Patty Murray (D-WA)
Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act of 2025
A Democratic bill with 22 Democratic cosponsors · See all 23 cosponsors
Last activity — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
In committee
Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.
The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act of 2025 aims to stop harassment at colleges and universities. It requires schools to create and share clear policies that prohibit harassment based on traits like race, sex, disability, and religion. Schools must also explain their reporting procedures and how they handle harassment incidents. Additionally, the bill creates a competitive grant program to fund prevention, counseling, and training. This program is authorized for $50 million annually from 2026 through 2031.
Yes· 3 of 23
- Scored +9
Would students be better off under this?
Provides comprehensive protections and support services for students in higher education.
- Scored +8
Would people in their twenties and thirties be better off under this?
Directly benefits college students through increased protections and support services.
- Scored +8
Would LGBTQ people be better off under this?
Directly targets harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The opposite· 3 of 4
- Scored -2
Does this leave more decisions to the states?
Increases federal oversight of institutional policies.
- Scored -2
Does this reduce what the federal government spends?
Increases federal spending through the establishment of a new grant program.
- Scored -1
Does this reduce what the federal government owes?
Authorizes $50 million in annual spending for grants.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Clear Protection Standards: Students gain clear protections against harassment based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or religion in various settings, including on campus, in dorms, and via electronic communications (Section 2).
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Increased Transparency: Students and staff will know exactly how to report harassment and what the school will do after a report is made, including being informed of the outcome of disciplinary proceedings (Section 2).
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Better Support Services: The bill requires schools to notify people about available counseling and mental health services for both victims and perpetrators of harassment (Section 2).
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Funding for Prevention: The grant program provides money for schools to start or improve programs that prevent harassment and provide redress services to students (Section 3).
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Education and Training: Funds can be used to train students and staff on how to recognize and stop harassment (Section 3).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
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Administrative Burdens: Institutions of higher education must develop new policies and provide detailed descriptions of every occasion where a pattern of harassment occurs, which requires significant tracking and reporting (Section 2).
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Competitive Funding Limits: Because grants are awarded on a competitive basis, many schools may not receive the funding needed to implement these programs (Section 3).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would students be better off under this? — Provides comprehensive protections and support services for students in higher education. Would LGBTQ people be better off under this? — Directly targets harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Would people in their twenties and thirties be better off under this? — Directly benefits college students through increased protections and support services. Would Black Americans be better off under this? — Provides explicit protections against race-based harassment. Would Asian Americans be better off under this? — Provides explicit protections against race and national origin based harassment. Would Hispanic Americans be better off under this? — Provides explicit protections against race and national origin based harassment. Would Native Americans be better off under this? — Provides explicit protections against race based harassment. Would people with disabilities be better off under this? — Mandates protections against harassment based on disability. Would white Americans be better off under this? — Provides general protections against harassment regardless of race. Would women be better off under this? — Improves protections against sex-based harassment and pregnancy-related discrimination. Would immigrants be better off under this? — Protects students from harassment based on national origin.
- Social Issues And Justice
- Does this expand the rights of people with disabilities? — Mandates protections against harassment based on disability. Does this narrow the gap between how men and women are treated? — Prohibits harassment based on sex, including pregnancy and gender stereotypes. Does this expand the rights of LGBTQ people? — Explicitly protects students from harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Does this narrow racial gaps in how people are treated? — Mandates policies prohibiting harassment based on race, color, and national origin. Does this protect the freedom to practise a religion? — Protects students from harassment based on religion.
- Healthcare
- Does this make mental health care easier to get? — Requires schools to notify students of counseling and mental health services and funds redress services. Does this make health care easier to get in general? — Increases awareness and availability of mental health support in higher education settings. Does this put more money into medical research? — Directs the Secretary to publish best practices based on scientific research.
- Governance And Ideology
- Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see? — Increases transparency by requiring schools to disclose harassment policies and reporting outcomes. Does this give the federal government more power? — Imposes new federal reporting and policy mandates on higher education institutions. Does this protect the right to fair treatment by the courts? — Requires that both accuser and accused be informed of the outcome of disciplinary proceedings. Does this leave more decisions to the states? — Increases federal oversight of institutional policies.
- Economy And Finance
- Does this reduce what the federal government spends? — Increases federal spending through the establishment of a new grant program. Does this make the government pay for what it commits to? — Adds new recurring annual expenditures to the federal budget. Does this reduce what the federal government owes? — Authorizes $50 million in annual spending for grants.
- Education And Technology
- Does this put more money into scientific research? — Provides grants for developing evidence-based best practices for anti-harassment.
- 9/18/2025
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
- 23 Cosponsors added.
- Introduced in Senate
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
Tammy BaldwinDemocrat · Wisconsin
Richard BlumenthalDemocrat · Connecticut
Cory BookerDemocrat · New Jersey
Tammy DuckworthDemocrat · Illinois
John FettermanDemocrat · Pennsylvania
Kirsten GillibrandDemocrat · New York
Mazie HironoDemocrat · Hawaii
Maggie HassanDemocrat · New Hampshire
Amy KlobucharDemocrat · Minnesota
Timothy KaineDemocrat · Virginia
Ben LujánDemocrat · New Mexico
Edward MarkeyDemocrat · Massachusetts
Christopher MurphyDemocrat · Connecticut
Jeff MerkleyDemocrat · Oregon
Alex PadillaDemocrat · California
Bernie SandersIndependent · Vermont
Jeanne ShaheenDemocrat · New Hampshire
Brian SchatzDemocrat · Hawaii
Tina SmithDemocrat · Minnesota
Chris Van HollenDemocrat · Maryland
Ron WydenDemocrat · Oregon
Sheldon WhitehouseDemocrat · Rhode Island
Elizabeth WarrenDemocrat · Massachusetts