Text of US SB 2186 (2021)

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2186 To support educational entities in fully implementing title IX and reducing and preventing sex discrimination in all areas of education, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 23, 2021 Ms. HIRONO (for herself, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. CANTWELL, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Ms. SMITH, and Mr. BLUMENTHAL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To support educational entities in fully implementing title IX and reducing and preventing sex discrimination in all areas of education, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Patsy T. Mink and 4 Louise M. Slaughter Gender Equity in Education Act of 5 2021’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7 FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2186 IS (1) Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) (in this Act referred 2 to as ‘‘title IX’’) and the implementing regulations 3 of title IX prohibit sex discrimination in federally 4 funded education programs and activities. 5 (2) Although title IX requires that schools treat 6 students equally with regard to athletic participation 7 opportunities, athletic scholarships, and the benefits 8 and services provided to athletic teams, female par- 9 ticipation rates, especially for girls of color, lag far 10 behind male participation rates. Nationally, for ex- 11 ample, boys receive more than 1,130,000 more op- 12 portunities to play high school sports than girls. 13 (3) Furthermore, a recent study from the Wom- 14 en’s Sports Foundation found that African-American 15 youth and youth from low-income households were 16 least likely to be current players (35 percent, and 28 17 percent respectively) and most likely to have never 18 played sports (49 percent, and 54 percent respec- 19 tively) compared to others. These disparities were 20 especially prominent for girls from low-income fami- 21 lies (25 percent current players, 58 percent never 22 played) and African-American families (28 percent 23 current players, 55 percent never played). The gaps 24 in participation in high school sports have not sig- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2186 IS nificantly narrowed in the past 20 years—with 40 1 percent of predominantly minority-serving high 2 schools having large gaps between the percentage of 3 spots on teams for girls and the percentage of stu- 4 dents who are girls (compared to only 16 percent of 5 predominantly White high schools that have such 6 gaps). 7 (4) Female student athletes have been found to 8 have higher levels of self-esteem, as well as reduced 9 risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporo- 10 sis, and breast cancer, compared to those who do not 11 play sports. In addition, female student athletes are 12 more likely to graduate from high school than fe- 13 male students who do not play sports. Girls who play 14 sports in high school go on to earn 7 percent higher 15 annual wages than those who do not play sports, 16 and are more likely to enter the labor force and pur- 17 sue higher-skill, previously male-dominated positions. 18 Generally, sports participation for women is associ- 19 ated with a lower prevalence of experiencing intimate 20 partner violence, reinforcing that athletic access not 21 only strengthens health, educational, and workplace 22 outcomes, but also personal safety. 23 (5) Although the availability of athletic scholar- 24 ships facilitates access to higher education, many in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2186 IS stitutions of higher education fail to award propor- 1 tional athletic financial aid to women, which can af- 2 fect their long-term employment outcomes and eco- 3 nomic security. According to the Department of 4 Education’s Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act data 5 from 2019, male athletes at NCAA Division I and 6 II schools received $240,000,000 more in athletic 7 scholarships than female athletes at those schools. 8 (6) Although title IX ensures gender equity in 9 career and technical education, women are severely 10 underrepresented in fields nontraditional to their 11 gender. A recent study by the National Coalition for 12 Women and Girls in Education indicated that 13 women make up more than 80 percent of workers 14 with training or certification in historically women- 15 dominated occupations that pay less than $30,000 16 per year, including child care, early childhood edu- 17 cation, home care, and cosmetology. Women rep- 18 resent less than 40 percent of workers trained or 19 certified in high-paying and historically male-domi- 20 nated fields, including transportation, advanced 21 manufacturing, and construction. 22 (7) Although title IX ensures gender equity in 23 the fields of science, technology, engineering, and 24 mathematics (in this section referred to as 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2186 IS ‘‘STEM’’) education, women are disproportionately 1 lost at nearly every stage of the STEM pipeline. A 2 recent report by the National Center for Education 3 Statistics showed that women earned only 32 per- 4 cent of all STEM degrees in 2017, and nearly 1⁄2 of 5 these women were White. Women of color earned 6 about 12 percent of STEM degrees in that same 7 year. Furthermore, in STEM fields where women 8 are particularly underrepresented, such as com- 9 puting and engineering, women earned an even 10 smaller percentage of degrees, including only 19 per- 11 cent of computing bachelor’s degrees, and 21 per- 12 cent of engineering bachelor’s degrees. 13 (8) Although title IX prohibits sex discrimina- 14 tion in employment in federally funded education 15 programs, a recent report by the American Associa- 16 tion of University Women found that women com- 17 prise only 36 percent of tenured faculty and 30 per- 18 cent of university presidents. A similar study by the 19 National Science Foundation confirmed that women 20 only hold 34 percent of all tenured and tenure-track 21 positions, and 27 percent of full professor positions 22 in STEM fields. Furthermore, Black and Latina 23 women, together, hold only 4 percent of all tenured 24 and tenure-track positions, and barely over 2 percent 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2186 IS of full professor positions in STEM fields. Asian- 1 American women hold around 5 percent of all 2 tenured and tenure-track positions, and less than 3 3 percent of full professor positions in STEM fields. 4 (9) Although title IX protects against sexual 5 and sex-based harassment and violence, more than 6 50 percent of girls and 40 percent of boys in grades 7 7 through 12 experience sexual harassment each 8 year, and approximately 10 percent of high school 9 students experience dating violence each year. A re- 10 cent GLSEN report indicated that 87 percent of les- 11 bian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and ques- 12 tioning (referred to in this section as ‘‘LGBTQ’’) 13 students have experienced harassment or assault 14 based on a personal characteristic, and nearly 66 15 percent have experienced LGBTQ-related verbal har- 16 assment at school based on sexual orientation. Re- 17 search has shown that LGBTQ students who experi- 18 ence harassment at school are more likely to experi- 19 ence depression and anxiety, to engage in unhealthy 20 and antisocial behaviors, and to have more unex- 21 cused absences from school. 22 (10) Although title IX prohibits discrimination 23 on the basis of pregnancy or parenting status, the 24 limited availability of accommodations, including lac- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2186 IS tation accommodations, excused absences for preg- 1 nancy-related medical conditions, and child care 2 needs (including caring for a sick child) is a leading 3 reasons that parenting mothers drop out of high 4 school. A recent report by the National Women’s 5 Law Center indicated that only half of teenage 6 mothers earn a high school diploma by the age of 7 22, compared with 89 percent of women who do not 8 have a child during their teenage years, and that 9 one-third of young mothers will never get a diploma 10 or GED, further limiting continuing opportunities 11 for education and employment. 12 (11) Although title IX protects against dis- 13 crimination based on stereotypes of actual or per- 14 ceived sex, many people carry implicit or uncon- 15 scious biases that can unintentionally influence atti- 16 tudes, beliefs, behaviors, and decision-making proc- 17 esses. Research has shown that unconscious biases 18 can impact classroom environments, teaching meth- 19 ods, student evaluations, disciplinary practices, and 20 career and counseling guidance, which can lead to 21 discrimination against students based on race, color, 22 national origin, and disability, particularly for stu- 23 dents who are pursuing nontraditional fields. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2186 IS (12) Nationally, the Feminist Majority Founda- 1 tion has estimated at least 100,000 title IX coordi- 2 nators are needed, but a recent report only identified 3 23,000 title IX coordinators in 2016. The Feminist 4 Majority Foundation has found that schools serving 5 children in prekindergarten through grade 12 rarely 6 have their own title IX coordinators. 7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 8 In this Act: 9 (1) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘elemen- 10 tary school’’, ‘‘institution of higher education’’, 11 ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘secondary school’’, and 12 ‘‘State educational agency’’ have the meanings given 13 those terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and 14 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 15 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 16 the Director of the Office for Gender Equity estab- 17 lished under section 5(a). 18 (3) EDUCATIONAL ENTITY.—The term ‘‘edu- 19 cational entity’’ means any of the following entities 20 that receive Federal funds: 21 (A) A State educational agency. 22 (B) A local educational agency. 23 (C) An institution of higher education. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2186 IS (D) An elementary school or secondary 1 school. 2 (4) GENDER IDENTITY.—The term ‘‘gender 3 identity’’ means the gender-related identity, appear- 4 ance, mannerisms, or other gender-related character- 5 istics of an individual, regardless of the individual’s 6 designated sex at birth. 7 (5) NATIONAL GENDER EQUITY INFRASTRUC- 8 TURE.—The term ‘‘national gender equity infra- 9 structure’’ means the horizontal and vertical net- 10 work of title IX coordinators and their allies who 11 work to advance gender equity and eliminate dis- 12 crimination in the United States. 13 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 14 the Secretary of Education. 15 (7) SEX.—The term ‘‘sex’’ includes— 16 (A) a sex stereotype; 17 (B) pregnancy, childbirth, or a related 18 medical condition; 19 (C) sexual orientation or gender identity; 20 and 21 (D) sex characteristics, including intersex 22 traits. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2186 IS (8) SEXUAL ORIENTATION.—The term ‘‘sexual 1 orientation’’ means homosexuality, heterosexuality, 2 or bisexuality. 3 (9) TITLE IX COORDINATOR.—The term ‘‘title 4 IX coordinator’’ means a responsible employee, as 5 described in section 106.8(a) of title 34, Code of 6 Federal Regulations, or successor regulations, des- 7 ignated to coordinate efforts under title IX of the 8 Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et 9 seq.). 10 SEC. 4. PURPOSES. 11 The purposes of this Act are to— 12 (1) advance gender equity in education in the 13 United States; 14 (2) support educational entities so that such en- 15 tities have the support to fully implement title IX; 16 (3) provide title IX coordinators with training, 17 technical assistance, and support to fully carry out 18 their roles and responsibilities; 19 (4) increase general awareness about the rights 20 and obligations of individuals and entities under title 21 IX; 22 (5) identify, implement, and disseminate best 23 practices for reducing and preventing sex discrimina- 24 tion in all areas of education; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2186 IS (6) promote educational environments that are 1 safe and free of sexual and sex-based bullying, har- 2 assment, and violence; 3 (7) promote equity in education for students 4 who face discrimination based on multiple character- 5 istics, including— 6 (A) race and color; 7 (B) ethnicity; 8 (C) national origin; 9 (D) disability status; 10 (E) religion; 11 (F) age; or 12 (G) actual or perceived sex; and 13 (8) promote activities that strengthen the na- 14 tional gender equity infrastructure. 15 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF AN OFFICE FOR GENDER EQ- 16 UITY. 17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish an 18 Office for Gender Equity. The Director of the Office for 19 Gender Equity shall be the Special Assistant for Gender 20 Equity, as authorized under section 202(b)(3) of the De- 21 partment of Education Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 22 3412(b)(3)). The Director of the Office for Gender Equity 23 shall report directly to the Secretary. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2186 IS (b) DUTIES.—The Office for Gender Equity shall be 1 responsible for the following: 2 (1) Supporting educational entities in the full 3 implementation of title IX. 4 (2) Providing title IX coordinators with train- 5 ing, technical assistance, and support to fully carry 6 out their roles and responsibilities. 7 (3) Providing grants to implement programs 8 and activities that are focused on reducing and pre- 9 venting sex discrimination in all areas of education. 10 (4) Identifying and disseminating information 11 and evidence-based best practices for reducing and 12 preventing sex discrimination in all areas of edu- 13 cation. 14 (5) Maintaining an Office for Gender Equity re- 15 source center website to disseminate information and 16 evidence-based best practices for achieving gender 17 equity. 18 (6) Performing any other activity consistent 19 with achieving the purposes of this Act. 20 (c) COORDINATION.—To carry out the purposes of 21 this Act, the Secretary shall coordinate with other relevant 22 Federal offices and agencies, including— 23 (1) the White House Gender Policy Council; 24 (2) the White House Domestic Policy Council; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 13 •S 2186 IS (3) the Office for Civil Rights of the Depart- 1 ment of Education; 2 (4) the Institute of Education Sciences; 3 (5) the Women’s Bureau of the Department of 4 Labor; 5 (6) the Office on Women’s Health of the De- 6 partment of Health and Human Services; 7 (7) the Civil Rights Division of the Department 8 of Justice; 9 (8) the Office on Violence Against Women of 10 the Department of Justice; 11 (9) the Centers for Disease Control and Preven- 12 tion; 13 (10) the Office of Safe and Healthy Students of 14 the Department of Education; and 15 (11) other entities determined relevant for car- 16 rying out the purposes of this Act. 17 SEC. 6. SUPPORT FOR TITLE IX COORDINATORS. 18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall provide coordi- 19 nation, training, technical assistance, and support for title 20 IX coordinators to ensure that educational entities are 21 able to fully implement title IX and reduce and prevent 22 sex discrimination in all areas of education. 23 (b) TITLE IX COORDINATOR TRAINING.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 14 •S 2186 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—Not less than once a year, 1 the Director shall conduct a training for all title IX 2 coordinators, which shall address the different needs 3 of elementary and secondary schools and postsec- 4 ondary institutions. The training may be conducted 5 in partnership with a national organization with rel- 6 evant expertise, and may be completed online or in 7 person. 8 (2) CONTENTS OF TRAINING.—The training de- 9 scribed in paragraph (1) shall include the following 10 information: 11 (A) The role and responsibility of title IX 12 coordinators. 13 (B) Information and evidence-based best 14 practices for increasing awareness about rights 15 and obligations under title IX. 16 (C) Information and evidence-based best 17 practices for investigating and responding to 18 claims of violations of title IX. 19 (D) Information and evidence-based best 20 practices for identifying and preventing implicit 21 and explicit sex discrimination in all areas of 22 education, including— 23 (i) recruitment and admissions; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 15 •S 2186 IS (ii) teaching practices, textbooks, and 1 curricula; 2 (iii) campus safety and security; 3 (iv) financial assistance; 4 (v) access to facilities, resources, and 5 housing; 6 (vi) access to course offerings; 7 (vii) student health services and insur- 8 ance benefits; 9 (viii) counseling and career guidance; 10 (ix) athletics; 11 (x) discipline policies; 12 (xi) employment; and 13 (xii) other areas that the Director de- 14 termines are relevant for such purposes. 15 (3) APPLICATION OF TRAINING.— 16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall take 17 steps to ensure that the trainings described in 18 paragraph (1)— 19 (i) are adapted, as necessary, to ad- 20 dress issues of sex discrimination at all lev- 21 els of education; 22 (ii) are updated with the latest infor- 23 mation and evidence-based best practices; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 16 •S 2186 IS (iii) address recent trends in sex dis- 1 crimination. 2 (B) ATTENTION TO DISCRIMINATION 3 BASED ON MULTIPLE CHARACTERISTICS.—The 4 Director shall take steps to ensure that such 5 trainings include attention to students who face 6 discrimination based on multiple characteristics, 7 including— 8 (i) race and color; 9 (ii) ethnicity; 10 (iii) national origin; 11 (iv) disability status; 12 (v) religion; 13 (vi) age; or 14 (vii) actual or perceived sex. 15 (C) EVALUATION.—The Director shall— 16 (i) develop and conduct pre- and post- 17 training evaluations to assess the effective- 18 ness of such trainings in improving the 19 knowledge of the roles and responsibilities 20 of title IX coordinators; and 21 (ii) use such evaluations to update the 22 title IX coordinator trainings annually. 23 (c) HANDBOOK FOR CONDUCTING TITLE IX COMPLI- 24 ANCE SELF-EVALUATIONS.—The Director shall develop a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 17 •S 2186 IS handbook for conducting self-evaluations of compliance 1 with title IX in all areas of education, as described in sub- 2 section (b)(2)(D). 3 (d) ASSESSMENT OF TITLE IX COORDINATOR SUP- 4 PORT.—The Director shall collect relevant data and statis- 5 tics on all title IX coordinators, including demographic in- 6 formation for gender, race, and ethnicity, salary informa- 7 tion, budgets, and primary roles, in order to make rec- 8 ommendations for improving title IX coordinator support. 9 (e) DISSEMINATION.—The Director shall ensure that 10 the workplace contact information of all title IX coordina- 11 tors and any training materials or information developed 12 under this section are made available on the Office for 13 Gender Equity resource center website, described in sec- 14 tion 5(b)(5). 15 SEC. 7. SUPPORT FOR LOCAL IMPLEMENTATION. 16 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 18 through the Director, is authorized to award grants 19 to eligible entities to support such eligible entities in 20 fully implementing title IX and reducing and pre- 21 venting sex discrimination in all areas of education. 22 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this section, the 23 term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means— 24 (A) a State educational agency; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 18 •S 2186 IS (B) a local educational agency; 1 (C) an institution of higher education; 2 (D) an elementary school or secondary 3 school; or 4 (E) a partnership consisting of— 5 (i) an entity described in subpara- 6 graphs (A) through (D); and 7 (ii) a national organization with rel- 8 evant expertise, or another entity that the 9 Secretary determines has relevant exper- 10 tise. 11 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity receiving a 12 grant shall use such funds to carry out programs and ac- 13 tivities designed to fully implement title IX and prevent 14 and reduce sex discrimination, including programs and ac- 15 tivities that— 16 (1) increase awareness of and counteract sex 17 stereotypes, biases, and discrimination; 18 (2) include trainings for students, teachers, fac- 19 ulty, and all personnel to learn about best practices 20 for reducing and preventing sex discrimination in all 21 areas of education; 22 (3) increase access to school, campus, and com- 23 munity resources, facilities, and course offerings; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 19 •S 2186 IS (4) support title IX coordinators in performing 1 outreach, advocacy, and education about title IX and 2 reducing and preventing sex discrimination; 3 (5) are aimed at identifying patterns or sys- 4 temic problems in compliance with title IX; 5 (6) strengthen prevention education and aware- 6 ness programs regarding sexual and sex-based har- 7 assment and violence; 8 (7) develop, conduct and analyze evidence-based 9 campus climate and victimization surveys; 10 (8) include institutional assessment activities to 11 identify areas and causes of gender inequities; 12 (9) make efforts to improve progress on gender 13 equity indicators as described in subsection 14 (c)(2)(A); 15 (10) make efforts to improve accuracy in meas- 16 urement, data collection, and reporting of gender eq- 17 uity indicators as described in subsection (c)(2)(A); 18 and 19 (11) make efforts to strengthen the national 20 gender equity infrastructure, which may include hir- 21 ing a dedicated employee to serve as a title IX coor- 22 dinator. 23 (c) APPLICATIONS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 20 •S 2186 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity desiring a 1 grant under this section shall submit an application 2 to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 3 containing such information as the Secretary may 4 reasonably require. 5 (2) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—Each appli- 6 cation submitted by an eligible entity under this sec- 7 tion shall include the following: 8 (A) A description of locally defined and 9 documented gender equity needs and priorities, 10 which may include any of the following indica- 11 tors: 12 (i) Academic indicators, including per- 13 formance on State assessments, enroll- 14 ment, admission, attrition, time to comple- 15 tion, and graduation rates. 16 (ii) Civil rights data, including statis- 17 tics on bullying, harassment, violence, dis- 18 cipline, and expulsion. 19 (iii) Campus climate and victimization 20 data. 21 (iv) Employment data. 22 (v) Athletics equity data. 23 (vi) Attendance and absenteeism data. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 21 •S 2186 IS (vii) Evidence of burden on title IX 1 coordinators, including coordinator to stu- 2 dent ratio and competing responsibilities. 3 (viii) Other documentation of need 4 that the Secretary determines is relevant. 5 (B) A description of the evidence that will 6 serve as the basis for the activities that the eli- 7 gible entity proposes to carry out using grant 8 funds under this section. 9 (C) A description of the activities that the 10 eligible entity proposes to carry out using grant 11 funds under this section. 12 (D) A description of how the proposed ac- 13 tivities will be adapted, as necessary, to meet 14 the needs of students who face discrimination 15 based on multiple characteristics, including— 16 (i) race and color; 17 (ii) ethnicity; 18 (iii) national origin; 19 (iv) disability status; 20 (v) religion; 21 (vi) age; or 22 (vii) actual or perceived sex. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 22 •S 2186 IS (E) A description of how the proposed ac- 1 tivities will help the eligible entity fully imple- 2 ment title IX. 3 (F) A description of a plan for how the 4 proposed activities under this section will con- 5 tinue with local support following completion of 6 the grant period and termination of Federal 7 funding. 8 (G) A description of how the proposed ac- 9 tivities are a significant component of a com- 10 prehensive plan for gender equity in education 11 and full implementation of title IX. 12 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec- 13 tion shall be construed as prohibiting persons of any sex 14 or gender from participating in any of the programs or 15 activities funded under this section. 16 (e) AWARD BASIS.— 17 (1) MERIT REVIEW.—Grants shall be awarded 18 under this section on a competitive basis. 19 (2) PRIORITIES.— 20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall es- 21 tablish criteria for determining which eligible 22 entities shall have priority in receiving a grant 23 under this section. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 23 •S 2186 IS (B) LEVEL OF PRIORITY.—The criteria de- 1 scribed in subparagraph (A) may include a con- 2 sideration of the extent to which the application 3 demonstrates that the eligible entity— 4 (i) has demonstrated a high need for 5 gender equity assistance based on indica- 6 tors described in subsection (c)(2)(A) and 7 a high commitment to addressing these 8 issues; 9 (ii) will address the needs of students 10 who face discrimination based on multiple 11 characteristics, including— 12 (I) race and color; 13 (II) ethnicity; 14 (III) national origin; 15 (IV) disability status; 16 (V) religion; 17 (VI) age; or 18 (VII) actual or perceived sex; 19 (iii) will address relevant issues of na- 20 tional significance through solutions that 21 can be replicated; 22 (iv) will implement an institutional 23 change strategy with a long-term impact 24 that will continue to be a central activity 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 24 •S 2186 IS of the eligible entity upon termination of 1 the grant; 2 (v) will serve a high percentage of 3 low-income students; and 4 (vi) will serve a high percentage of ra- 5 cially diverse students. 6 (C) SPECIAL RULE.—To the extent prac- 7 ticable, the Secretary shall ensure that grants 8 awarded under this section, for each fiscal year, 9 address— 10 (i) all levels of education, including— 11 (I) elementary and secondary 12 education; 13 (II) undergraduate and graduate 14 education; 15 (III) postdoctoral education and 16 research; 17 (IV) career and technical edu- 18 cation; and 19 (V) adult education; 20 (ii) all regions of the United States; 21 and 22 (iii) urban, rural, and suburban edu- 23 cational entities. 24 (f) EVALUATION AND DISSEMINATION.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 25 •S 2186 IS (1) EVALUATION.— 1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity 2 that receives a grant under this section shall 3 conduct an assessment about the extent to 4 which the eligible entity made progress on the 5 indicators under subsection (c)(2)(A). 6 (B) ASSESSMENT.—An eligible entity may 7 work in partnership with the Institute of Edu- 8 cation Sciences to conduct such assessment. 9 (C) USE BY SECRETARY.—Not later than 10 1 year after receiving the grant award, the eli- 11 gible entity shall submit a report to the Sec- 12 retary containing the results of such assess- 13 ment. The Secretary shall use those reports in 14 order to build the knowledge base on promising 15 models for preventing and reducing sex dis- 16 crimination across all areas and levels of edu- 17 cation. 18 (2) DISSEMINATION.—The Secretary shall co- 19 ordinate with the Director of the Institute of Edu- 20 cation Sciences and other relevant Federal offices 21 and agencies to— 22 (A) ensure that the results of the activities 23 carried out under this section are made readily 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 26 •S 2186 IS available on the Office for Gender Equity re- 1 source center website; and 2 (B) widely disseminate the results de- 3 scribed in subparagraph (A) to relevant Federal 4 offices, and agencies, educational entities and 5 the general public. 6 SEC. 8. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall coordinate 8 with the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences 9 and other relevant Federal offices and agencies and enti- 10 ties to investigate, identify, and disseminate best practices 11 to fully implement title IX and reduce and prevent sex 12 discrimination in all areas of education, including— 13 (1) the reduction and prevention of sex stereo- 14 typing, bias, and discrimination in curricula, text- 15 books, software, and other educational materials; 16 (2) the development of policies and programs 17 to— 18 (A) address and prevent sexual and sex- 19 based harassment and violence; 20 (B) ensure that schools and campuses are 21 free from threats to the safety of students, 22 teachers, faculty, and personnel; and 23 (C) ensure athletic programs are equitable; 24 (3) the development and evaluation of— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 27 •S 2186 IS (A) counseling and career guidance train- 1 ing; and 2 (B) programs to reduce and prevent sex 3 stereotyping, bias, and discrimination; 4 (4) best practices for mitigating implicit bias in 5 teaching, discipline, and all areas of education; 6 (5) best practices for addressing the needs of 7 students who face discrimination based on multiple 8 characteristics, including— 9 (A) race and color; 10 (B) ethnicity; 11 (C) national origin; 12 (D) disability status; 13 (E) religion; 14 (F) age; or 15 (G) actual or perceived sex; and 16 (6) other activities that the Secretary deter- 17 mines are consistent with the purposes of this Act. 18 (b) DISSEMINATION.—The best practices described 19 under subsection (a) shall be published on the Office for 20 Gender Equity resource center website, as described in 21 section 5(b)(5), and the What Works Clearinghouse 22 website of the Institute of Education Sciences. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 28 •S 2186 IS SEC. 9. REPORT; DISSEMINATION. 1 (a) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 years 2 after the date of enactment of this Act and every 2 years 3 thereafter, the Secretary shall publish a report on the 4 steps the Department of Education has taken to— 5 (1) support educational entities in fully imple- 6 menting title IX and reducing and preventing sex 7 discrimination; 8 (2) provide coordination, training, and re- 9 sources for title IX coordinators to fully carry out 10 their roles and responsibilities; and 11 (3) promote equity in education for students 12 who face discrimination based on multiple character- 13 istics, including— 14 (A) race and color; 15 (B) ethnicity; 16 (C) national origin; 17 (D) disability status; 18 (E) religion; 19 (F) age; or 20 (G) actual or perceived sex. 21 (b) DISSEMINATION.—The Secretary shall coordinate 22 with the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences 23 and the heads of relevant Federal agencies to ensure that 24 the results of trainings, activities, evaluations, and re- 25 search developments under this Act are made readily 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 29 •S 2186 IS available on the Office for Gender Equity resource center 1 website and disseminated widely to other relevant Federal 2 agencies and offices, educational entities, and the general 3 public. 4 SEC. 10. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 5 Nothing in this Act shall be construed— 6 (1) as modifying any provision of title IX of the 7 Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et 8 seq.); or 9 (2) as affecting the enforcement of such title by 10 the Department of Education, the Department of 11 Justice, or any other Federal agency. 12 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro- 14 priated to carry out this Act $160,000,000 for each of 15 fiscal years 2022 through 2026. 16 (b) USE.—From amounts made available to carry out 17 this Act for each fiscal year, the Secretary shall use not 18 less than $140,000,000 of such amounts to award grants 19 under section 7. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS