SOS Campus Act
Latest action · Sep 11, 2017 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedSep 11, 2017
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Survivor Outreach and Support Campus Act or the SOS Campus Act
This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require each institution of higher education (IHE) that participates in a program under title IV (Student Assistance) to designate an independent advocate for campus sexual assault prevention and response with experience in providing sexual assault victim services.
Each advocate must:
- ensure that sexual assault victims at the IHE are able to receive, at their election, specified information and services;
- guide sexual assault victims who request assistance through the reporting, counseling, administrative, medical and health, academic accommodations, or legal processes of the IHE or local law enforcement;
- attend, at the request of a sexual assault victim, any administrative or IHE-based adjudication proceeding related to the assault as an advocate for the victim;
- maintain the privacy and confidentiality of the victim and any witness to the sexual assault and not notify the IHE or any other person of the identity of the victim or of any such witness or the alleged circumstances surrounding the reported sexual assault except as otherwise required by state law or, with respect to the identity of the victim or witness, with the consent of the victim or witness; and
- conduct a public information campaign to inform the students enrolled at the IHE of the existence of, contact information for, and services provided by the advocate.
In addition, the bill prohibits IHEs from retaliating against: (1) advocates for representing the interests of a student victims, or (2) student victims for reporting sexual assaults to advocates.
Cosponsors 19
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Sep 11, 2017 to Nov 14, 2018; 14 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-NH | Ann M. Kuster | Original | Sep 11, 2017 |
| D-CA | Barbara Lee | Original | Sep 11, 2017 |
| D-NH | Carol Shea-Porter | Original | Sep 11, 2017 |
| D-FL | Frederica S. Wilson | Original | Sep 11, 2017 |
| D-CA | Grace F. Napolitano | Original | Sep 11, 2017 |
| D-WI | Gwen Moore | Original | Sep 11, 2017 |
| D-NY | Jerrold Nadler | Original | Sep 11, 2017 |
| D-CA | Juan Vargas | Original | Sep 11, 2017 |
| D-CA | Judy Chu | Original | Sep 11, 2017 |
| D-CA | Mark Takano | Original | Sep 11, 2017 |
| D-IL | Raja Krishnamoorthi | Original | Sep 11, 2017 |
| D-MN | Richard M. Nolan | Original | Sep 11, 2017 |
| D-CT | Rosa L. DeLauro | Original | Sep 11, 2017 |
| D-OR | Suzanne Bonamici | Original | Sep 11, 2017 |
| D-CA | Julia Brownley | Sep 18, 2017 | |
| D-MA | Katherine M. Clark | Sep 18, 2017 | |
| D-TX | Sheila Jackson Lee | Sep 18, 2017 | |
| D-OR | Earl Blumenauer | Nov 30, 2017 | |
| D-TN | Steve Cohen | Nov 14, 2018 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Education and Workforce Committee | Referred Sep 11, 2017 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Sep 11, 2017Introduced in House
- Sep 11, 2017Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 163, no. 146, September 11, 2017, page H7223.
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 1490 | SOS Campus Act | Reintroduction of | Nov 16, 2015 |
| S 1801 | SOS Campus Act | Related bill | Sep 12, 2017 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education to have an independent advocate for campus sexual assault prevention and response.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- SOS Campus Act
- Survivor Outreach and Support Campus Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Education.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Sep 11, 2017Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.