This spring, the U.S. Department of Education imposed a staggering $14 million fine against Liberty University, a private university in Lynchburg, Virginia. The DOE fined Liberty for violating the federal Clery Act which...more
Now that the 2024 Title IX regulations have been released, what does your school need to do to be fully compliant by August 1? Over the next few months, our Franczek Title IX team will provide tips and information on key...more
The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) completed its review of the 2024 Title IX Final Rule (Rule) last week. OCR quickly finalized it and released it to the public on April 19, 2024, with an...more
On April 19, 2024, the Department of Education released final Title IX regulations. The significant revisions expand the definition of sexual harassment, attempt to remove barriers to reporting sexual harassment and extend...more
Educational institutions are anxiously awaiting the U.S. Department of Education’s issuance of the amended final Title IX regulations. The deadline for releasing the new regulations has been pushed back several times...more
Title IX coordinators in higher education have a lot on their plates when it comes to complying with various federal and state regulations related to sex- and gender-based harassment, discrimination, and violence prevention....more
[Revised and updated from my previous blog post in August]. As you know, the Department of Education is empowered to craft regulations to fulfill Congress’ mandate for sex equity under Title IX. The Department (ED),...more
We wanted to share a quick update that the final Title IX rules are now set to be released sometime in March 2024. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) just updated the final release dates on the...more
In our second blog entry, “Barriers to Student Reporting,” we reported that a quasi-legal judicial system may produce increased barriers for reporting sexual misconduct cases and, therefore, have diminished effects on...more
Sexual misconduct on college campuses has become more prevalent as well as severe in the past few decades, with significant social, financial, psychological, and educational costs to survivors and institutions (Nightingale...more
This summer seemed to fly by as quickly as the Illinois Legislature and Governor J.B. Pritzker enacted a dizzying slew of more new employment laws between the months of June and August. These changes are sweeping and require...more
If you’re like most of us in the Title IX field, the deeply technocratic nuances of federal regulation bore you to tears. I share your ennui. Please consider this your least complicated primer on how and when we may get the...more
Now that we have examined the benefits of barrier analysis, let’s dive deeply into preparing your community to understand that an increase in reporting is not notably correlated with an increase in incidents....more
What does Title IX mean to you? Title IX is endlessly fascinating, which is one of the reasons I love it so much. It is such a simple statement embedded in law, yet it has applicability in numerous and ever-evolving...more
An amendment to the Illinois Gender Violence Act (740 ILCS 82 et seq.), codified as Public Act No. 103-0282, was signed by Governor J.B. Pritzker on July 28, 2023, and goes into effect January 1, 2024. The amendment clarifies...more
Title IX regulations require schools, colleges, and districts to have policies and procedures in place to address claims of sexual harassment. Rumors and gossip are undoubtedly damaging, but do they constitute sexual...more
When you signed your child or teen up for cheerleading, you expected that they’d be challenged. And between the practices, competitions, and interpersonal dynamics between students and coaches, it’s probably safe to say you...more
The Corporate Counsel Summit in Sydney, hosted by Lawyers Weekly, brought together more than 300 legal professionals from various industries to discuss the evolving role of in-house lawyers and the emerging challenges they...more
Picture this: you receive a complaint from a student who is a member of your school district or institution’s student newspaper alleging Title IX sexual harassment that involves a fellow member of the student newspaper staff....more
We want to share a quick Title IX update from the Department of Education. The Department just announced through a blog post that due to the large number of public comments it received regarding its proposed rules to Title IX...more
Executive Summary: Illinois employers should be aware that they will likely be subject to liability under amendments to the Illinois Gender Violence Act (GVA) proposed by recent legislation. HB1363 is one of a number of bills...more
The New York State Department of Labor (the “NYSDOL”) recently updated its Model Sexual Harassment Policy for all employers. The NYSDOL also released an updated model training slide presentation and training video. As a...more
In a recent education law decision, the Honorable Norman K. Moon of the Western District of Virginia dismissed the equal protection claims of a plaintiff, the accused, who alleged that under Title IX, he had not been afforded...more
The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) recently released final—and significant—substantive changes to New York State’s model sexual harassment prevention policy (the “Final Updated Model Policy”) and related...more
Throughout this report, you’ll see images from one of our nonprofit pro bono clients, Scrollathon. Brothers and artists Steven and William Ladd founded Scrollathon to engage communities in the creation of art through...more