Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps Safety Act of 2023”.
Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps Safety Act of 2023
A BILL
To amend title 10, United States Code, to increase transparency and reporting on sexual violence in the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps Program, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 JROTC program certification
Section 2031 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
“(i)
“(1) The Secretary of Defense shall permanently suspend any Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps unit that fails to notify the Department of Defense and the Department of Education of allegations that an instructor sexually harassed or assaulted a student participating in the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps within 48 hours after the institution is notified of the allegation.
“(2) The Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives an annual report including information on units suspended pursuant to this subsection and a justification for the reinstatement of any such unit.”
Sec. 3 Department of Defense climate surveys
Section 481 of title 10, United States Code, is amended—
in subsection (a)—
in paragraph (1), by striking “four surveys” and inserting “five surveys”; and
in paragraph (2)—
by striking “four surveys” and inserting “five surveys”; and
by adding at the end the following new subparagraphs:
“(E) To identify and assess gender issues and discrimination among members of the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps and the Senior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps.
“(F) To identify and assess disability issues and discrimination among members of the Armed Forces serving on active duty.
“(G) To identify and assess disability issues and discrimination among members of the Armed Forces serving in the reserve components.
“(H) To identify and assess racial and ethnic issues and discrimination among members of the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps and the Senior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps.
“(I) To identify and assess disability issues and discrimination among members of the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps and the Senior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps.”
in subsection (e), by inserting “and publish on a publicly accessible website of the Department” after “the Secretary shall submit to Congress”.
Sec. 4 Program inspections
Section 2031(b) of title 10, United States Code, is amended—
in paragraph (4), by striking “; and” and inserting a semicolon;
by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (8); and
by inserting after paragraph (4) the following new paragraphs:
“(5) the institution has been inspected and approved by the military department concerned in the previous 18 months;
“(6) the military department concerned certifies that—
“(A) the institution—
“(i) has created a process for students to report violations of their rights under title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794), including the rights of students to not be subject to discrimination or subject to retaliation for reporting a violation of those laws; and
“(ii) has notified the students and instructors of those rights and the process for reporting violations of those rights, including information on available reporting options, including mandatory reporters, and available supportive measures to ensure students have access to any accommodations needed in the aftermath of experiencing discrimination; and
“(B) the unit includes biannual training to inform students of methods to prevent, respond to, and report sexual assault and harassment;
“(7) the institution agrees to report all allegations of violations described under paragraph (6)(A) to the military department concerned and the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights not less than annually; and”
Sec. 5 Annual report on allegations of discrimination and sex-based harassment in JROTC programs
Section 2031 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by section 2 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
“(j)
“(1) Not later than March 31 each year, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Education shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on allegations of sex-based harassment (including sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking) and discriminatory harassment based on disability, race, color, national origin, and other sex-based harassment, including sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, pregnancy, and related medical conditions in all JROTC programs during the preceding year.
“(2) Each report required under paragraph (1) shall set forth the following:
“(A) The number of reported allegations of a possible violation under title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) in school-affiliated JROTC programs, including—
“(i) the number of such reported allegations that were investigated;
“(ii) the outcome of those investigations;
“(iii) the number of allegations the Department of Defense, military services, or Department of Education received directly from students or third parties, including whether the individual making the report raised concerns that the institution had not properly investigated the incident or reported it to proper authorities within and outside of the school on any initial allegation that was reported to the institution; and
“(iv) the number of such reported allegations by State, including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and United States Virgin Islands, in which these reports occurred.
“(B) The number of reports that the Department of Defense, military services, or Department of Education have received during the reporting period involving allegations of sex-based harassment (including sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking), harassment based on disability, race, color, national origin, and other sex-based harassment, including sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, pregnancy and related medical conditions, by instructors against students in the JROTC program, including—
“(i) the type of incident;
“(ii) the military service;
“(iii) the number of instructors and number of allegations they each received;
“(iv) the number of reports of sex-based harassment (including sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking), harassment based on disability, race, color, national origin, and other sex-based harassment, including sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, pregnancy and related medical conditions, that have been investigated;
“(v) the number of reports or investigations that have led to the removal of instructors from JROTC programs;
“(vi) the number of allegations the Department of Defense received directly from students or third parties, including whether the individual making the report raised concerns the institution had not properly investigated the incident or reported it to proper authorities within and outside of the school on any initial allegation that was reported to the institution; and
“(vii) the number of such reported allegations by State, including the District of Columbia, in which these reports occurred.
“(C) The number of reports that the Department of Defense, military services, or Department of Education have received during the reporting period involving allegations of sex-based harassment (including sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking), harassment based on disability, race, color, national origin, and other sex-based harassment, including sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, pregnancy, and related medical conditions, by students against students in the JROTC program, including—
“(i) the type of incident;
“(ii) the military service;
“(iii) the number of students who were alleged to have committed such acts and the number of allegations that each student received;
“(iv) the number of reports of sex-based harassment (including sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking), harassment based on disability, race, color, national origin, and other sex-based harassment, including sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, pregnancy and related medical conditions, that have been investigated;
“(v) the number of reports or investigations that have led to the removal of students who were alleged to have committed such acts or students who were alleged victims of those acts from the JROTC program;
“(vi) the number of allegations the Department of Defense or Department of Education received directly from students or third parties, including whether the individual making the report raised concerns the institution had not properly investigated the incident or reported it to proper authorities within and outside of the school on any initial allegation that was reported to the institution; and
“(vii) the number of such reported allegations by State, including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and United States Virgin Islands in which these reports occurred.
“(D) Any steps the Department of Defense and the Department of Education have taken to mitigate sex-based harassment (including sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking) in JROTC programs during the preceding year.
“(3) Each report required under paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form and may not be marked as controlled unclassified information.
“(4) Each secondary school (as defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7081)) participating in the JROTC program under this chapter that receives funding under title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 shall develop and submit to the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Education for inclusion in the report required under paragraph (1) a statement of policy regarding—
“(A) the secondary school’s programs to prevent sex-based harassment (including sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking), harassment based on disability, race, color, national origin, and other sex-based harassment, including sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, pregnancy and related medical conditions;
“(B) the JROTC program’s provision of evidence-based training to JROTC recruits, in coordination with school-based mental health services providers as defined in section 4102(6) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7012(6)), if applicable, regarding—
“(i) the mental health resources and services made available to them;
“(ii) mental health education; and
“(iii) methods that students can use to seek help for themselves and others, including for sex-based harassment (including sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking), harassment based on disability, race, color, national origin, and other sex-based harassment, including sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, pregnancy and related medical conditions; and
“(C) the procedures that the secondary school will follow once an allegation of sex-based harassment (including sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking), harassment based on disability, race, color, national origin, or other sex-based harassment, including sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, pregnancy and related medical conditions, has been reported, including a statement of the standard of evidence that will be used during any school conduct proceeding arising from the report.
“(5) The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Education shall annually report to the authorizing committees regarding compliance with this subsection by the JROTC program, including an up-to-date report on the Secretary’s monitoring of such compliance.
“(6)
“(A) The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Education shall seek the advice and counsel of the Attorney General concerning the development and dissemination to the JROTC program of best practices information about campus safety and emergencies related to sexual misconduct.
“(B) The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Education shall seek the advice and counsel of the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services concerning the development and dissemination to the JROTC program of best practices information about preventing and responding to incidents of sex-based harassment (including sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking), harassment based on disability, race, color, national origin, and other sex-based harassment, including sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, pregnancy and related medical conditions, including elements of institutional policies that have proven successful based on evidence-based outcome measurements.
“(7)
“(A) No officer, employee, or agent of an institution participating in any program under this chapter shall retaliate, intimidate, threaten, coerce, or otherwise discriminate against any individual for exercising their rights or responsibilities under any provision of this subsection.
“(B) Each report required under paragraph (1) shall include all reported incidents of retaliation against reporters of the key prohibitions outlined in paragraph (2).
“(C) Each individual who exercised their rights or responsibilities to report under any provision in this subsection shall be offered mental health assistance from a school-based mental health services provider as defined in section 4102(6) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
“(8) In this subsection, the term appropriate congressional committees means—
“(A) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; and
“(B) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives.”
Sec. 6 Informed consent
Informed consent requirement— Section 2031 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by section 5 of this Act, is further amended by inserting after subsection (j) the following new subsection:
“(k)
“(1) No student shall be enrolled in the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps without the full and informed consent of both the student and the student's legal guardian. Students and legal guardians shall be notified of the voluntary nature of the program, process for disenrolling from the program, and the program’s requirements, including academic and physical expectations for students.
“(2) The Secretary of Defense shall suspend any Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps unit found to have violated the full and informed consent requirement under paragraph (1).”
Plan— Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, develop and implement a plan to collect affirmative, informed consent from students and their legal guardians before enrollment in the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, as required by subsection (k) of section 2031 of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a).
Sec. 7 Comptroller General review
In general— Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on efforts to increase transparency and reporting on sexual violence in the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps Program.
Elements— The report required under subsection (a) shall include a description of the following:
The implementation of section 2031 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by sections 2, 4, 5, and 6 of this Act, and subparagraph (E) of section 481(a)(2) of title 10, United States Code, as added by section 3 of this Act.
The adequacy of the Department of Defense’s vetting process for Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps instructors in preventing individuals who engage in harassment from becoming JROTC instructors and an analysis of whether any additional needed components of the vetting process.
The Department of Defense and the Department of Education’s oversight of compliance of units with respect to title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.).
Any changes in the number of incidents of sex-based harassment (including sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking), harassment based on disability, race, color, national origin, and other sex-based harassment, including sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, pregnancy and related medical conditions, reported to institutions or law enforcement agencies or reported in the climate surveys pursuant to subparagraph (E) of section 481(a)(2) of title 10, United States Code, as added by section 3 of this Act.
The sufficiency of military department unit inspections.
Appropriate congressional committees defined— In this section, the term appropriate congressional committees means—
the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; and
the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives.