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Gillibrand Urges Passage of Campus Accountability and Safety Act

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York state
File photo
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York state

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand will call for passage of the Campus Accountability and Safety Act as she prepares to testify on campus sexual assault before a Senate Committee Wednesday.

She says it's something that will reform the way colleges deal with campus sexual assault.

Gillibrand says the bill would flip the incentives, so that for the first time, it would be in the school's best interest to actually solve the problem, and do it aggressively.

"We did it (the bill) because the price of a college education should never include the risk of a sexual assault."

Gillibrand says while colleges routinely kick students out of school for cheating on tests, but the statistics for students who violate other students through sexual assault or rape, show only one-third are actually expelled for that crime.

The bill would create a national anonymous survey for students to report sexual assaults on their campuses.

It also raises fines for colleges that break the rules and requires training for campus officials.