What's happening
This bill requires SUNY and CUNY schools to document and publicly report campus sexual assault complaints, surveys, and compliance, with penalties for noncompliance.
Why it matters
Mandates specialized staff. Requires each SUNY and CUNY institution to appoint or designate a staff member (with a bachelor's in nursing, psychology, or social work) specifically to manage compliance with federal sexual assault laws and to oversee the new reporting processes, signaling a push for more expertise and accountability in handling these sensitive issues.
Creates public accountability. Demands that campuses build and maintain a searchable, publicly accessible online database tracking the status of all sexual assault complaints, investigations, and resolutions—making these processes more transparent and subject to public scrutiny.
Standardizes and increases data collection. Directs SUNY and CUNY systems to develop and administer anonymous, standardized mid-semester surveys about on-campus sexual assault, aiming to collect more consistent, comprehensive data across all campuses and potentially reveal the scope of underreported incidents.
Ties compliance to funding (with safeguards). Enforces these requirements by threatening to suspend state administrative and operations funding for noncompliant institutions, but explicitly protects funding for student services and faculty salaries—balancing institutional accountability with safeguards for students and faculty.
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Who cares
SUNY and CUNY campus administrators
Institutions would have to designate a qualified employee to coordinate federal compliance and manage a searchable complaint-status database, or risk suspension of state administrative and operations funding.
SUNY and CUNY students
Students would gain online access to complaint-status databases, and campuses would administer anonymous surveys of on-campus sexual assault each mid-semester.
SUNY and CUNY chancellors
Each chancellor would have to develop a standardized, anonymous sexual assault survey for institutions in their system.
Campus employees trained in nursing, psychology or social work
Each institution would have to designate an employee with at least a bachelor's degree in one of these fields to handle the new compliance and database responsibilities.
Headline styles
Track Campus Sexual Assault
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
9 Co-sponsors
3 Multi-sponsors
History
- Referred to higher education
- Referred to higher education
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Track Campus Sexual Assaults
In Senate Committee · Higher Education · Sponsor Kevin S. Parker
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
5839
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 16, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. WALKER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Higher Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to documenting campus sexual assault and related complaints at SUNY and CUNY institutions
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 6433 of the education law, as added by chapter 597 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows:
§ 6433. Campus crime reporting and statistics. 1. Each college that receives state aid shall indicate in their campus catalog, student handbook and viewbook how to access the campus crime statistics that are filed annually with the United States Department of Education as required under Title 20 of the U.S. Code Section 1092(f). Every campus catalog, student handbook and viewbook shall state that "The Advisory Committee on Campus Safety will provide upon request all campus crime statistics as reported to the United States Department of Education."
The information in the campus catalog, student handbook and viewbook shall include the United States Department of Education's web site address for campus crime statistics and a campus phone number for a designated college campus contact who is authorized to provide such statistics for that college. Whenever an individual requests such campus crime statistics, the college shall provide a hard copy mailed to the individual within ten days of the request and that information will include all of the statistics that the campus is required to ascertain under Title 20 of the U.S. Code Section 1092(f).
2. The president or chief administrative officer of each college shall, working with the advisory committee on campus safety, take steps to inform students and prospective students of the existence of the campus crime statistics on an annual basis and other campus safety policies and procedures of the school.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06171-01-7
A. 5839 2
3. The president or administrative officer of each SUNY and CUNY institution shall appoint or designate an employee with at least a bachelor's degree in nursing, psychology or social work who shall be responsible for coordinating compliance with title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. section 1681, et. seq.) and title 20 of the U.S. Code Section 1092(f), and creating and/or managing a searchable database cataloguing the status of all complaints, reviews, investigations, and resolutions brought to such institution's attention under these provisions. Such database shall be made available on the student life web page of every SUNY and CUNY institution, and shall be accessible by an active link from such institution's home page between September first and May first of each year.
4. The chancellor of the state university of New York shall develop a standardized, anonymous survey of incidences of on-campus sexual assault that shall be distributed to each SUNY institution and shall be administered by such institutions each mid-semester. For the purposes of this subdivision, "sexual assault" shall mean any sex offense in article one hundred thirty of the penal law.
5. The chancellor of the city university of New York shall develop a standardized, anonymous survey of incidences of on-campus sexual assault that shall be distributed to each CUNY institution and shall be administered by such institutions each mid-semester. For the purposes of this subdivision, "sexual assault" shall mean any sex offense in article one hundred thirty of the penal law.
6. Failure of a SUNY or CUNY institution to comply with the provisions of this section shall result in the suspension of administrative and operations funds contributed by the state provided, however, that in no case shall such suspension result in a reduction or in any way affect the portion of such institution's budget allocated for student services and all faculty salary.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.