electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photooptical system.
            ``(v) The term `electronic messaging services' has the
        meaning given the term in section 102 of the Communications
        Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (47 U.S.C. 1001).'';
            (3) by redesignating paragraphs (9) through (18) as
        paragraphs (10) through (19), respectively; and
            (4) by inserting after paragraph (8) the following:
    ``(9)(A) Each institution of higher education participating in any
program under this title, other than a foreign institution of higher
education, shall develop and distribute as part of the report described
in paragraph (1)--
            ``(i) a statement of policy regarding harassment on the
        basis of a student's actual or perceived race, color, national
        origin, sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity,
        pregnancy, childbirth, a medical condition related to pregnancy
        or childbirth, a sex stereotype, and sex characteristics,
        including intersex traits), disability, or religion, which
        shall include--
                    ``(I) a prohibition of such harassment of enrolled
                students by other students, faculty, and staff--
                            ``(aa) on campus;
                            ``(bb) in noncampus buildings or on
                        noncampus property;
                            ``(cc) on public property;
                            ``(dd) in dormitories or other residential
                        facilities for students on campus;
                            ``(ee) through the use of electronic mail
                        addresses issued by the institution of higher
                        education;
                            ``(ff) through the use of computers and
                        communication networks, including any
                        telecommunications service, owned, operated, or
                        contracted for use by the institution of higher
                        education or its agents; or
                            ``(gg) during an activity sponsored by the
                        institution of higher education or carried out
                        with the use of resources provided by the
                        institution of higher education;
                    ``(II) a prohibition of such harassment that is
                carried out in whole or in part through the use of
                electronic messaging services, commercial mobile
                services, electronic communications, or other
                technology;
                    ``(III) a description of the institution's programs
                to combat harassment, which shall be aimed at the
                prevention of harassment;
                    ``(IV) a description of the procedures that a
                student should follow if an incident of harassment
                occurs; and
                    ``(V) a description of the procedures that the
                institution will follow once an incident of harassment
                has been reported; and
            ``(ii) a detailed description of each occasion in which a
        pattern of harassment occurs based on one or more of the
        characteristics described in clause (i) and the actions taken
        by the institution of higher education.
    ``(B) The statement of policy described in subparagraph (A)(i)
shall address the following areas:
            ``(i) Procedures for timely institutional action in cases
        of alleged harassment, which procedures shall include a clear
        statement that the accuser and the accused shall be informed of
        the outcome of any disciplinary proceedings in response to an
        allegation of harassment.
            ``(ii) Possible sanctions to be imposed following the final
        determination of an institutional disciplinary procedure
        regarding harassment.
            ``(iii) Notification of existing counseling, mental health,
        or student and employee services for victims or perpetrators of
        harassment, both on campus and in the community.
            ``(iv) Identification of a designated employee or office at
        the institution that will be responsible for receiving and
        tracking each report of harassment by a student, faculty, or
        staff member.''.

SEC. 3. ANTI-HARASSMENT COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
                    (A) an institution of higher education, including
                an institution of higher education in a collaborative
                partnership with a nonprofit organization; or
                    (B) a consortium of institutions of higher
                education located in the same State.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
        of Education.
    (b) Program Authorized.--The Secretary is authorized to award
grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to enable eligible
entities to carry out the authorized activities described in subsection
(d).
    (c) Amount of Grant Awards.--The Secretary shall ensure that each
grant awarded under this section is of sufficient amount to enable the
grantee to meet the purpose of this section.
    (d) Authorized Activities.--An eligible entity that receives a
grant under this section shall use the funds made available through the
grant to address harassment on the basis of one or more of the
characteristics described in section 485(f)(9)(A)(i) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(f)(9)(A)(i)), as amended by
section 2 of this Act, by initiating, expanding, or improving
programs--
            (1) to prevent the harassment of students at institutions
        of higher education;
            (2) at institutions of higher education that provide
        counseling or redress services to students who have suffered
        such harassment or students who have been accused of subjecting
        other students to such harassment; or
            (3) that educate or train students, faculty, or staff of
        institutions of higher education about ways to recognize and
        prevent harassment or ways to address such harassment if it
        occurs.
    (e) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this
section, an eligible entity shall submit an application to the
Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such
information, as the Secretary may require.
    (f) Duration; Renewal.--A grant under this section shall be awarded
for a period of not more than 3 years. The Secretary may renew a grant
under this section for one additional period of not more than 2 years.
    (g) Award Considerations.--In awarding a grant under this section,
the Secretary shall select eligible entities that demonstrate the
greatest need for a grant and the greatest potential benefit from
receipt of a grant.
    (h) Report and Evaluation.--
            (1) Evaluation and report to the secretary.--Not later than
        6 months after the end of the eligible entity's grant period,
        the eligible entity shall--
                    (A) evaluate the effectiveness of the activities
                carried out with the use of funds awarded pursuant to
                this section; and
                    (B) prepare and submit to the Secretary a report on
                the results of the evaluation conducted by the entity.
            (2) Evaluation and report to congress.--Not later than 12
        months after the date of receipt of the first report submitted
        pursuant to paragraph (1) and annually thereafter, the
        Secretary shall provide to the Committee on Health, Education,
        Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on
        Education and Workforce of the House of Representatives a
        report that includes the following:
                    (A) The number and types of eligible entities
                receiving assistance under this section.
                    (B) The anti-harassment programs being implemented
                with assistance under this section and the costs of
                such programs.
                    (C) Any other information determined by the
                Secretary to be useful in evaluating the overall
                effectiveness of the program established under this
                section in decreasing incidents of harassment at
                institutions of higher education.
            (3) Best practices report.--The Secretary shall use the
        information provided under paragraph (1) to publish a report of
        evidence-based best practices for combating harassment at
        institutions of higher education, which shall be based on
        scientific research that meets nationally recognized standards.
        The report shall be made available to all institutions of
        higher education and other interested parties.
    (i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $50,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2026 through 2031.

SEC. 4. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to invalidate or limit
rights, remedies, procedures, or legal standards available under any
other Federal law or law of a State or political subdivision of a
State, including title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C.
2000d et seq.), title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C.
1681 et seq.), section 504 or 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29
U.S.C. 794, 794a), or the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42
U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). The obligations imposed by this Act are in
addition to those imposed by title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
(42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
(20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
(29 U.S.C. 794), and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42
U.S.C. 12101 et seq.).
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