Sen. Joan Huffman is co-sponsoring a bill that would institute some of the most stringent anti-campus rape rules in the country.
"I love my school, but I've been extraordinarily disappointed," said Baylor alumnus Kirk Watson, a Democratic senator from Austin. "I actually think there is a real feeling that we need to address sexual assault.
"It's a bear in the room."Watson filed five bills Tuesday that aim to increase and encourage reporting and lessen rates of sexual violence, harassment and stalking on college campuses. But he's also the co-sponsor of a proposal that would require school employees — and even some students — to report assaults or else face criminal penalties.
"We've got to be serious about this," Watson said. "Students have a right to be safe."
52 acts of rape
Battling sexual assault on college campuses is now a top priority for both Republicans and Democrats in the House and the Senate. The players might disagree on exactly what to do and how to do it, but leaders on both sides of the aisle agree this is the year to act.
The Baylor scandal began back in 2015 and last year claimed the careers of several top staff members, coaches and even Ken Starr, who was then president. A report the university commissioned showed "institutional failure at every level." By year's end, more than a dozen women had sued the school, saying they were bullied and shamed into keeping their mouths shut about the trauma endured.
Then, in January, a new bombshell: A lawsuit claimed 31 Baylor football players committed at least 52 acts of rape in just three years, a number that blew away previous estimates and allegations.
But while the situation at Baylor has forced lawmakers to seriously consider more stringent changes, they said every school should be under the state's microscope. In 2015, Texas passed a law that for the first time required colleges and universities to draw up sexual assault prevention plans and educate students about them.
"It wasn't a big enough step," Watson said. "While Baylor has highlighted this issue and caused a focus, this isn't just about Baylor. We need a new culture in higher education."
'All of the above'
Watson's five bills have one unifying goal: encourage more students to report harassment, stalking, rape and other acts of sexual violence by lessening the stigma and potential negative repercussions for doing so.
Watson wants to require every school to establish anonymous online reporting tools for sexual assault victims and witnesses and make sure students aren't punished for underage drinking or breaking a school's conduct rules if they're reporting an assault, the threat of which many Baylor students said held them back from coming forth with their allegations.
He also wants Texas to join California, New York and the handful of other states that have passed "affirmative consent" laws requiring colleges to tell students their sexual partner must indicate — either through words or actions — that they are OK with sexual contact before initiating it.
Several individual schools in Texas already require affirmative consent. So-called amnesty rules, which protect students if they break school rules when reporting assaults, are also in place in some of the biggest schools here. But passing laws would mean new uniform policies for every campus — public and private — in the state.
Watson is also co-sponsoring a bill with Sen. Joan Huffman, a Houston Republican and former judge, that would put in place some of the most stringent rules against rape on campus in the country.
Senate Bill 576 would require any school employee, and some student leaders, to report instances of "sexual harassment, sexual assault, family violence or stalking" to the campus president within 48 hours of becoming aware of the incident, or else face serious consequences.
People who fail to report could be charged with a Class A misdemeanor — punishable by up to $4,000 in fines and a year in jail — if they were found to have intentionally concealed information about an assault. Students who are "the highest-ranking member" of a club recognized by the school would be subject to these same penalties.
The name and address of the victim would also have to be divulged to campus leaders, unless the student who was assaulted requested that it be kept secret. Data of the numbers of incidents of sexual violence would be gathered and disseminated in a report twice a year.
Huffman did not respond to requests for comment about her bill. Watson, while a co-sponsor, said he was not involved in the drafting of the legislation.
Rep. J.M. Lozano, the new chair of the House Committee on Higher Education, favors an "all of the above" approach, he said. Reporting has to improve, there needs to be more funding of mental health services for student victims and, yes, there may need to be "a deterrent to conspiracies," he said.
"I would support that," Lozano said of the bill's provision to punish people, including some students, who try to conceal assault reporting. "If there's a conspiracy to intentionally withhold that information, if there's a conspiracy of sorts, I would definitely penalize a peer."
Comment: Unfortunately, those running these institutions are often more concerned with public image than the safety and well-being of the students, and often plead ignorance of such crimes or willfully engage in cover-ups to avoid scandal. Without serious consequences for such actions, it is unlikely the culture will change.
Lozano also said school admissions officers should have access to an applicant's full criminal history, including expunged juvenile records.
'A chilling atmosphere'
Not everyone agrees with this aggressive approach. Rep. Terry Canales, an Edinburg Democrat who wants schools to have better outreach programs to combat sexual violence, questioned whether threatening to punish students and staff would improve the problem.
"At first blush, it doesn't seem constitutional," Canales said Monday. "We want people to report without making criminals out of them."
Federal laws like the Clery Act and Title IX already require schools to report on annual crime statistics and protect the rights of assault victims. But they don't apply criminal penalties to discourage the failure to report.
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