The greater than 2000 page Title IX ruling document released by the Department of Education on May 6, 2020. Joe Addison // AS Review
By Stella Harvey
Content warning: This story contains mentions of sexual assault and sexual violence.
On May 6, the U.S. Department of Education released its final changes to Title IX, the law prohibiting sex discrimination in publically funded institutions. The new regulations, which come in the form of a 2,000-page document, specifically change the way colleges and universities handle cases of campus sexual assault.
Originally published in November 2018, the changes now have the force of law behind them. Public colleges and universities across the country are legally required to revise their policies and procedures to comply with the federal law by Aug. 14, 2020.
Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson and 17 other State Attorney Generals across the country, filed a lawsuit challenging the Department of Education’s revisions to Title IX. In the meantime, public schools are still required to comply with the new rules.
These changes come as Western searches to find a new Executive Director for the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance, currently the Equal Opportunity Office [EOO]. Western’s Interim Director of the EOO Drew Nishiyama left Western to join the State of Washington’s Attorney General’s Office in June. While Western searches for a replacement for Nishiyama, Vice President for Enrollment and Student Services Melynda Huskey will oversee the office.
The Department of Education’s revisions to Title IX include no longer requiring colleges to investigate instances of sexual assault that take place off-campus and requiring schools to provide support to people who come forward, according to the Department of Education’s summary of the changes.
On May 8, Western President Sabah Randhawa released a statement regarding the federal government’s changes to Title IX. The new Title IX rules also give colleges and universities the option to not make all employees mandated reporters, or employees who are required by law to report cases of abuse.
“At a time when our nation is still grappling with the far-reaching impacts of sexual harassment and violence, the Department of Education’s action seeks to reverse hard-fought social and policy gains,” Randhawa said in the statement. “Imposing these new rules in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, when students and staff are already dealing with stress and anxiety, is very troubling.”
Paul Cocke, Western’s director of communications, said in an email that the new rules will not change the way Residence Life and on-campus housing handles reports of sexual misconduct and assault. Cocke said currently, all frontline staff, like resident advisors [RAs], are mandatory reporters, and they will continue to report to the Title IX office. Cocke said Residence Life does not yet know if the university’s compliance with the new rules will impact RA training.
The new regulations also require colleges to offer supportive services and explain the grievance process to people who come forward with allegations of sexual assault, according to the summary. Before disciplining the alleged perpetrator, the school’s Title IX office must complete a grievance process which includes investigating the complaint and holding live hearings where the accuser and accused can cross-examine each other.
The revisions also change the definition of sexual harassment to “unwelcome conduct that is so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive that it denies a person equal educational access,” according to the summary.
Huskey said in an email that the EOO anticipates creating an interim policy and procedure and revising the Student Code of Conduct over the summer in order to comply with these changes by Aug. 14, 2020. Huskey said the EOO will also reach out to stakeholders to create and implement a permanent policy and procedure.
“While the new rules do create some new obligations directed at respondents/accused students, there is still plenty of room for us to support complainants/survivors with our systems and policies, and that will be our focus as we design our new policies and procedures,” Huskey said in an email.
Students have raised concerns in the past regarding Huskey’s work with Title IX. In June 2018, the AS Review published a story regarding a lawsuit filed by former student Dominique Stewart against Washington State University, alleging that the school had violated the Civil Rights Act, Title IX and the Clery Act in handling a case where she was verbally and physically harassed by other WSU students. Huskey was the Dean of Students and Interim Vice President for Student Affairs at WSU during the investigation. The lawsuit, Stewart v. WSU, which was summarily dismissed, alleged that Huskey did not follow federal law in handling the incidents.
In regards to the lawsuit, Huskey said in an email she sought to support Stewart by expelling the student responsible for the incident, providing Stewart with academic accommodations, allowing her to change residence hall rooms, providing support resources such as counseling, creating a safety plan with campus police and meetings over the phone and in-person with Stewart and her mother. Huskey said the Office for Equal Opportunity and the investigation they completed was not under her supervision.
“None of my work related to Dominique Stewart was connected to my job as Deputy Title IX Coordinator at WSU. The Deputy Title IX Coordinator’s task was to ensure that our student-facing policies and procedures (in Student Conduct, for example, or in Residence Life) were compliant with Title IX and that they reflected best practices for student support and care,” Huskey said in an email.
Huskey said her experience as Deputy Title IX Coordinator at WSU will help her in bringing Western’s policies into compliance with the new Title IX rules, while also supporting the office in preventing and responding to all forms of illegal discrimination.
“There is an incredibly short timeline for making these changes; we are in close conversation with colleagues, partners, and experts across the country to ensure that we implement the new rules consistently, effectively, and with deep concern for the safety and wellbeing of students,” Huskey said in an email.
The AS Review reached out to the Legal Information Center and the Interim Director of the EOO Drew Nishiyama for a comment and have not received a response.