Campus Accountability and Safety Act

The Campus Accountability and Safety Act (CASA) is a bill currently pending in the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives with the goal of reducing sexual violence on college and university campuses.^[1][2][3] It was introduced by Senator Claire McCaskill, along with nine cosponsors. Supporters of the bill believe that it will help to reduce the prevalence of sexual assault on campus by increasing transparency and cooperation between schools and local law enforcement.^[4][5] Others have criticized the bill for failing to take adequate steps to prevent false allegations and wrongful convictions.^[6][7]

Major provisions

Clery Act Amendments

CASA includes several amendments to the Clery Act, a law requiring colleges and universities to publish statistics relating to crime on their campuses. Under CASA, schools would be required to publish these statistics on their web sites. Additional statistics would be required, including data on the verdicts in sexual assault cases, as well as data on domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. Victim advocacy organizations would be involved in the development of schools’ sexual assault policies. The Department of Education would produce a confidential survey on students’ experiences with sexual violence and sexual harassment to be administered at all schools in the country. An annual report containing the results of the survey would be published on the Department of Education website. Schools that failed to meet the requirements of the Clery Act would be subject to fines of up to $150,000, adjusted for inflation.

Confidential advisors

CASA would require all schools to appoint confidential advisors to assist students claiming to be victims of sexual assault. These advisors would be trained to conduct forensic interviews with students for the purpose of gathering facts on the alleged crimes. They would also advise students on their options for next steps, serve as liaisons with local law enforcements in cases where the students choose to report the case to the police, and arrange accommodations for the students such as changes to living arrangements or class schedules. Confidential advisors would not be obligated to report to other personnel at the school or to law enforcement.

Other provisions

CASA would require schools to establish memoranda of understanding with local law enforcement regarding sexual violence. Schools would only forward reports of sexual violence to the police when the alleged victims wished for them to do so. The bill would allow for schools to institute systems for anonymous reporting of sexual assault. Schools would be required to publish information about resources in the community for victims on their websites. Students reporting sexual assault would be given amnesty for other misconduct, such as underage drinking, that may become known as a result of the report. Schools would be required to establish uniform disciplinary procedures for sexual violence with no special treatment for particular classes of students such as athletes or students majoring in particular fields. Title IX complaints for sexual harassment would be published on the Department of Education web site. The Department of Education and the Department of Justice would be given the authority to issue subpoenas for the purpose of enforcing Title IX. Schools found to be in violation of CASA would be subject to fines of up to 1% of their annual operating budgets.

History

The bill was introduced in February of 2015, and hearings were held in July.^[8] In January 2016, co-sponsor Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said she and McCaskill would attempt to attach the bill to the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.^[9]

Criticism

The bill has been criticized for failing to protect the due process rights of accused students and giving schools the incentive to expel accused students, even in cases where there is little or no evidence to substantiate the allegation, in order to avoid the risk of being fined.^[6][10] Stop Abusive and Violent Environments and the Independent Women’s Forum have opposed the bill on the grounds that it would reduce due process protections.^[7][11] Hans Bader of the Competitive Enterprise Institute has claimed that the bill creates a conflict of interest by allowing fines to be levied by the same agency that would receive the money, creating an incentive for that agency, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, to falsely accuse schools of violating CASA in order to profit from the resulting fines.^[12][13]

References