SB 212 Frequently Asked Questions

Senate Bill 212 (SB 212) passed during the 2019 legislative session. It is a Texas State Law that requires all employees at a public or private post-secondary institution to promptly report any knowledge of any incidents of sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating violence, or stalking "committed by or against a person who was a student enrolled at or an employee of the institution at the time of the incident" to the Title IX Coordinator. SB 212 imposed penalties to employees who fail to report, which took effect on January 1, 2020. 

The Title IX Coordinator, see below, is the HCC official responsible for ensuring HCC complies with Title IX, including responding to and investigating all complaints of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, including sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating violence, and stalking.

Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX
Osvaldo Gomez, MSW
Director EEO/Compliance
3100 Main Street, 7th Floor
Houston, TX 77002
713.718.8636
hcc.oeotix@hccs.edu
713.718.8271 office
713.718.8274 fax

• Click here to file an electronic report.
• In-person at the address listed above.
• By telephone at 713.718.8271.

Yes. Do not try to discern the student’s enrollment status or the employee’s employment status if the information you have available is unclear. Report any information that was shared with you by the student or the employee to the Title IX Coordinator and they will determine whether the information qualifies. The report to the Title IX Coordinator must include all relevant information that is known about the incident. Click here to file an electronic report.

The report to the Title IX Coordinator must include “all information concerning the incident known to the reporting person that is relevant to the investigation.” Click hereto file an electronic report.

The word “promptly” is not defined in SB 212, so standard rules of construction look to the dictionary definition of the word in question.  “Prompt” is defined as performed at once or without delay.

Yes. SB 212 requires all employees, except those designated as confidential employees by the Title IX Coordinator, to promptly report any knowledge of any incidents of sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating violence, or stalking committed by or against a student enrolled or an employee. The report to the Title IX Coordinator must include all relevant information that is known about the incident.

Do not try to discern in which category the incident may be classified. Report any information that was shared with you by the student to the Title IX Coordinator and they will determine whether the information qualifies. The report to the Title IX Coordinator must include all relevant information that is known about the incident. Click here to file an electronic report.

Unless the Title IX Coordinator has designated you as a confidential employee, you should inform the person that, at this stage of the process, you are required by law to report all known information to the Title IX Coordinator. For a list of confidential employees click here.

The Title IX Coordinator has designated HCC Counselors as confidential employees. Because of this designation, they are only required to report limited information about your concerns. The Counselor is only required to report the type of incident (i.e., sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, or stalking) and may not include any information that would violate your expected rights to privacy.

No. The law only requires employees to mandatorily report and it specifically excludes a student enrolled at the institution. However, HCC strongly encourages the prompt reporting of incidents of sex discrimination (including discrimination of the basis of gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation), sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, interpersonal violence (including dating and domestic violence), and stalking.

Yes. The mandatory reporting obligation for employees not only covers incidents that occur on any campus, but also incidents that occur off-campus where there is a connection to HCC educational activities or employment. Examples include, but are not limited to, sexual harassment that occurred at a work conference, sexual harassment that occurred during a fieldwork or a student organization trip, sexual harassment that occurred during a sporting event. Click here to file an electronic report.

SB 212 has strong penalties for not complying with the law. Employees failing to report incidents of sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating violence, or stalking, shall be terminated and can be charged with a Class B Misdemeanor. If the employee intentionally tries to conceal the incident, they could also face a Class A misdemeanor charge. Furthermore, HCC itself could also face a disciplinary action as a failure to comply with the bill’s requirements and could incur as much as a $2 million penalty. 

There are two processes used to determine penalties: the criminal process and an administrative process. In both cases, the penalties under SB 212 apply starting January 1, 2020.

Generally, yes. Regardless of the type of class you teach, course content, subject matter, or whether the student voluntarily disclosed the incident without any prompting, SB 212 only has two exceptions for not reporting incidents of sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating violence or stalking. You are not required to report if, 1) you are the victim of sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating violence or stalking, and if 2) the disclosure is made at a “public awareness event” sponsored by HCC or an HCC-affiliated student organization. A disclosure made by a student or employee during class will require you to make mandatory report to the Title IX Coordinator. If you need assistance determining whether something needs to be reported, contact the Title IX Coordinator to seek guidance. Click hereto file an electronic report.

Yes. SB 212 requires all employees, except those designated as confidential employees by the Title IX Coordinator, to promptly report any knowledge of any incidents of sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating violence, or stalking committed by or against a student or an employee. The report to the Title IX Coordinator must include all relevant information that is known about the incident. Please contact the Title IX Coordinator if you have any questions regarding the designation of confidential employee. 

For a list of confidential employees click here.

To file an electronic report, click here.

SB 212 does not stipulate penalties or sanctions to an employee’s professional license if they fail to report an incident of sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating violence, or stalking. However, SB 212 does state that an employee that fails to report an incident of sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating violence, or stalking, shall be terminated.

Because there are potential employment and criminal penalties for failure to report, there may be penalties imposed by your licensing board. We encourage you to check with your professional licensing board to request information regarding any statutory or administrative provisions that may affect the suspension or revocation of your professional license because of the passing of SB 212.