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
Years ago, I took heat from activists who thought that TNG’s replacement of the terms “rape” and “sexual assault” with policy-based alternatives in our model policies was minimizing of the severity of the behaviors. Rape is...more
Higher education institutions and schools have spent the summer of 2020 revisiting their sexual harassment and misconduct policies to ensure compliance with the May 2020 Title IX regulations. These efforts have required...more
Last week the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced the rescission and replacement of the 2016 Clery Handbook with a new “Clery Act Appendix for the Federal Student Aid (FSA) Handbook.” ED determined that much of the...more
On May 6, 2020, the United States Department of Education issued its long-awaited Final Regulations (the “Regulations”) that focus on Title IX protections for victims of sexual misconduct. The new regulations impose a number...more
After a lengthy notice and comment process and much anticipation, new Title IX regulations were issued by the U.S. Department of Education on May 6, 2020. The regulations comprise approximately 25 pages, and the preamble to...more
As an Office for Civil Rights (OCR) investigator, I was surprised by the number of times I saw the same issues again and again in Title IX sexual misconduct investigations. Nowhere was this more evident than with...more
A recent class-action lawsuit filed in Michigan, which seeks to overturn scores of Title IX decisions at Michigan State University, is the first of its kind. The case relies on a 2018 federal court ruling in Michigan that...more
As expected, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) recently released proposed Title IX regulations, specifically concerning sexual harassment, including sexual assault. ...more
Recently the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued a controversial, but unanimous decision requiring the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ("UNC-CH") to release its students' sexual assault disciplinary records. ...more
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) and its corresponding regulations prohibit sex discrimination in education programs or activities conducted by educational institutions that receive federal financial...more
On September 22, the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights issued a Dear Colleague Letter withdrawing the statements of policy and guidance reflected in two key documents about Title IX and sexual violence...more
• The Department of Education (DOE) plans to gather public input—including input from educational institutions—on new Title IX policy, rejecting the prior administration’s issuance of policy by letter. • The DOE has not,...more
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’s hotly anticipated remarks on the future of Title IX enforcement, given yesterday at George Mason University, announced the intention of the Department of Education to overhaul the way it...more
Higher education institutions may soon be asked to reconsider how they comply with Title IX obligations when a student or employee files a sexual assault complaint. The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) recently indicated it...more
We are closely monitoring the U.S. Department of Education’s policy guidance concerning investigations of sexual assaults and sexual violence on school campuses, applicable to both K-12 and higher education institutions...more
On June 23, the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, published the 2016 Edition of The Handbook for Campus Safety and Security Reporting, as required by the Clery Act (the “Handbook")...more
Leading the News - Tanzania: On October 25th, voters in Tanzania went to the polls to vote for a candidate to replace outgoing President Jakaya Kikwete, who was unable to run for a third term under the country’s...more
More than 3,800 undergraduate and graduate students responded, or about 35% of the institution’s total student population. (This 35% consisted of 46% of surveyed undergraduate females, 35% of undergraduate males, 37% of...more
The media stories being published across the nation criticizing schools for their failure to respond to sexual harassment and sexual violence against students serve as a warning to other school districts to consider whether...more
On September 28, 2014, California Governor Jerry Brown announced that he had signed SB967, the so-called “Yes Means Yes” bill into law, effectively changing the definition of “consent” for sexual partners on California...more
In January this year, President Obama created the Task Force to Protect Students From Sexual Assault to provide colleges and universities with recommendations to prevent and respond to sexual assault and enhance efforts to...more
LR-college-campus_med_rgbTwo recent court rulings illustrate some of the perils facing university administrators when handling internal disciplinary complaints against students who have been alleged to have committed...more
In This Issue: - Questions and Answers on Title IX and Sexual Violence: Five Key Questions That Have Actually Been Answered – and Five New Questions - Supreme Court Asked If State Universities Are Exempt From...more