S-0903.4
SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5355
State of Washington
69th Legislature
2025 Regular Session
By Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development (originally sponsored by Senators Orwall, Slatter, Dhingra, Hasegawa, Nobles, Stanford, Trudeau, Valdez, and C. Wilson)
READ FIRST TIME 02/18/25.
AN ACT Relating to improving safety at institutions of higher education while supporting student survivors of sexual assault; amending RCW 28B.10.735 , 28B.112.040 , and 28B.10.147 ; adding new sections to chapter 28B.112 RCW; and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature recognizes that policies concerning sex-based violence and harassment have evolved into a survivor-focused, victim-centered approach on a state level. While college campuses have been working in this area, this approach has not been fully realized yet, and sex-based violence and harassment remain a major barrier for students working to achieve their educational goals.
The legislature finds that, according to the rape, abuse, and incest national network, postsecondary students are at high risk for sex-based violence and harassment; among undergraduate and graduate students, 13 percent experience sexual assault or rape during their postsecondary schooling years. Undergraduate women in particular experience even higher rates, with more than one in four experiencing sexual assault or rape.