State Representative Chris Turner of House District 101 is pushing for HB449 in which colleges and universities have to disclose why a student was expelled or suspended on transcripts.
If that student were to transfer to a new school, all parties would be privy to a prior investigation. "It is a small measure of justice, but the most important aspect is to protect students on college campuses," said Turner.
Turner said the bill was first filed last year and not because of the Jacob Anderson case. The bill sat on the house calendar and died there. This latest case breathes new life to it. The bill even includes students who withdraw before the school finishes an investigation.
"Someone who has been accused of an assault would try to short-circuit the process simply by withdrawing from the university and killing the investigation that way. This bill would say that you can't," said Turner.
Turner is encouraged by the response from the public, but his hope is the support translates to what happens in Austin.
With every development in the Jacob Anderson case comes another wave of emotion. On Friday that emotion was seen on the University of Texas-Dallas campus. A rally was held by students who stood in solidarity for survivors of sexual assault.
This caps off a week of developments in a rape case where Jacob Anderson, a former Baylor student, agreed to a plea deal that involved no jail time and no requirement to register as a sex offender. And the latest news is that Anderson who left Baylor for University of Texas at Dallas is now not allowed to set foot on campus.
There's even a petition to have the judge who accepted the plea deal to resign. Judge Ralph Strother is with the 19th District Court in McLennan County. As of midday Friday it had just under 40,000 signatures.