Gillibrand, Grassley Reintroduce Legislation To Combat Sexual Assault On College Campuses, Improve Accountability And Transparency For Higher Education Institutions

Gillibrand, Grassley Reintroduce Legislation To Combat Sexual Assault On College Campuses, Improve Accountability And Transparency For Higher Education Institutions

Oct 8, 2025

Today, U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) reintroduced the Campus Accountability and Safety Act, legislation that would help combat sexual assault on college and university campuses. The bipartisan legislation would improve the way institutions of higher education address and report incidents of sexual assault that take place on their campuses, and it would protect both survivors and accused students by ensuring that schools have a uniform and fair process for investigating and conducting campus disciplinary proceedings. The legislation would also create new resources and support services for survivors and set new notification requirements for both survivors and accused students involved in the campus disciplinary process.

"Sexual assault on college campuses remains a serious and persistent problem, and it is up to us in Congress to protect survivors and make sure these crimes are handled with fairness," said Senator Gillibrand. "The bipartisan Campus Accountability and Safety Act would strengthen the support network for survivors and increase accountability for schools by creating a standardized process for investigating instances of sexual assault. This will help survivors get the justice they deserve and ensure a fair process for everyone involved. I'm proud to lead this legislation and committed to working across the aisle to get it passed."

"Across America, inconsistent enforcement mechanisms are failing to treat sexual assault crimes with the seriousness they deserve," said Senator Grassley. "We're taking action to change that. Our legislation creates a coordinated approach to address incidents of sexual assault on college campuses. It would inform university protocols for handling reports, and it would strengthen recovery resources for survivors and empower them to know their rights."

Specifically, the Campus Accountability and Safety Act would:

1. Increase transparency and reporting requirements under the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act by mandating that the institution's website include campus safety policies, an annual security report, instructions for filing a complaint, and statistics of sexual misconduct allegations on campus.

2. Create sexual and interpersonal violence specialists at each institution to serve as confidential aides for victims.

3. Ensure that sexual and interpersonal violence specialists are well-trained by requiring training created by the Department of Education.

4. Ensure that individuals who report sexual misconduct in good faith are not punished for any physical violence or assault as a defense, or alcohol or drug use, that is revealed by that report.

5. Expand the VAWA Campus Grant Program to also address sexual harassment on campuses.

6. Require the comptroller general to study the effectiveness of VAWA grants and submit a report to Congress within 2 years of enactment.

Senator Gillibrand has fought alongside survivors of sexual assault for over a decade, working to build a broad bipartisan coalition dedicated to justice and fairness. During the 117^th Congress, she led the effort to fundamentally change the military justice system alongside Senator Grassley. Their legislation to remove judicial functions and prosecutorial decisions from the chain of command for certain serious crimes, including sexual assault and domestic violence, and put them in the hands of professional military prosecutors was included in the FY2022 and 2023 defense bills. Additionally, Senator Gillibrand successfully ushered her bipartisan Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, which Senator Grassley also cosponsored,to passage in 2022. This crucial legislation prevents perpetrators from being able to push survivors of sexual harassment and sexual assault into the secretive, biased process of forced arbitration. Senator Gillibrand also leads the bipartisan Tax Fairness for Survivors Act, which would remove the federal tax penalty on settlements, awards, and judgments paid to survivors of sexual harassment and sexual assault.

The full text of the legislation can be found here.

###