Bill > S2471

This bill establishes a task force to create a model sexual assault climate survey for all public and private colleges and universities in Massachusetts, aiming to understand the prevalence and perception of sexual assault on campuses. The task force will be composed of various officials, including the commissioners of higher education and public health, the attorney general, and representatives from organizations like Jane Doe, Inc., Victim Rights Law Center, Inc., rape crisis centers, and student representatives. This model survey, to be developed using best practices and student input, will cover topics such as dating violence, stalking, student knowledge of institutional policies, reporting procedures, responses to reports, available resources, contextual factors of assaults, demographic information to identify at-risk groups, and whether the assailant was a student. While institutions can use their own surveys if they cover the same topics, the model survey must be issued to a random and representative sample of students by July 1, 2017, with responses collected confidentially and without personally identifiable information. The task force will then analyze the data and publish a report, making it available for comment before final submission to the commissioner of higher education.