A new law went into effect Jan. 1 under Texas Senate Bill 212 that requires all employees at Texas universities to report any incidents of sexual harassment, assault, stalking, or dating violence. Employees who fail to report an incident may be fired and face criminal charges.
Prior to the law being passed, some Texas universities had a specific list of employees who were responsible for reporting any alleged assaults. This law bridges that gap and now holds all college employees at universities responsible for following proper procedures.
Any employee who does not make a report could be charged with a class A misdemeanor, meaning up to a year in prison and a fine up to $4,000, or a class B misdemeanor, resulting in a $2,000 fine and up to 180 days in jail.
Texas universities as a whole are also being held responsible, and if they do not comply, a report will be filed, and the university could face a fine up to $2 million.
“The days when an outcry went unheard, unreported, or covered up are over in the state of Texas, and I want to thank all of the survivors and stakeholders who’ve worked to help make this bill possible,” said Texas Senator Joan Huffman, R-Houston, in a press statement released March 26, 2019, when SB212 was passed.
With the new law in place, here is what it means for the faculty and students at the University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL). If a student falls victim to sexual harassment, assault, stalking or dating violence and chooses to confide in any personnel on staff, that staff employee is legally required to make a report to the university’s Title IX office.
Once a report is made, an investigation will begin. Regarding the confidentiality and protection of a student’s identity, the law states “Sec. 51.256. CONFIDENTIALITY. (a) unless waived in writing by the alleged victim, the identity of the alleged victim of an incident reported under section 51.252: is confidential and not subject to disclosure under chapter 552.”
If a student-worker were to witness or receive information regarding an incident, they are not legally required to make any kind of report. However, if a student-worker discloses information to a faculty member, a report would have to be made by the faculty member. There are some exceptions to this rule; for example, student orientation leaders and resident advisers may be designated, mandatory reporters.
“While our student workers/employees are not mandatory reporters per our policy, they are encouraged to report, as are all of our students, but again they are not mandatory,” said Iliana Melendez, associate dean of students. “The exact reasons for that I think you would have to ask the authors and consultants to the law and the policy about their reasons. SB 212 does outline very specific and grave consequences for not reporting. We have had some questions come up concerning specific student employee positions on our campus, for example, resident advisors and orientation leaders, so we have asked for clarification and are still waiting to hear back.”
Melendez said the university will want to ensure that what it is communicating to the student employees about their responsibility to report is accurate, given the new requirements under SB 212.
“As I mentioned [before], the consequences are not small and therefore we need to ensure that we are proactive so that our students are informed about the responsibility and whether it does or doesn’t apply to them as student employees,” Melendez said. “This, however, is different for full-time employees who are also students on our campus. Their primary role on our campus is that of an employee, and so they are mandatory reporters unless their position is designated as a confidential reporter.”
If an employee at the university witnesses, receives information or overhears a conversation about a possible incident, they are legally required to make a report. If the employee is not aware of the names involved, they are still required to report the information they have. As for the retaliation protection of an employee filing a report, the law states “A postsecondary educational institution may not discipline or discriminate against an employee who in good faith: (1) makes a report as required by section 51.252; or (2) cooperates with an investigation, a disciplinary process or a judicial proceeding relating to a report made by the employee as required by section 51.252.”
“I do believe this is fair for in the ‘public interest’ and as acting as ‘public agents’ of higher education, we have a ‘duty to care,’” said David Rachita, dean of students. “When we become aware of any illegal act while serving in our official capacities, it is our responsibility to report those issues to the proper authorities.”
The only employees who are exempt from making reports, in addition to student workers, are the university’s designated confidential resources, which would include mental health counselors, healthcare professionals, clergy and Sexual Misconduct Support Services.
In addition to SB212’s mandatory reporting law, Texas House Bill 1735, which will go into effect Aug. 1, 2020, sets new requirements for institutional policies on sexual misconduct. There is a civil penalty of up to $2 million for non- compliance. The UH system has already put the new law into place.
In an email sent to all faculty and staff in the UH-system, Dona Cornell, VC/VP for legal affairs and general counsel, notified employees of changes to the UH-system sexual misconduct policy.
“The University of Houston System is committed to maintaining and strengthening an educational, working, and living environment where students, faculty, staff and visitors are free from sex discrimination, sexual violence, and misconduct,” Cornell said in the email.
For more information and details on the procedures put in place for the University of Houston-Clear Lake, visit www.uhcl.edu/policies/title-ix/.