Title IX

Read the decision: Order to Disclose Campus Advisor Records The US District Court for the Northern District of New York has just ordered Syracuse University to hand over the records of a campus “advisor” who gave procedural advice to the complainant in its Title IX proceedings after the judge found that portions showed the disciplinary proceedings were “procedurally unfair and…

By Jonathan B. Orleans and Michael Thad Allen The first formal changes to Title IX’s implementing regulations in 45 years are here, and they are significant. The federal statute, which prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs receiving federal financial assistance, had its earliest impacts on intercollegiate athletics. But since the late 1990s, it has also been interpreted to prohibit sexual…

Education secretary Betsy DeVos has been in the news again—this time, calling for strengthening Title IX enforcement in K-12 schools as a response to increasing sexual misconduct and harassment allegations in elementary through high schools. DeVos’ office is particularly concerned about claims in which a teacher harassed or assaulted a student. What is Title IX? Title IX is a federal…

When issues of gender discrimination arise in the school system, discussion of Title IX isn’t far behind. From athletics to classrooms and across other extracurricular departments, Title IX is a pivotal piece of legislature that protects your right to be free from gender discrimination.  Title IX is part of the 1972 Education Amendment, enforced by the U.S. Department of Education’s…

Three Lessons For Victims Of Campus Sexual Assault In The Purdue University Case At the end of June as the dog days of summer began, a three-Judge panel, all women judges of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, ruled against Purdue University. The Appeals Court decided in favor of a male student who sued Purdue under Title IX for discriminating against…

As a student at the university level, conduct is as important as academic excellence. While you are on your journey to becoming a professional and an adult, you may have found yourself in a situation that warrants learning more about student misconduct. Unfortunately, situations arise where a student fails to meet the ethical standards or code of conduct put in…

Arguments over statistics and Title IX are nothing new, but researchers rarely focus on what is effective in preventing sexual assault. Now a recent study by social scientists at Columbia University suggests an effective way to counter sexual assault on campus along with student misconduct policies and Title IX. The Columbia study shows that learning how to say “No” to…

In February, a male swimmer from Fishers, Indiana was allowed to compete in the state swimming championship meet despite three accusations of sexual harassment by female members of his own swim team. At most high schools, boys’ and girls’ swimming teams practice together and compete at the same meets. But the reason he was allowed back into the pool was…

Federal Law Gives Your Student the Right to His or Her Student File Be aware of both your rights and their limitations under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). If you are familiar with FERPA in the context of grade school and high school, things change in college. Parental rights under FERPA terminate when the student becomes a…

Marshall University of West Virginia has settled a lawsuit with a former freshman student who alleged that the university’s Title IX judiciary bungled her complaint of a rape that occurred in her residence hall. A witness, also in the room, corroborated the student’s account that she withdrew consent by repeatedly telling her assailant to stop. He told her, “you just…