Sponsors (157)
The bill strengthens campus anti-harassment protections, supports prevention and services with federal funding and reporting requirements, but increases costs, administrative burdens, privacy risks, and legal complexity for institutions, taxpayers, and affected individuals.
Students (and campus communities) will receive clearer required policies, timely procedures, mandatory incident tracking, and expanded prevention/counseling/redress services, improving campus safety, support, and transparency.
Colleges and universities gain sustained federal funding certainty ($50M/year authorized through FY2026–2031), enabling multi-year program planning and implementation of anti-harassment programs.
Faculty and staff (and thereby students) can receive grant-funded trainings and implementation support to recognize and prevent harassment, which can reduce incidents and improve campus climate.
Colleges and universities will face new administrative and compliance costs (policy development, tracking, reporting, legal readiness) that could strain institutional budgets and resources.
Taxpayers will bear roughly $300 million in authorized spending over six years (the $50M/year authorization), which could divert federal funds from other priorities.
Public reporting of harassment patterns and incidents risks privacy harms for accused individuals and victims if data are not carefully redacted and protected.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Requires HEA-participating institutions to report anti-harassment policies covering electronic harassment and creates a $50M/year grant program to improve campus anti-harassment efforts (FY2026–FY2031).
Requires most colleges and universities that participate in federal higher-education programs to include an anti-harassment policy and reporting information in their annual institutional reports, including protections for harassment conducted by electronic means, and to designate staff to receive and track reports. Creates a competitive grant program (eligible institutions, nonprofit partners, and consortia) to create, expand, or improve campus anti-harassment programs and authorizes $50 million per year for FY2026–FY2031 to support those grants. The Department of Education must evaluate grantees, publish best practices, and report results to Congress, while preserving existing rights and remedies under Title VI, Title IX, the ADA, and related civil-rights laws.
Introduced September 18, 2025 by Mark Pocan · Last progress September 18, 2025