A new report analyzes legislation across different states on sexual assault and allowance of guns on campus over the past several years. Researchers have highlighted the importance of policymakers and higher ed administrators facilitating a dialogue on how to make student safety a top priority.
“We want to make sure both parties are aware of the issues and making sure they’re having those important conversations together,” said Lauren Sisneros, a policy analyst for the Education Commission of the States. Sisneros authored the policy snapshot on postsecondary campus safety legislation, which was released this week. “Hopefully, they can come to some type of mutual agreement and things are not being enacted that would not be welcome by higher ed administrators.”
The new analysis builds on previous policy briefs released by the ECS in collaboration with NASPA-Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education regarding the increase in sexual assault controversies on college campuses and the issue of gun violence. As of Aug. 9, 15 states have considered campus sexual assault legislation this year, with ten bills being enacted. In regards to gun safety, 18 states considered legislation regarding the issue in 2017, with three bills being enacted.
Sisneros said that in previous years, ECS had seen a range of legislation regarding campus sexual assault, with a particular emphasis from states on determining affirmative consent, which the 2016 report defined as the creation of a “common understanding of welcomed sexual behavior by defining consent in statute or directing institutions to do so.” In 2016, Connecticut passed H.B. 5376, which mandated the state use an “affirmative consent standard” when trying to determine whether sexual activity had been consensual.
In reviewing legislation throughout states, ECS also found emphases from policymakers calling for a clarification and expansion of the role of local law enforcement in sexual assault investigations, as well as calls to create and expand requirements for transcript notations to be made available and the role legal counsel plays in a campus investigation. This year, Sisneros said ECS had also been tracking legislation related to prevention and training regarding campus sexual assault.
Several states introduced and passed legislation that widened the allowance of guns on campus. Georgia, for example passed legislation stating that individuals who had the appropriate concealed carry license for carrying a weapon could do so on any public college or university grounds. Georgia had actually been a state that previously prohibited guns being brought on campus grounds. Maryland, on the other hand, passed legislation this year prohibiting anyone from bringing a firearm onto a public campus, with some exceptions. Many campus carry legislation has been passed regardless of strong criticism from college administrators and presidents that the laws could contribute to an unsafe environment, with several professors from the University of Texas at Austin filing a federal lawsuit last year to stop the concealed carry legislation that had been passed by the state legislature.
Administrators must often contend with the intrusion of political controversies into legislation pertaining to public colleges and universities. For example, conservative state lawmakers who were perturbed by protests which in some cases turned violent due to controversial campus speakers at universities like UC Berkeley responded with legislation pertaining to the removal of ‘free speech’ zones and laws mandating certainly disciplinary measures be taken against interrupting students.
As with the gun laws, many campus administrators were troubled by the potential loss of autonomy on campus grounds due to the potential laws. It is possible that the continued prevalence of mass shootings and calls from federal lawmakers for stricter gun control legislation led state lawmakers with opposing views to introduce bills mandating open carry permission on school campuses, and it is a sign that school administrators must be cognizant of the fiery issues contributing to fractious political climate, and work with supportive and opposing lawmakers in order to ensure bills do not override the authority administrators feel they need to run schools.
Nevertheless, Sisneros cautioned that political particularities can vary from state to state, and what may be causing a virulent debate for one public system may not be as pertinent for another state system. However, as the report noted, the “continued prevalence” of campus sexual assault and gun violence in the media make it unlikely that these particular issues are going to abate in importance any time soon.