Promote state-level laws (like NY’s) and urge individual universities to adopt transparency policies on their own.
Scale state-level transparency requirements and encourage campuses to adopt reporting policies voluntarily, using New York’s approach as a model. State mandates can reach private colleges and move faster than federal action, creating proof points for workable reporting. The trade-off is patchwork coverage, so state wins should be designed to be portable and eventually federalizable.
Why this works
- State mandates can cover private colleges not directly under federal mandates (state law can require even private campuses in that state to report incidents, for instance).
- They can be tailored and perhaps move quicker in some states.
- Meanwhile, some proactive universities might decide to implement public bias incident logs or annual reports without being forced, to show leadership.
- This bottom-up approach could complement top-down.
Common Cause
AdvocacyBuilding a stronger democracy and accountable government
Common Cause is a grassroots organization founded in 1970 to uphold the core values of American democracy. It works to create an open, honest, and accountable government by tackling issues like ethics in politics, money in elections, voting rights, and gerrymandering::. With chapters in many states, Common Cause mobilizes citizens, advocates for reforms at all levels of government, and has been instrumental in passing transparency and ethics laws.
Mechanism
About LobbyingHow Common Cause uses funding
- Identify states where campus safety and anti-discrimination measures are already moving, like New York.
- Draft model provisions that require annual disclosure of complaint data and outcomes and clear OCR-linking practices.
- Work with state lawmakers and higher-ed systems on definitions and implementation guidance.
- Encourage universities to publish bias incident logs or annual reports voluntarily to demonstrate leadership.
- Use state implementation lessons to inform comparability and future federal baselines.
Milestones
Checkpoints and the expected timing for each step
- 1
Model state package drafted
Near termA template bill and reporting framework are ready.
- 2
State adoption advances
This sessionA state passes or materially advances a transparency mandate.
- 3
Campus policy adoption grows
OngoingUniversities publish dashboards or annual reports voluntarily.
- 4
Templates standardize
After early implementationsReporting categories converge across adopters.