University Responses to Sexual Assault

On January 25, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court order in Brown v. State of Arizona et al., granting the University of Arizona summary judgment to dismiss Title IX claims asserted against the university by a plaintiff female student.

On January 11, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a precedential decision in Hall v. Millersville University, holding for the first time that colleges and universities may face damages liability under Title IX for deliberate indifference to known sexual harassment committed by nonstudent guests.

California is set to expand protections for students beyond Title IX in state-funded higher education institutions.

After months of empty platitudes about “urgency,” the Biden administration will delay making changes to the harmful Title IX regulations put in place under Betsy DeVos—until May of next year.

The Education Department refused to heed a petition by students and sexual assault survivors demanding an immediate rollback of the Title IX changes instituted by the Trump administration.

In 2011, I helped launch a movement to aid survivors on college campuses. That meant I also had to think hard about the rights of those under scrutiny.

Alexandra Brodsky’s new book, “Sexual Justice,” is clarifying and instructive as an intervention into debates about who should handle sexual assault allegations, what standards of evidence should be used and what protections students should be afforded.

While the Office for Civil Rights’ notice of interpretation likely won’t bring monumental changes, institutions will still need to consider how their campuses could be more equitable for LGBTQ+ students.