Friday, May 2, 2014

U.S. Department of Education Releases List of Higher Education Institutions with Open Title IX Sexual Violence Investigations

This may just be an initial list of Title IX educational institutions.     BEMA

http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-releases-list-higher-education-institutions-open-title-i 




U.S. Department of Education Releases List of Higher Education Institutions with Open Title IX Sexual Violence Investigations





The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released today a list of the higher education institutions under investigation for possible violations of federal law over the handling of sexual violence and harassment complaints.
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in all education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance. In the past, Department officials confirmed individual Title IX investigations at institutions, but today's list is the first comprehensive look at which campuses are under review by OCR for possible violations of the law's requirements around sexual violence.
"We are making this list available in an effort to bring more transparency to our enforcement work and to foster better public awareness of civil rights," Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon said. "We hope this increased transparency will spur community dialogue about this important issue. I also want to make it clear that a college or university's appearance on this list and being the subject of a Title IX investigation in no way indicates at this stage that the college or university is violating or has violated the law."
As with all OCR investigations, the primary goal of a Title IX investigation is to ensure that the campus is in compliance with federal law, which demands that students are not denied the ability to participate fully in educational and other opportunities due to sex.
The Department will not disclose any case-specific facts or details about the institutions under investigation. The list includes investigations opened because of complaints received by OCR and those initiated by OCR as compliance reviews. When an investigation concludes, the Department will disclose, upon request, whether OCR has entered into a resolution agreement to address compliance concerns at a particular campus or found insufficient evidence of a Title IX violation there.
The list of institutions under investigation for Title IX sexual violence issues will be updated regularly and made available to the public upon request by contacting OCR or to media by contacting the Press Office atpress@ed.gov.
Releasing this list advances a key goal of President Obama's White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault to bring more transparency to the federal government's enforcement activities around this issue. The Obama administration is committed to putting an end to sexual violence—particularly on college campuses. That's why the President established the Task Force earlier this year with a mandate to strengthen federal enforcement efforts and provide schools with additional tools to combat sexual assault on their campuses.
As part of that work, the Education Department released updated guidance earlier this week describing the responsibilities of colleges, universities and schools receiving federal funds to address sexual violence and other forms of sex discrimination under Title IX. The guidelines provide greater clarity about the requirements of the law around sexual violence—as requested by institutions and students.
All colleges, and universities and K-12 schools receiving federal funds must comply with Title IX. Schools that violate the law and refuse to address the problems identified by OCR can lose federal funding or be referred to the U.S. Department of Justice for further action.
Under federal law, sexual violence refers to physical sexual acts perpetrated against a person's will or where a person is incapable of giving consent -- including rape, sexual assault, sexual battery, sexual abuse and sexual coercion.
OCR's mission is to ensure equal access to education and promote educational excellence throughout the nation through the vigorous enforcement of civil rights. OCR is responsible for enforcing federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination by educational institutions on the basis of disability, race, color, national origin, sex, and age, as well as the Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act of 2001. Additional information about the office is available at http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/index.html.
This list reflects investigations open as of May 1, 2014. Schools are listed alphabetically by state.
StateInstitution
AZArizona State University
CAButte-Glen Community College District
CAOccidental College
CAUniversity of California-Berkeley
CAUniversity of Southern California
CORegis University
COUniversity of Colorado at Boulder
COUniversity of Colorado at Denver
COUniversity of Denver
CTUniversity of Connecticut
DCCatholic University of America
FLFlorida State University
GAEmory University
HIUniversity of Hawaii at Manoa
IDUniversity of Idaho
ILKnox College
ILUniversity of Chicago
INIndiana University-Bloomington
INVincennes University
MAAmherst College
MABoston University
MAEmerson College
MAHarvard College
MAHarvard University—Law School
MAUniversity of Massachusetts-Amherst
MDFrostburg State University
MIMichigan State University
MIUniversity of Michigan-Ann Arbor
NCGuilford College
NCUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
NDMinot State University
NHDartmouth College
NJPrinceton University
NYCuny Hunter College
NYHobart and William Smith Colleges
NYSarah Lawrence College
NYSuny at Binghamton
OHDenison University
OHOhio State University
OHWittenberg University
OKOklahoma State University
PACarnegie Mellon University
PAFranklin and Marshall College
PAPennsylvania State University
PASwarthmore College
PATemple University
TNVanderbilt University
TXSouthern Methodist University
TXThe University of Texas-Pan American
VACollege of William and Mary
VAUniversity of Virginia
WAWashington State University
WIUniversity of Wisconsin-Whitewater
WVBethany College
WVWest Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine

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