110 HR 1829 IH: Student Protection U.S. House of Representatives 2007-03-29 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I 110th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 1829 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES March 29, 2007 Mr. Putnam introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To develop a national system of oversight of States for sexual misconduct in the elementary and secondary school system.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Student Protection Act.

2.

State oversight systems

(a)

Systems required

For fiscal year 2010 and each fiscal year thereafter, each State shall have in effect laws and policies that, as determined by the Secretary of Education, ensure the following: (1)Whenever an individual who is an educator has reason to believe that an incident has occurred in which an educator has committed an act of sexual misconduct against a student, the individual makes a report of that incident to the State as quickly as practicable, and within 48 hours whenever possible, and the individual is disciplined if the individual fails to do so. (2)The State has a single, statewide commission for receiving all reports made under paragraph (1). (3)The commission required by paragraph (2)— (A)has policies for investigating and reporting such incidents; and (B)has a toll-free number that can be used anonymously to make reports under paragraph (1). (4)Each incident with respect to which a report is made under paragraph (1) is investigated by individuals who have received training in investigating such incidents. (5)Whenever an educator is punished in any manner for an incident described in paragraph (1), the details of the educator, the punishment, and the incident are provided to the Secretary of Education. (b)

Noncompliance

If a State does not comply with subsection (a) for a fiscal year, the Secretary of Education may reduce by up to 5 percent the amounts the State would otherwise be allocated or awarded, or both, under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Amounts not allocated or awarded to a State for failure to comply with subsection (a) shall be allocated or awarded (as the case may be) to States that do comply with subsection (a).

3.

National database

The Secretary of Education shall maintain a national database of incidents that have occurred in which an educator has committed an act of sexual misconduct against a student. The database shall include, at a minimum, every detail provided by a State under section 2, and shall be available to the public.

4.

Report

The Secretary of Education shall, on an annual basis, submit to Congress a report on the activities carried out under this Act. The report shall identify each State that is in compliance, and each State that is not in compliance, with section 2(a).

5.

Definitions

In this Act: (1)The term educator means any individual who works for a State educational agency, local educational agency, or public school. (2)The term act of sexual misconduct means any sexual offense, sexual assault, sexual overture, or sexual communication.