HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 216        FILED ON: 1/12/2015

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1078

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Timothy R. Whelan

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to student’s rights in higher education.

_______________

PETITION OF:

 

Name:

District/Address:

Date Added:

Timothy R. Whelan

1st Barnstable

1/12/2015

Susan Williams Gifford

2nd Plymouth

9/11/2019

Aaron Vega

5th Hampden

9/11/2019

Kay Khan

11th Middlesex

9/11/2019


HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 216        FILED ON: 1/12/2015

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1078

By Mr. Whelan of Brewster, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1078) of Timothy R. Whelan and others for legislation to require post secondary institutions to inform students of their right to call their parents and their right to an attorney in the event of a disciplinary hearing that may result in expulsion.  Higher Education.

 

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 3942 OF 2013-2014.]

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

_______________

In the One Hundred and Eighty-Ninth General Court
(2015-2016)

_______________

 

An Act relative to student’s rights in higher education.

 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Prior to any disciplinary hearing to be held by a post secondary public or private educational institution in the commonwealth concerning a student which could result in the student being suspended or expelled, the administrator or disciplinarian of the educational institution shall inform the student that he or she has the right to call his or her parents while in the custody of campus police or a law enforcement component of any post secondary educational institution in the commonwealth, and to have an attorney present during any subsequent institutional disciplinary hearing.

SECTION 2. Notwithstanding any federal or state law or regulation or school policy or regulation to the contrary, the school administration or law enforcement component of any post secondary state or private educational institution in the commonwealth, conducting a criminal investigation or disciplinary hearing of any student or having referred any alleged criminal activity of a student to a federal, state or local law enforcement agency, a federal, prosecutor, district attorney or the state attorney general shall, upon discovering any exculpatory evidence related to such student suspect under investigation for or charged with a crime, immediately notify, in writing, such law enforcement agency, federal, prosecutor, district attorney or the state attorney general of the exculpatory evidence. Such notice shall be sent to the agency that has primary responsibility for the criminal matter at the time of the discovery of exculpatory evidence.

SECTION 3. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prevent the temporary suspension of a student pending an investigation.