A new senate bill introduced Wednesday will make a ranking of colleges by their sexual assault numbers public records, as well as creating motre stringent punishments for institutions which do not comply. However, this legislation still fails to right one of the most egregious wrongs in the war on sexual assault: the frequent and blatant violation of the due process rights of the accused.

Julianne Stanford at The College Fix reports:

College Sexual-Assault Rankings To Be Made Public Under Bipartisan Senate Bill

A bipartisan Senate bill introduced Wednesday seeks to combat instances of sexual assault and violence on college campuses across the nation.

It comes at a time when 55 universities and colleges are under federal investigation for possible violations of the law detailing the handling of sexual violence and assault allegations, according to a report issued by the Department of Education in May.

Victims advocacy groups hailed the legislation, but a civil-liberties group that frequently targets colleges for alleged due-process violations against accused students said the bill was missing needed safeguards for the accused.

The Campus Accountability and Safety Act was announced at a press conference on Capitol Hill by sponsoring senators, sexual assault victims and victim advocacy organizations.

Cosponsors of the bill include Sens. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.;  Marco Rubio, R-Fla.;  Dean Heller, R-Nev.;  Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.;  Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa;  Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.;  Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.;  and Mark Warner, D-Va.

The bill is “taking aim at sexual assaults on college and university campuses by protecting and empowering students, and strengthening accountability and transparency for institutions — including establishing stiff penalties for non-compliance with the legislation’s new standards for training, data and best practices,” according to a statement from Rubio’s office.

“This bill represents a rare thing in Washington—a truly collaborative, bipartisan effort—and that bodes well for our shared fight to turn the tide against sexual violence on our campuses,” McCaskill said in a press release.

The senators published a fact sheet outlining key aspects of the legislation, including guidelines for campus officials on how to deal with victims of sexual crimes and more stringent punishments for universities that fail to report or investigate such instances.

Institutions of higher education would be required to have confidential advisers “to coordinate support services and accommodations for survivors,” in addition to a minimum training standard for these advisers “so that they have a firm understanding of the nature of these crimes and their effect on survivors.”