1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Title IX Protection Act . 2. Findings Congress makes the following findings: (1) Education has long been recognized as the great equalizer in America. (2) The Congress believes that providing all students with an educational environment free from discrimination is extremely important. The sexual harassment of students, including sexual violence, creates a hostile environment, interferes with the right of students to receive an education free from discrimination, and is a form of discrimination prohibited by title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. (3) Each school has a responsibility to promptly, thoroughly, and fairly investigate when sexual harassment is reported or observed by school employees. (4) Sexual harassment of students, including acts of sexual violence, is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. (5) In order to assist school districts, colleges, and universities (hereinafter schools ) in meeting these obligations, the Department of Education and its Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a Dear Colleague letter on April 4, 2011 (2011 DCL), reminding schools that the requirements of title IX pertaining to sexual harassment also cover sexual violence, and that laid out the specific steps schools shall take when responding to sexual violence. (6) The 2011 DCL supplemented the Revised Sexual Harassment Guidance: Harassment of Students by School Employees, Other Students, or Third Parties , issued January 19, 2001 (2001 Guidance), by the OCR under the William Jefferson Clinton Administration, and then reissued January 25, 2006, by the OCR under the George W. Bush Administration, by providing additional guidance and practical examples regarding the title IX requirements as they relate to sexual violence. (7) In responding to requests for technical assistance, OCR determined that schools would benefit from additional guidance concerning their obligations under title IX to address sexual violence as a form of