S. 163 — Protecting Students on Campus Act of 2025

This section directs the Secretary of Education, acting through the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, to carry out an annual public awareness campaign on rights under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (i.e., prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in federally assisted programs), with appealing visual and auditory materials distributed to institutions of higher education for physical posting in high-traffic campus areas (e.g., student centers) and digital posting on high-traffic webpages (e.g., student services). The section amends the Higher Education Act to add to the program participation agreement requirements for institutional eligibility in Title IV student aid programs a new condition that institutions (1) prominently display on their homepage a link to the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights webpage for submitting Title VI complaints and (2) annually display and post the awareness campaign materials in high-traffic campus locations and webpages.

This section requires the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights of the Department of Education to provide monthly briefings to Congress, beginning not later than 30 days after enactment of this Act and ending one year after enactment, covering (1) the number of complaints received by the Office for Civil Rights in the previous month regarding discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in violation of title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, disaggregated by basis of discrimination; (2) the Office's plans to address those complaints and investigations opened in response; and (3) data on the length of time those complaints remain open. Not later than 48 hours prior to each briefing, the Assistant Secretary must submit a written report to Congress containing the briefing information, protecting personally identifiable information in accordance with applicable privacy laws.

This section requires each institution of higher education receiving federal funds to submit an annual report to the Inspector General (IG) of the Department of Education detailing the number, substance, and resolution actions for complaints of discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in violation of title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 received in the prior year. It further directs the IG to conduct an annual audit of the top 5% of such institutions by per capita number of those complaints (controlling for student population) to assess complaint-handling processes and any need for referrals to the Department's Office for Civil Rights. The section also requires the IG to conduct a study on the disparity between title VI complaints submitted to institutions versus the Office for Civil Rights and to quantify that disparity.

This section prohibits the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the Department of Education from closing or dismissing any complaint due to resolution by another federal, state, or local civil rights enforcement agency or through a recipient's internal grievance procedures. (Thus, OCR must process all complaints independently.)