'You deserve to be safe': Bipartisan campus safety bill promises help for survivors On Thursday, Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Florida, introduced bipartisan legislation, known as the Campus Accountability and Safety Act, aimed at changing how colleges handle sexual violence allegations and protect students.

A renewed proposal on Capitol Hill could address sexual violence allegations, like those recently brought to light on the campus of Cornell University.

On Thursday, Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Florida, reintroduced the Campus Accountability and Safety Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at changing how colleges and universities address sexual assault on their campuses.


Frankel said the legislation is based on three pillars: transparency, support and prevention.

 To every student and survivor, you deserve to be safe,  Frankel said in a Thursday morning press conference.  You deserve to be heard and you deserve justice, because students are going to pursue their dreams and not to become victims of sexual violence. 

The bill would require colleges and universities to publish their campus safety policies, provide instructions for filing complaints, and disclose statistics on sexual misconduct allegations on their websites.

It would also mandate  violence specialists  at institutions to serve as confidential aides for survivors.

The bill also seeks to expand a federally mandated grant program to improve campus safety, including funding for survivor services, campus law enforcement training, and student prevention and awareness education.

Institutions that fail to meet the bill's standards could face financial penalties. The legislation included a provision allowing fines of up to 1% of a college or university's annual operational budget for each year the institution fails to comply.

This was not the first time the Campus Accountability and Safety Act was introduced in Congress. Lawmakers have said that they will reintroduce the bill in the future if it does not pass this year

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