Speaker of the House Brendan Sharkey, D-Hamden, also approves of legislative hearings on how UConn handles sexual assaults.
“Keeping our children safe is a fundamental priority of a university,” Speaker Sharkey said. “Any indication that this is not taking place at our flagship university is unacceptable – we must have a zero-tolerance policy for sexual violence on campus. The recent, unsettling allegations that UConn failed in that responsibility warrant an investigation and public hearings by the legislature.”
Earlier today, Republican legislative leaders sent out a press release calling on such hearings through the media.
“There is no reason why this effort needed to be partisan – I’m happy to work with my Republican colleagues,” said Speaker Sharkey. “Sexual assault on campus is too important an issue for political grandstanding.”
Last year, the legislature passed a new law (HB 5031) requiring colleges and universities to adopt and disclose policies related to sexual assault; create a plan for enforcing court-ordered protective and restraining orders; make campus disciplinary proceedings uniform and transparent; and provide students and employees with sexual assault awareness and prevention programming.