H.R. 6857

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6857 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6857

To require institutions of higher education participating in Federal 
student aid programs to share information about title VI of the Civil 
Rights Act of 1964, including a link to the webpage of the Office for 
Civil Rights where an individual can submit a complaint regarding 
discrimination in violation of such title, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

December 18, 2025

Ms. Lois Frankel of Florida (for herself, Mr. Bacon, Mrs. McBath, Mr. 
Ciscomani, Ms. Stevens, Mr. Evans of Colorado, Mr. Norcross, and Mr. 
Weber of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Education and Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To require institutions of higher education participating in Federal 
student aid programs to share information about title VI of the Civil 
Rights Act of 1964, including a link to the webpage of the Office for 
Civil Rights where an individual can submit a complaint regarding 
discrimination in violation of such title, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Students on Campus Act of 
2025''.

SEC. 2. TITLE VI AWARENESS CAMPAIGN.

(a) Title VI Awareness Campaign.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Education, acting through 
the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights of the Department of 
Education, shall carry out a public awareness campaign 
regarding the availability of all rights provided to 
individuals under title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 
U.S.C. 2000d et seq.).
(2) Awareness campaign.--The public awareness campaign 
shall include appealing visual and auditory elements and shall 
be updated annually and distributed to institutions of higher 
education for physical posting in 1 or more high traffic public 
places, such as student centers, and digital posting on 1 or 
more high traffic institution web pages, such as student 
services. The campaign shall utilize such methods and materials 
as necessary to maximize student accessibility.
(3) Ability to contract.--The Secretary may carry out this 
subsection directly or through a contract with a nonprofit 
organization that has an established history handling public 
awareness communications campaigns for the Federal Government.
(b) HEA Amendments.--Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(30) The institution--
``(A) has prominently displayed on the homepage of 
the institution a link to the webpage of the Office for 
Civil Rights of the Department of Education where an 
individual can submit a complaint regarding 
discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national 
origin in violation of title VI of the Civil Rights Act 
of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.); and
``(B) will annually display and post the public 
awareness campaign materials created and distributed 
under section 2(a) of the Protecting Students on Campus 
Act of 2025 in high traffic public places on campus, 
such as student centers, and high traffic institution 
web pages, such as student services.''.

SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFINGS.

(a) In General.--Beginning not later than 30 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act and ending 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights of the Department of 
Education shall give a monthly briefing to Congress--
(1) explaining the number of complaints that the Office for 
Civil Rights of the Department of Education (referred to in 
this Act as the ``Office'') has received in the previous month 
regarding discrimination on the basis of race, color, or 
national origin in violation of title VI of the Civil Rights 
Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), disaggregated by the 
basis of discrimination;
(2) describing how the Office plans to address those 
complaints and the investigations opened in response to those 
complaints; and
(3) providing data about the length of time that those 
complaints remain open after being received by the Office.
(b) Report.--Not later than 48 hours prior to each briefing 
described in subsection (a), the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights 
of the Department of Education shall provide a written report to 
Congress that contains the information that will be presented at the 
next briefing, in a manner that protects personally identifiable 
information in accordance with applicable privacy laws.

SEC. 4. AUDIT AND STUDY.

(a) Requirement To Submit Data.--Each institution of higher 
education receiving Federal funds shall submit an annual report to the 
Inspector General of the Department of Education that includes--
(1) the number of complaints regarding discrimination on 
the basis of race, color, or national origin in violation of 
title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et 
seq.) that were submitted to the institution in the previous 
year;
(2) an analysis of the number of such complaints and their 
substance; and
(3) a narrative of the action the institution took with 
respect to such complaints.
(b) Audit.--The Inspector General of the Department of Education 
shall complete an annual audit of the institutions of higher education 
that are in the top 5 percent of institutions based on the per capita 
number of complaints described in subsection (a) received by the 
institutions, controlling for student population, to examine the 
process for addressing such complaints and the need for any referrals 
to the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Education.
(c) Study.--The Inspector General of the Department of Education 
shall conduct a study--
(1) regarding why there is a disparity between the 
complaints regarding discrimination on the basis of race, 
color, or national origin in violation of title VI of the Civil 
Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.) that are submitted 
to institutions of higher education and such complaints that 
are submitted to the Office; and
(2) quantifying the distinction described in paragraph (1).
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