Sex-Based Harassment

NEW Title IX Regulations Regarding Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence

On November 29, 2018, draft regulations for Title IX rule making were released for 60 days of public comment. May 6, 2020, Secretary DeVos released the Department's final Title IX rule which amends the regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. The final regulations specify how recipients of Federal financial assistance, including elementary and secondary schools, must respond to allegations of sexual harassment and assault consistent with Title IX’s prohibition against sex discrimination. The new Title IX regulations include numerous changes to previous Title IX guidance. Title IX Coordinators should work with district legal counsel to understand how the new regulations affect the district’s Title IX policies and procedures and make revisions, as necessary.  The new regulations go into effect Aug 14, 2020.

• Press Release: Historic Action to Strengthen Title IX Protections for All Students

• Summary of Major Provisions of the Department of Education’s Title IX Final Rule

• Final Rule

• ​Office for Civil Rights Webinar: Title IX Regulations Addressing Sexual Harassment

• Questions regarding the new Title IX regulations may be sent to t9questions@ed.gov

• For technical assistance, please contact the Office for Civil Rights OPEN Center

For more information on the Office for Civil Rights Outreach, Prevention, Education, and Non-discrimination (OPEN) Center, see the press release on the New, Proactive Civil Rights Compliance Center

​​*Prior to Aug 14, 2020, the Sept 22, 2017 Dear Colleague Letter and the Sept 22, 2017 Q and A on Campus Sexual Misconduct are the most recent federal guidance documents provided. 

Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence

The new Title IX Regulations' definition of sexual harassment replaces the previous Title IX definition of sex-based harassment. Under the new regulations, sexual harassment, as defined by Title IX, is conduct on the basis of sex that meets one or more of the following descriptions:

• A school employee conditioning an educational benefit, service or an individual’s participation in an educational activity upon unwelcome sexual conduct (“quid pro quo”)

• Unwelcome conduct determined by a reasonable person to be “so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive” that it effectively denies the victim access to the school’s education programs

• “Sexual assault,” “dating violence,” “domestic violence,” or “staking” as those terms are defined under the Clery Act and the Violence Against Women Act

Sexual harassment can include conduct that is verbal, physical or other types of conduct that targets a person based on their sex and that the person finds unwelcome.  Anyone, regardless of race, sexual orientation, disability status, or gender identity might be a victim or perpetrator of sexual harassment. 

For more information, reference the section above, NEW Title IX Regulations Regarding Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence
 

Civil Rights Initiative to Combat Sexual Assault in Public Schools

• Compliance Reviews: to be conducted by the Office for Civil Rights
• Public Awareness and Support: to be provided by the Office for Civil Rights
• Data Quality Reviews: to be conducted by the Office for Civil Rights
• Proposed CRDC Data Collection: OCR has proposed, for the 2019-2020 data collection, to collect more detailed data on sexual assault.  The proposed data collection includes incidents perpetrated by school staff or school personnel.  If adopted, the inclusion of this data would make the CRDC collection the first universal collection to gather such data systemically by school.

Read the press release at Civil Rights Initiate to Combat Sexual Assault in Public Schools

For more information on how the Office for Civil Rights plans to combat sexual violence in public schools, view this OCR Short Webinar on Sexual Violence in Public Schools