SEXUAL ASSAULT INFO FOR STUDENTS                                                  S.B. 216 (S-1):

                                                                                                    SUMMARY OF BILL

                                                                                     REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE

Senate Bill 216 (Substitute S-1 as reported)

Sponsor:  Senator Stephanie Chang

Committee:  Judiciary and Public Safety

CONTENT

The bill would amend the Revised School Code to do the following:

-- Require the Department of Education in consultation with experts on sexual assault and sexual harassment to develop, by June 1, 2021, age-appropriate informational material relating to sexual assault and sexual harassment appropriate for pupils in grades six through 12.

-- Require the Department to make the material available to all public schools that operate grades six through 12.

-- Require public schools to disseminate to pupils the informational material.

-- Require public schools to disseminate to pupils contact information for the school's Title IX coordinator and the school's policies on sexual assault and sexual harassment.

-- Encourage public schools to provide sexual assault and sexual harassment response training to all educators and school personnel who had contact with pupils, beginning with the 2021-2022 school year.

Proposed MCL 380.1508 & 380.1526b                        Legislative Analyst:  Stephen Jackson

FISCAL IMPACT

The bill would have an indeterminate fiscal impact on the Department of Education and local school districts, intermediate school districts (ISDs), and public school academies (PSAs). The Department would experience administrative costs to develop age-appropriate informational materials and distribute them to local schools with grades 6 to 12. These costs would be one-time in nature and would be determined by timeline and how much of the development was support by the Michigan Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention and Treatment Board and the Michigan Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence. The final costs likely would be minimal as the Department already has been working in collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services to develop age-appropriate education and information on sexual abuse prevent as required in boilerplate section 228 of the Department of Education budget in Public Act 166 of 2020.

Local school district, ISDs, and PSAs would experience indeterminate costs to ensure each pupil in grade 6 to 12 received the informational material required in the bill. These costs could include printing and information technology costs, which likely would be part of normal annual costs and updates. Schools that included training every five years to educators and school personnel likely would experience additional costs to devote time and to track how long staff have gone without training. However, the bill's specification also could be part of a school's current practices, and schools are only encouraged to provide training. These factors could mean that these costs would be minimal.

Date Completed:  12-10-20                                                  Fiscal Analyst:  Cory Savino

This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.