Illinois Rep. Stuart’s higher education sexual misconduct climate survey bill passes House and Senate

Passed bill authored by State Rep. Katie Stuart aims to improve transparency and understanding of sexual misconduct on Illinois campuses through regular climate surveys and public reporting, according to the Illinois General Assembly.

In the House, 74 Democrats and 38 Republicans voted in favor of the bill.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, 38 Democrats and 19 Republicans voted in favor of the bill.

Stuart introduced the bill in the Illinois House on Feb. 6, 2025 during the 104th session.

The legislation, known as HB2967, was passed on May 31, 2025 during the general assembly session 104.

According to the Illinois General Assembly site, the legislature summarized the bill’s official text as follows: “Amends the Preventing Sexual Violence in Higher Education Act. Requires each higher education institution to biennially (rather than annually) conduct a sexual misconduct climate survey of all students at the institution. Adds the Executive Director of the Illinois Community College Board, members appointed by the Board of Higher Education, and members appointed by the Illinois Community College Board to the Task Force on Campus Sexual Misconduct Climate Surveys. Removes some members of the Task Force who were appointed by the Governor. Requires the Task Force to meet to recommend updates and revisions to the base survey (rather than to review the results of the survey and to implement updates and improvements). Removes the civil fine imposed upon an institution that violates the provisions or fails to carry out the provisions. Makes other changes.”

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill mandates that Illinois higher education institutions conduct a biennial sexual misconduct climate survey among all students, using a base survey developed by the Task Force on Campus Sexual Misconduct Climate Surveys. Institutions may add trauma-informed, campus-specific questions. Survey results must be summarized and published online, without disclosing personally identifying information. A task force will consist of members from various stakeholders, including students and representatives from educational and advocacy organizations, and will dissolve after the 2027 survey. Data from these surveys will be made publicly accessible through the Illinois Board of Higher Education and Community College Board’s websites.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Terra Costa Howard (Democrat-42nd District), Rep. Aarón M. Ortíz (Democrat-1st District), and Sen. Adriane Johnson (Democrat-30th District), along with 39 other sponsors.

Bills in Illinois follow a multi-step legislative process, beginning with introduction in either the House or Senate, followed by committee review, floor debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching the governor for approval or veto. The General Assembly operates on a biennial schedule, and while typically thousands of bills are introduced each session, only a fraction successfully pass through the process to become law.

You can read more about bills and other measures here.

Stuart graduated from Rutgers University in 1989 with a BA.

Stuart, a Democrat, was elected to the Illinois State House in 2017 to represent the state’s 112th House District, replacing previous state representative Dwight Kay.

Lawmakers listed as “Not Voting” were present for the vote but did not cast a vote. Those marked as having an “Excused Absence” were not present and formally provided a reason for their absence, which was accepted.

While the final vote determined the bill’s passage, lawmakers in both chambers held additional votes related to concurrences. These earlier votes are included below for context.