Higher education; handling of sexual assault cases. (SB712)
Introduced By
Sen. Dick Black (R-Leesburg) with support from co-patrons Del. Bob Marshall (R-Manassas), Sen. George Barker (D-Alexandria), Sen. Creigh Deeds (D-Bath), Sen. Toddy Puller (D-Mount Vernon), and Sen. Dick Saslaw (D-Springfield)
Progress
✓ |
Introduced |
✓ |
Passed Committee |
✓ |
Passed House |
✓ |
Passed Senate |
✓ |
Signed by Governor |
✓ |
Became Law |
Description
Higher education; reporting of sexual assault; penalty. Requires any faculty member, administrator, or full-time staff member employed by a public institution of higher education who through the course of his employment obtains information alleging that a criminal sexual assault has occurred to report within 48 hours such information to law enforcement. The bill provides that a person in violation of the reporting requirement is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. Read the Bill »
Outcome
Bill Has Passed
History
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| 12/04/2014 | Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/14/15 15101205D |
| 12/04/2014 | Referred to Committee on Education and Health |
| 01/16/2015 | Impact statement from DPB (SB712) |
| 01/20/2015 | Assigned Education sub: Higher Education |
| 01/26/2015 | Reported from Education and Health with substitute (14-Y 0-N) (see vote tally) |
| 01/26/2015 | Committee substitute printed 15104284D-S1 |
| 01/26/2015 | Rereferred to Courts of Justice |
| 01/26/2015 | Substitute bill reprinted 15104284D-S1 |
| 01/27/2015 | Incorporates SB734 |
| 01/27/2015 | Incorporates SB1252 |
| 01/27/2015 | Incorporates SB1275 |
| 01/27/2015 | Incorporates SB981 |
| 02/03/2015 | Impact statement from DPB (SB712S1) |
| 02/09/2015 | Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (13-Y 0-N) (see vote tally) |
| 02/09/2015 | Committee substitute printed 15104955D-S2 |
| 02/09/2015 | Incorporates SB734 |
| 02/09/2015 | Incorporates SB981 |
| 02/09/2015 | Incorporates SB1252 |
| 02/09/2015 | Incorporates SB1275 |
| 02/10/2015 | Read second time |
| 02/10/2015 | Reading of substitute waived |
| 02/10/2015 | Committee substitute rejected 15104284D-S1 |
| 02/10/2015 | Committee substitute agreed to 15104955D-S2 |
| 02/10/2015 | Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute SB712S2 |
| 02/10/2015 | Constitutional reading dispensed (38-Y 0-N) (see vote tally) |
| 02/10/2015 | Passed Senate (38-Y 0-N) (see vote tally) |
| 02/12/2015 | Assigned Education sub: Higher Education |
| 02/12/2015 | Placed on Calendar |
| 02/12/2015 | Read first time |
| 02/12/2015 | Referred to Committee on Education |
| 02/16/2015 | Reported from Education with substitute (22-Y 0-N) (see vote tally) |
| 02/16/2015 | Committee substitute printed 15105075D-H1 |
| 02/17/2015 | Read second time |
| 02/18/2015 | Read third time |
| 02/18/2015 | Committee substitute agreed to 15105075D-H1 |
| 02/18/2015 | Engrossed by House - committee substitute SB712H1 |
| 02/18/2015 | Passed House with substitute BLOCK VOTE (100-Y 0-N) |
| 02/18/2015 | VOTE: BLOCK VOTE PASSAGE (100-Y 0-N) (see vote tally) |
| 02/20/2015 | House substitute rejected by Senate (2-Y 36-N) (see vote tally) |
| 02/23/2015 | House insisted on substitute |
| 02/23/2015 | House requested conference committee |
| 02/24/2015 | Senate acceded to request (39-Y 0-N) (see vote tally) |
| 02/24/2015 | Conferees appointed by Senate |
| 02/24/2015 | Senators: Smith, Black, Cosgrove |
| 02/25/2015 | Conferees appointed by House |
| 02/25/2015 | Delegates: Bell, Robert B., Massie, Toscano |
| 02/27/2015 | C Amended by conference committee |
| 02/27/2015 | Conference substitute printed 15105673D-S3 |
| 02/27/2015 | Conference report agreed to by House (94-Y 0-N) |
| 02/27/2015 | VOTE: ADOPTION (94-Y 0-N) (see vote tally) |
| 02/27/2015 | Conference report agreed to by Senate (37-Y 0-N) (see vote tally) |
| 03/06/2015 | Enrolled |
| 03/06/2015 | Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB712ER) |
| 03/06/2015 | Signed by Speaker |
| 03/07/2015 | Signed by President |
| 03/10/2015 | Enrolled Bill Communicated to Governor on 3/10/15 |
| 03/10/2015 | G Governor's Action Deadline Midnight, Sunday, March 29, 2015 |
| 03/18/2015 | Impact statement from DPB (SB712ER) |
| 03/27/2015 | Governor's recommendation received by Senate |
| 04/14/2015 | Placed on Calendar |
| 04/15/2015 | Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation (40-Y 0-N) (see vote tally) |
| 04/15/2015 | Passed by temporarily |
| 04/15/2015 | House concurred in Governor's recommendation (98-Y 0-N) |
| 04/15/2015 | VOTE: ADOPTION (98-Y 0-N) (see vote tally) |
| 04/15/2015 | G Governor's recommendation adopted |
| 04/15/2015 | Reenrolled |
| 04/15/2015 | Reenrolled bill text (SB712ER2) |
| 04/15/2015 | Signed by President as reenrolled |
| 04/15/2015 | Signed by Speaker as reenrolled |
| 04/15/2015 | Enacted, Chapter 745 (effective 7/1/15) |
| 04/15/2015 | G Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0745) |
Comments
Students in higher education institutions should be presumed intelligent enough to report crimes of all types, including sexual assault. Faculty and staff should not be placed in the role of policing the campus under threat of being found guilty of a crime if they fail to do so.
If colleges truly want to help students, professors should be trained to encourage them to seek professional help or institutional resources, such as the counseling services offered by many colleges. Professors should also motivate students to report the crime to law enforcement. If a student refuses these services, professors should leave reporting the crime up to the victim. College students are adults, and it is their right to decide to report crimes against them.
"Forcing Professors to Report Assault Is Wrong." The Columbia Chronicle. Editorial Board, 1 Dec. 2014. Web. 1 Jan. 2015.
I strongly disagree. I am a staff member at VCU, and I do not want to see a Sandusky experiment here. We all have the responsibility as stewards of higher education to protect vulnerable students. Clearly, people are failing to report these crimes, and we all must be held accountable.