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Today, Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), along with U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (IA), and Congressman Ro Khanna (CA-17), announced the reintroduction of the bipartisan and bicameral Campus Accountability and Safety Act. This legislation aims to combat sexual assault on college and university campuses by improving how institutions address and report incidents of sexual assault. The bill seeks to protect both survivors and accused students by ensuring a uniform and fair process for investigating and conducting campus disciplinary proceedings. It also proposes new resources and support services for survivors, along with notification requirements for both parties involved in the campus disciplinary process.

“Sexual assault on college campuses continues to be a crisis that demands our immediate action. And, as with all crimes, weak enforcement and insufficient accountability only embolden perpetrators to act with impunity. This bipartisan, bicameral legislation is a commitment to our students that we are taking action: action to ensure their safety and action to hold our educational institutions accountable by transforming how sexual assault and violence are handled and addressed. By demanding greater transparency, enforcing stringent accountability measures, and providing essential resources and support to victims, we can eliminate the toxic culture of inaction that has plagued our campuses for too long and create a safer environment for our students,” said Congressman Fitzpatrick.

“Our bill is a coordinated approach to addressing incidents of sexual assault on college campuses. It would inform university protocols for handling reports while also strengthening recovery resources for survivors and empowering them to know their rights,” said Senator Grassley. “Inconsistent enforcement mechanisms are failing to treat the crime of sexual assault with the seriousness it deserves. Congress ought to act swiftly on this bipartisan legislation to change that.”

“Sexual assault on college campuses remains a major and pervasive problem, but Congress has not taken the necessary action to address it,” said Senator Gillibrand. “The bipartisan Campus Accountability and Safety Act would reform how institutions of higher learning address and report incidents of sexual assault and would dedicate new resources to survivors. This important measure would increase accountability and ensure a fair process for campus disciplinary action.”

“One in five women and one in sixteen men experience sexual assault on college campuses. Due to stigma and complex systems, many survivors don’t report sexual violence, much less pursue justice through their university’s system, and many perpetrators are never held accountable,” said Congressman Khanna. “I’m proud to lead this bipartisan bill with my colleagues to increase transparency, provide resources for survivors, and reduce barriers in the reporting process.”

Specifically, the Campus Accountability and Safety Act will:

- Increase transparency under the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy by mandating that institutions' websites include campus safety policies, an annual security report, instructions for filing complaints, and statistics of sexual misconduct allegations.

- Create specialists at each institution to serve as confidential aides for victims.

- Ensure these specialists receive training created by the Department of Education.

- Protect individuals who report sexual misconduct from being punished for related physical violence or substance use revealed by their report.

- Expand the VAWA Campus Grant Program to address sexual harassment.

- Require a study on VAWA grants' effectiveness with a report submitted to Congress within two years of enactment.

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