Vice President of Equity and Inclusion, Title IX Coordinator
"No person in the U.S. shall, on the basis of sex be excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal aid."
Title 20 U.S.C. § 1681-1688.
Title IX is a federal law that prohibits all educational institutions who receive federal funding from discriminating against its students, employees, as well as third parties and visitors on its campus, on the basis of sex. Title IX also prohibits discrimination on the basis of pregnancy and/or pregnancy related conditions, as a form of sex discrimination.
Title IX forbids sex discrimination in all university student services and academic programs including, but not limited to, admissions, financial aid, academic advising, housing, athletics, recreational services, college residential life programs, health services, counseling and psychological services, Registrar's office, classroom assignments, grading and discipline.
Title IX also forbids discrimination because of sex in employment and recruitment consideration or selection, whether full‐time or part‐time, under any education program or activity operated by an institution receiving or benefiting from federal financial assistance. Title IX applies to all aspects of academic programs, financial assistance, and athletics, operated by educational institutions who are recipients of federal financial assistance, as related to both education and employment. Title IX encompasses actions that affect educational access and opportunities for all students, including sexual harassment, sexual violence (e.g., rape, sexual assault, sexual coercion), stalking, and dating, intimate partner, and relationship violence (i.e., domestic violence).
Under the Title IX law the university has a duty to respond to acts of sexual violence which includes providing information about reporting procedures, policy, and support resources and campus contacts.
If an educational institution fails to comply with Title IX, the institution can be subject to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights. Consequences in the most extreme cases can include but are not limited to paying damages or losing some or all of its federal funding. Federal funding includes grants, subsidies, and other program funds from the federal government. In addition to consequences that can be imposed by the U.S. Department of Education, educational institutions may also be sued by those seeking to redress violations of Title IX.
Vice President of Equity and Inclusion, Title IX Coordinator
Dean of Students, Deputy Title IX Coordinator
Investigation Specialist, Deputy Title IX Coordinator
Per Title IX regulations, effective August 2020, training received by the Title IX Coordinator, Investigators, and/or Decisionmakers must be made public and published on the university’s website.
The Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) enforces the federal statute and regulations for Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX protects individuals from discrimination based on sex in educational programs and/or activities that receive federal financial assistance.
Federal guidance comes in many forms including "Dear Colleague" or “Dear Educator” Letters, Question and Answer documents, Know Your Rights documents, White House guidance, etc. The Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) from time to time issues official correspondence in which it details the OCR’s intent of how certain matters will be handled and/or interpreted, or its response to an event or legal decision, etc. The correspondence can also come in the form of summaries or reiterations of existing practices of OCR. These documents do not have the force of law and are meant to provide guidance to educational institutions responsible for complying with federal laws and regulations.
*On Jan. 22, 2014, President Obama established the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault. As part of the task force, this report was created and the contents of the report were shared, along with additional resources, on notalone.gov. The task force is now nonexistent, and the website is no longer active. This document is not law and should only be relied upon for educational purposes.
**Not for reliance for certain purposes. This document expresses policy that is inconsistent in some respects with the Department’s regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended in 2020, as well as Executive Orders 13988 (on combating discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation) and 14021 (on sex discrimination in educational environments).