99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
HB5624

 

Introduced , by Rep. Jeanne M Ives

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the College Safety Act. Provides that if an institution of higher education receives an allegation of sexual violence, along with written consent to proceed from the alleged victim, the institution shall immediately report and refer the allegation to the law enforcement agency of the unit of local government with jurisdiction to respond to such allegations in the location of the institution, but not later than 48 hours after receiving written consent from the alleged victim, unless the alleged victim provides a written notification to the institution that the individual does not want the allegation to be investigated by a law enforcement agency, in which case the institution may not initiate or otherwise carry out any institutional disciplinary proceeding with respect to the allegation if the individual includes in the notification a statement that the individual understands the effects of providing the notification. Sets forth provisions concerning restrictions on institutional disciplinary proceedings during the period of the law enforcement investigation, an institution's imposition of interim sanctions, a safe harbor for students who report an allegation, and civil remedies.


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A BILL FOR

 

HB5624LRB099 16498 NHT 40834 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 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5College Safety Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions.
7    "Allegation" means an allegation of sexual violence.
8    "Institution" means a higher education institution as
9defined in the Preventing Sexual Violence in Higher Education
10Act.
11    "Sexual violence" has the meaning ascribed to that term in
12the Preventing Sexual Violence in Higher Education Act.
 
13    Section 10. Referral of allegations.
14    (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this Section,
15if an institution receives an allegation, along with written
16consent to proceed from the alleged victim, the institution
17shall immediately report and refer the allegation to the law
18enforcement agency of the unit of local government with
19jurisdiction to respond to such allegations in the location of
20the institution, but not later than 48 hours after receiving
21written consent from the alleged victim.
22    (b) Subsection (a) of this Section does not apply if the

 

 

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1individual who is the alleged victim of an act of sexual
2violence included in the allegation provides a written
3notification to the institution that the individual does not
4want the allegation to be investigated by a law enforcement
5agency.
6    If an individual provides a notification to the institution
7under this subsection (b) with respect to an allegation, the
8institution may not initiate or otherwise carry out any
9institutional disciplinary proceeding with respect to the
10allegation, including imposing interim measures described in
11Section 20 of this Act, but only if the individual includes in
12the notification a statement that the individual understands
13the effect under this subsection (b) of providing the
14notification.
 
15    Section 15. Restrictions on institutional disciplinary
16proceedings during period of law enforcement investigation.
17    (a) During the period in which a law enforcement agency is
18investigating an allegation reported by an institution under
19Section 10 of this Act, the institution may not initiate or
20otherwise carry out any institutional disciplinary proceeding
21with respect to the allegation, except to the extent that the
22institution may impose interim sanctions under Section 20 of
23this Act.
24    (b) For purposes of this Section and Section 20 of this
25Act, the period in which a law enforcement agency is

 

 

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1investigating an allegation reported under Section 10 of this
2Act shall be considered the 30-day period beginning on the date
3on which the institution reported the allegation to the agency,
4together with any subsequent 30-day period for which the agency
5notifies the institution that it is continuing to investigate
6the allegation and that the public interest is best served by
7preventing the institution from beginning its own
8investigation and disciplinary proceeding.
9    (c) For purposes of satisfying any federally prescribed
10time period for an institution to complete an adjudication of
11an allegation to which this Section applies, the time period
12shall be deemed to begin upon the expiration of the period in
13which the law enforcement agency is investigating the
14allegation, in accordance with this Section.
15    (d) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this Section, if an
16institution operates an accredited public safety department
17that employs sworn officers, such department may carry out
18investigative functions with respect to an allegation provided
19to a law enforcement agency under Section 10 of this Act if
20authorized to do so by the law enforcement agency.
 
21    Section 20. Permitting institution to impose interim
22sanctions.
23    (a) During the period in which a law enforcement agency is
24investigating an allegation reported by an institution under
25Section 10 of this Act, the institution may impose interim

 

 

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1sanctions against the subject of the allegation with respect to
2the allegation, including temporary suspensions, no contact
3orders, adjustments of class schedules, or changes in housing
4assignments, and carry out investigations and adjudications
5with respect to the imposition of such sanctions, but only if
6the institution determines that the imposition of such a
7sanction is a reasonable measure to promote campus safety and
8student well-being.
9    (b) Subject to subsection (c) of this Section, if the
10subject of an allegation is a student, an institution may
11impose a temporary suspension for a period of not more than 15
12days as an interim sanction under this Section and may extend
13the suspension for additional periods of not more than 30 days
14per period if, pursuant to a hearing for each such additional
15period, the institution finds that extension is necessary
16because the student poses an immediate threat to campus safety
17and student well-being.
18    If the subject of an allegation is a student organization,
19an institution may impose a temporary suspension for a period
20of not more than 10 days on the operations of the organization
21as an interim sanction under this Section, but only if the
22institution determines that the organization has engaged in an
23activity that presents a significant risk to the health and
24physical safety of campus community members and that the
25imposition of the suspension is not done merely for punitive
26purposes.

 

 

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1    (c) An interim sanction imposed under this Section with
2respect to an allegation shall terminate upon the expiration of
3the period in which a law enforcement agency is investigating
4the allegation as described in Section 15 of this Act, except
5that if an indictment has been issued with respect to the
6allegation and the subject of the allegation is a student, the
7institution may continue the sanction, including a temporary
8suspension the duration of which would otherwise be limited
9under subsection (b) of this Section, until the completion of
10the case or the completion of any sentence imposed.
11    (d) In addition to the period described in subsection (b)
12of Section 15 of this Act, an institution may not impose an
13interim sanction under this Section with respect to an
14allegation during any period for which the alleged victim and
15the law enforcement agency that is investigating the allegation
16submit a joint request to the institution to not impose such an
17interim sanction.
 
18    Section 25. Safe harbor. An institution that is subject to
19this Act may not impose a sanction on a student who is a victim
20of or a bystander witness to an act of sexual violence on the
21grounds that the student engaged in conduct prohibited under
22the institution's code of conduct (other than violent conduct)
23if the institution learned that the student engaged in such
24conduct as part of a report of an allegation that was made in
25good faith by the student to an agent of the institution.
 

 

 

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1    Section 30. No effect on civil remedies. Nothing in this
2Act may be construed to limit the authority of any person to
3seek a civil remedy in a court of competent jurisdiction with
4respect to any allegation.