By: Christiana Paradis, Director of Title IX Compliance
It’s that time of year where the Title IX Office has worked its way around campus training a variety of students, just in time for the law to change…again!
Historically, changes to Title IX were rare, but all of this changed in the mid-2000s. Students were increasingly disgruntled by institutions’ lack of response to sexual misconduct and began a national movement to address their concerns. The film, The Hunting Ground, chronicles this era of activism (2008-2011). As a result in 2011, the Department of Education under the direction of the Obama Administration released a Dear Colleague Letter reminding institutions that they would lose federal funding if they didn’t comply with Title IX requirements to address sexual harassment.
Since that time, following Title IX regulations has been like following a ping pong match. Every few years a new president is elected, and they task the Dept of Education with reviewing Title IX and making alterations better aligned with their political agenda. In other words, once we’ve all gotten comfortable with the most recent standards…they change again. What is most concerning about this approach is the fact that the growing changes in response to sex and gender-based discrimination and harassment aren’t rooted in aligning with best practice, but rather a political agenda item.
This May will mark the release of newly amended regulations, so what can we expect? We have some indication that we should expect the following:
- Expand the definition of discrimination based on sex to include: sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation and gender identity
- Redefining sexual harassment as “sufficiently severe or pervasive that based on the totality of circumstances…denies of limits a person’s ability to participate in an educational program…”
- Expand to address off-campus conduct that creates a hostile environment on campus
- Require additional training on how to access confidential services on campus
- Expand the definition of retaliation and required response
- Expand the scope of resources for pregnancy and pregnancy related conditions
Ultimately, only time will tell what may appear in the final regulations, but one thing is guaranteed it will be a busy summer as we work to update our policies, revamp all of our handouts, re-record any previously archived trainings, and then re-educate campus about new procedures and policies next Fall.
Want to be at the forefront of TIX changes on campus? Consider joining the Title IX Student Advisory Board! Email titleix@susqu.edu to express your interest in membership.