[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2947 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2947

    To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to 
   authorize the use of funds for the inclusion in domestic violence 
education programs of information on legal rights available to teenage 
                      victims of dating violence.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 16, 2005

    Ms. Millender-McDonald introduced the following bill; which was 
        referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to 
   authorize the use of funds for the inclusion in domestic violence 
education programs of information on legal rights available to teenage 
                      victims of dating violence.

    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 ``Teen Dating Violence Education Act 
of 2005''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Girls and women between the ages of 16 and 24 are the 
        most vulnerable to domestic violence, experiencing the highest 
        per capita rates of non-fatal intimate partner violence.
            (2) One third of teens report experiencing some kind of 
        abuse in their romantic relationships, including verbal and 
        emotional abuse.
            (3) Approximately 1 in 5 adolescent girls report being 
        physically or sexually hurt by a dating partner.
            (4) Forty percent of teenage girls ages 14 to 17 report 
        knowing someone their age who has been hit or beaten by a 
        boyfriend.
            (5) Twenty-six percent of girls in grades 9 to 12 have been 
        the victim of physical abuse, sexual abuse, or date rape.
            (6) Teenagers who are the victims of dating violence often 
        do not know the legal actions they can take to put an end to 
        the violence they are experiencing. These teenagers often do 
        not inquire into legal actions they can take because of the 
        perceived stigma of dating violence.

SEC. 3. INCLUSION IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE EDUCATION PROGRAMS OF 
              INFORMATION ON LEGAL RIGHTS AVAILABLE TO TEENAGE VICTIMS 
              OF DATING VIOLENCE.

    Paragraph (2) of section 5571(c) of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7275(c)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and are designed'' and inserting ``, are 
        designed''; and
            (2) by inserting ``, and include information specific to 
        the State involved regarding the legal rights available to 
        teenage victims of dating violence'' before the period.
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