Louisiana Bills Target LSU Sex Assault, Harassment Scandals
Louisiana senators on April 21 started moving legislation prompted by the sexual misconduct scandals at Louisiana State University, measures aimed at tightening rules for how colleges must handle allegations of sexual assault, harassment and dating violence.
The proposals, advanced without objection by the Senate Education Committee, grew out of repeated hearings held by female lawmakers after a blistering independent report detailed years of widespread mishandling of misconduct claims at LSU.
“I think we are sending a clear and resounding message to the students” that lawmakers are responding to the controversy, said Sen. Regina Barrow, the Baton Rouge Democrat who led those hearings.
Senators advance bills in response to LSU misconduct scandal
By MELINDA DESLATTEApril 21, 2021 GMT
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) Louisiana senators Wednesday started moving legislation prompted by the sexual misconduct scandals at Louisiana State University, measures aimed at tightening rules for how colleges must handle allegations of sexual assault, harassment and dating violence.
The proposals, advanced without objection by the Senate Education Committee, grew out of repeated hearings held by female lawmakers after a blistering independent report detailed years of widespread mishandling of misconduct claims at LSU.
“I think we are sending a clear and resounding message to the students” that lawmakers are responding to the controversy, said Sen. Regina Barrow, the Baton Rouge Democrat who led those hearings.
Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
Legislation inspired by the LSU sexual misconduct scandal mandating higher ed employees properly report known incidents of “power-based violence” is headed to the Senate floor. Power-based violence is defined as dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and stalking.
The sweeping bill also covers everything from mandatory awareness training to establishing what must be documented related to those cases. Baton Rouge Senator Regina Barrow said while the scandal at LSU may have prompted this bill, this problem isn’t unique to that institution.
“While we cannot legislate hearts, what we can do is legislate behavior,” said Barrow. “We want to address the culture that has existed.”
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BATON ROUGE Debates about Louisiana s free college tuition program known as TOPS are cyclical in the Legislature, cropping up every few years as lawmakers raise concerns about the program s ballooning price tag or notice the disparities in who receives the aid.
The latest questioning came Wednesday in the House Appropriations Committee, prompted by charts showing much of the tuition aid goes to wealthier families and comparing TOPS spending to the significantly lower financing earmarked for need-based aid programs for college students.
It s part of a perennial discussion at the Louisiana Legislature about who TOPS should help. Those discussions, however, have never generated significant change to one of Louisiana s most popular entitlement programs.