Civil Rights/Title IX Coordinator Samantha Hughes recently addressed the U.S. Department of Education's new regulations and affirmed Kenyon's commitment to promoting and providing a campus environment that is free from sex- and gender-based harassment and violence. Below are the answers to frequently asked questions.
Title IX is a landmark civil rights law passed in 1972 that prohibits institutions that receive federal funding from practicing gender discrimination in educational programs or activities. Its scope is broad and addresses acts including sex discrimination, sexual harassment and sexual violence — all of which can impact educational opportunities.
Another law, the Clery Act, provides protections similar to Title IX against sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking. The Violence Against Women Act was the federal law that amended the Clery Act to provide for some of these protections. Because the current regulations provide for significant overlap between Title IX and the Clery Act as amended by VAWA, the College has addressed all of these matters in a single policy. The new regulations are not expected to change the regulations under the Clery Act, but may change the way the two laws interact.
Kenyon accepts federal funds, including federal financial aid for its students and research grants for its faculty. As part of this acceptance of funds, the College must abide by federal regulations. Failure to follow Title IX could result in the withdrawal of federal student aid from Kenyon students.
Kenyon has confidence in its current Sexual Misconduct and Harassment Policy, which was written during the 2014–15 academic year and adopted in the 2015–16 academic year after rigorous discussion and approval by various campus groups including: Student Council, Campus Senate, Staff Council, the faculty, and ultimately endorsed by the Board of Trustees. The College will follow its established policy until new federal regulations are finalized and required changes to existing College policy are announced and implemented. The Department of Education has mandated compliance with new federal regulations by Aug. 14, 2020.
Yes, some portions of Kenyon’s established policy and process will need to change. Prior to the start of spring break, various campus constituencies were able to review and provide feedback regarding the anticipated changes. The required changes and, to the extent possible, campus feedback will be incorporated into the 2020-21 policy.
In recent years, the Department of Education has periodically issued non-binding documents known as “Dear Colleague Letters” to colleges and universities that offered interpretations of the Title IX law and suggestions for how to comply with the law. These guidelines include the 2011 Dear Colleague Letter and the 2014 Q&A on Title IX and Sexual Violence, both of which were rescinded under the 2017 Q&A on Campus Sexual Misconduct. Unlike those federal guidance documents, these new regulations carry weight more similar to the force of law when the U.S. Department of Education seeks to enforce them.
The proposed regulations, published in November 2018, have gone through what is commonly referred to as a period of “notice and comment.” This process means that the U.S. Department of Education provided “notice” of the proposed regulations by publishing them, and interested parties submitted “comment” with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights regarding the proposed regulations. The submitted comments were reviewed by the U.S. Department of Education, and by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the last step before the regulations became final May 6, 2020.
College staff and legal counsel anticipate the following to comprise some of the most significant potential policy changes:
Any student or employee with questions about sexual misconduct, intimate partner violence, support options, or the new federal regulations is encouraged to contact Civil Rights and Title IX Coordinator Samantha Hughes (hughess@kenyon.edu) and/or Civil Rights and Title IX Deputy Coordinator Kevin Peterson (peterson2@kenyon.edu).