A new bill in California could require transfer students to include any history of sexual assault on their transcripts, Inside Higher Ed reported.
California congresswoman Jackie Speier proposed the bill, entitled the Safe Transfer Act, Thursday. According to Speier, the bill will ensure that institutions are making safe additions to their campuses.
Institutions can include this information on a student’s transcript within five years after school disciplinary proceedings, or one year after a pending disciplinary action has been initiated. If this information is included on an applicant’s transcript, the student is notified and allowed to write a statement addressing the allegation, according to the article.
The bill “will ensure that students who try to transfer schools to avoid the same consequences of their violent acts will, at a minimum, face the same consequences as students who transfer because they’ve cheated on an exam," Speier told Inside Higher Ed.
In the past, Speier has been a loud advocate for sexual violence prevention on college campuses. According to the article, Speier proposed that the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights work with academic institutions to offer loan assistance to victims of sexual assault. She also suggested that universities release information regarding sexual assault allegations to staff and faculty.
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