HB 1903

                                                 PRINTER'S NO.   2372
                THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
                    HOUSE BILL
                    No. 1903
                                           Session of
                                             2025
INTRODUCED BY N. NELSON, FRANKEL, BENHAM, HILL-EVANS, WAXMAN,
   PIELLI, HOHENSTEIN, DONAHUE, PROBST, RIVERA, MALAGARI,
   SANCHEZ, HADDOCK, BOROWSKI, SHUSTERMAN, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ,
   SCHLOSSBERG, INGLIS, TAKAC, HANBIDGE, ABNEY, STEELE, MADDEN
   AND K.HARRIS, SEPTEMBER 30, 2025
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, SEPTEMBER 30, 2025
                                  AN ACT
1 Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An
2    act relating to the public school system, including certain
3    provisions applicable as well to private and parochial
4    schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the
5    laws relating thereto," in Safe2Say Program, further
6    providing for definitions and for Safe2Say Program; in
7    postsecondary institution sexual harassment and sexual
8    violence policy and online reporting system, further
9    providing for definitions, for policy for postsecondary
10    institution sexual harassment and sexual violence and for
11    online reporting system; and making an editorial change.
12    The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
13 hereby enacts as follows:
14    Section 1.     Section 1302-D of the act of March 10, 1949
15 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, is
16 amended by adding a definition to read:
17 Section 1302-D.    Definitions.
18    The following words and phrases when used in this article
19 shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
20 context clearly indicates otherwise:
21    * * *
1    "Hate-based intimidation."     A criminal act of inflicting
2 physical injury on another individual, harm to property or other
3 type of injury, which is motivated by hatred toward the actual
4 or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry,
5 sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual
6 orientation or disability of another individual or group of
7 individuals with which the other individual is associated.
8    * * *
9    Section 2.     Section 1303-D(c)(1) and (2) and (d) of the act
10 are amended and subsection (c) is amended by adding a paragraph
11 to read:
12 Section 1303-D.     Safe2Say Program.
13    * * *
14    (c)     Program requirements.--Beginning January 14, 2019, the
15 program shall be responsible for the following:
16(1)    To ensure anonymous reporting concerning unsafe,
17    potentially harmful, dangerous, violent [or] and criminal
18    activities, including the reporting of hate-based
19    intimidation, in a school entity or the threat of the
20    activities in a school entity.
21(2)    To establish protocols and procedures to promptly
22    notify the appropriate law enforcement agency via 911 centers
23    and the Pennsylvania State Police when the program receives
24    an anonymous report of violent [or] and criminal activities,
25    including an anonymous report of hate-based intimidation, in
26    a school entity that poses an immediate threat of violence or
27    criminal activity and creates a substantial risk of serious
28    bodily injury.
29* * *
30(11)    To train and provide instruction to employees of
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1    school entities on how to recognize and report hate-based
2    intimidation by incorporating such training and instruction
3    into current training.
4    (d)   School entity.--Each school entity shall:
5(1)   develop procedures for assessing and responding to
6    reports received from the program[.]; and
7(2)   require each school in the school entity to
8    incorporate into periodic in-service training sessions
9    appropriate instruction in recognizing and reporting conduct,
10    including hate-based intimidation, that poses an immediate
11    threat of violence and creates a substantial risk of serious
12    bodily injury to any person.
13    Section 3.     Article XX-J heading of the act is amended to
14 read:
15ARTICLE XX-J
16    POSTSECONDARY INSTITUTION SEXUAL HARASSMENT [AND], SEXUAL
17VIOLENCE AND HATE-BASED INTIMIDATION POLICY AND
18ONLINE REPORTING SYSTEM
19    Section 4.     Section 2001-J of the act is amended by adding a
20 definition to read:
21 Section 2001-J.    Definitions.
22    The following words and phrases when used in this article
23 shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
24 context clearly indicates otherwise:
25    "Hate-based intimidation."      A criminal act of inflicting
26 physical injury on another individual, harm to property or other
27 type of injury, which is motivated by hatred toward the actual
28 or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry,
29 sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual
30 orientation or disability of another individual or group of
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1 individuals with which the other individual is associated.
2    * * *
3    Section 5.     Sections 2002-J and 2003-J of the act are amended
4 to read:
5 Section 2002-J.     Policy for postsecondary institution sexual
6harassment [and], sexual violence and hate-based
7intimidation.
8    (a)     Adoption.--A postsecondary institution shall adopt a
9 clear, understandable written policy on sexual harassment [and],
10 sexual violence and hate-based intimidation that informs victims
11 and students of their rights under Federal and State law,
12 including the crime victims bill of rights. No later than
13 December 31, 2025, a postsecondary institution shall amend its
14 current policy on sexual harassment and sexual violence to
15 include provisions to govern hate-based intimidation.
16    (b)     Report.--
17(1)   The sexual harassment [and], sexual violence and
18    hate-based intimidation policy under subsection (a) shall
19    include a provision that a witness or victim of an incident
20    of sexual harassment [or], sexual violence or hate-based
21    intimidation who reports the incident in good faith will not
22    be sanctioned by the institution for admitting in the report
23    to a violation of the institution's student conduct policy on
24    the personal use of drugs or alcohol.
25(2)   Nothing in this article may be construed to prohibit
26    a postsecondary institution from including a provision in its
27    sexual harassment, sexual violence and hate-based
28    intimidation policy to govern the receipt of reports from the
29    general public, provided that the public reports involve a
30    student of the postsecondary institution.
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1    (c)   Model policy.--The Department of Education shall develop
2 a model policy and make the model policy available to
3 postsecondary institutions. A postsecondary institution may
4 adopt the model policy as the policy of the institution on
5 sexual harassment [and], sexual violence and hate-based
6 intimidation.
7    (d)   Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed
8 to infringe or limit an individual's rights or freedoms that are
9 otherwise protected by the Constitution of the United States or
10 the Constitution of Pennsylvania.
11 Section 2003-J.    Online reporting system.
12    (a)   Establishment of online reporting system.--A
13 postsecondary institution shall establish and maintain an online
14 reporting system to receive complaints of sexual harassment
15 [and], sexual violence and hate-based intimidation from students
16 and employees. A report shall be investigated through the
17 process established in the postsecondary institution's sexual
18 harassment [and], sexual violence and hate-based intimidation
19 policy. A postsecondary institution may not fail or refuse to
20 investigate an anonymous report because it is anonymous.
21    (b)   Anonymous reports.--The online reporting system shall
22 permit anonymous reports, which shall be investigated in
23 accordance with subsection (a).
24    (c)   Required information.--A postsecondary institution shall
25 provide students and employees making reports under this section
26 with the following:
27(1)   Information regarding who will receive and have
28    access to the reports filed.
29(2)   How information gathered through the online
30    reporting system will be used.
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1(3)   Contact information for on-campus and off-campus
2    organizations serving victims of sexual harassment [and],
3    sexual violence and hate-based intimidation.
4    (d)   Statement.--The online reporting system shall
5 prominently post the online system's policy regarding reports
6 and investigations of sexual harassment [and], sexual violence
7 and hate-based intimidation and shall encourage individuals to
8 review the policy for more information about procedures and
9 resources.
10    (e)   Access to data.--A postsecondary institution shall limit
11 access to the data collected, created or maintained under
12 subsection (a) to only the data subject and as follows:
13(1)   Only individuals with explicit authorization from a
14    postsecondary institution may enter, update, access, share or
15    disseminate electronic data related to an incident of sexual
16    harassment [or], sexual violence and hate-based intimidation
17    collected, created or maintained under this section.
18(2)   The ability of an authorized individual to enter,
19    update, access, share or disseminate data must be limited
20    through the use of role-based access that corresponds to the
21    official duties or training level of the individual and the
22    institutional authorization that grants access for that
23    purpose.
24(3)   Actions in which the data related to an incident of
25    sexual harassment [or], sexual violence or hate-based
26    intimidation are entered, updated, accessed, shared or
27    disseminated outside the postsecondary institution must be
28    recorded in a data audit trail.
29(4)   An institution shall immediately and permanently
30    revoke the authorization of an individual determined to have
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1   willfully entered, updated, accessed, shared or disseminated
2   data in violation of this section.
3(5)   An institution or individual implementing, operating
4   or working for the program may not be compelled to produce a
5   record except pursuant to a court order.
6   Section 6.    This act shall take effect immediately.
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