Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act
Current understanding
Recurring proposal (reintroduced as HR5486 in the 119th Congress) that would require colleges and universities receiving federal student aid to adopt anti-harassment policies covering harassment based on protected characteristics, including sexual orientation and gender identity, and to establish institutional response and reporting procedures. Named for a Rutgers student whose 2010 death followed cyber-harassment, the bill has been introduced in multiple Congresses without enactment; the 2025 version was referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. Practical effect on affected groups (LGBTQ+ students, students of color, students with disabilities, and others facing targeted harassment) depends on enactment and rulemaking; contested questions include the scope of covered speech and interaction with First Amendment protections on campus.
Evidence log
- 2026-06-25 — Equal Campus Access Act of 2025: cross-connection with equal-campus-access-act: Both regulate campus policies at federally funded higher education institutions, raising questions about how anti-harassment obligations interact with religious student groups’ belief-based membership and conduct standards. (novelty: 3)
- 2025-04-10 — No Visas for Anti-Semitic Students Act: cross-connection with no-visas-for-anti-semitic-students-act: Both address harassment in higher education settings; Tyler Clementi Act targets institutional anti-harassment policies broadly, while HR2866 imposes immigration consequences on foreign-national student perpetrators of anti-Semitic conduct. (novelty: 2)
- 2026-06-25 — No Antisemitism in Education Act of 2026: cross-connection with no-antisemitism-in-education-act: Parallel anti-harassment measures in education: Tyler Clementi Act covers higher education broadly, while HR8476 targets antisemitism across federally funded educational institutions. (novelty: 2)
- 2025-09-18 — Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act of 2025: cross-connection with safe-schools-civil-rights-protections: Companion anti-harassment proposals across education levels: Safe Schools targets K–12 environments while the Tyler Clementi Act targets higher education institutions receiving federal aid. (novelty: 2)