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Title IX news

Title IX Rights and Resources for UW Students

October 21, 2022

Message to UW Students About Title IX Rights and Resources

Dear UW Students,

We’re contacting you with information about Title IX, a federal gender equity law that prohibits discrimination based on sex or gender.

As a UW student, there are a number of reasons why Title IX may matter to you:

We also want to share a copy of the inaugural Title IX annual report. Students advocated for the development of this report and provided input on what content to include. You can find the report on the Title IX annual report webpage.

Lastly, you may be aware that the U.S. Department of Education has proposed new Title IX regulations that will impact how institutions respond to sex- and gender-based violence, harassment and discrimination. The UW’s detailed response to the proposed rules is posted on the Title IX website. We do not know when the final regulations will be issued, but we will alert the UW community when that occurs.

If you have questions or would like additional information, please reach out to the Office of the Title IX Coordinator at titleix@uw.edu. Thank you for working with us and with each other to build an inclusive community that treats every member with dignity, fairness and respect.

Sincerely,

 

Valery Richardson
Title IX Coordinator – University of Washington

Mentha Hynes-Wilson
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs – Tacoma Campus

Denzil Suite
Vice President for Student Life – Seattle Campus

Tim Wilson
Dean of Student Affairs – Bothell Campus

Fact Resource about Pregnancy and Related Conditions

October 12, 2022

During a time when access to the full range of reproductive health care options is changing in the national landscape, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights released the Discrimination Based on Pregnancy and Related Conditions fact resource. This resource emphasizes and clarifies universities’ existing Title IX obligations to protect students and employees who are pregnant, give birth, or experience the loss or termination of a pregnancy.

Title IX’s goal is to ensure persons who are pregnant or experiencing pregnancy-related conditions are not denied or limited in their access to an educational program or activity. Thus, Title IX aims to help pregnant students remain in school, help pregnant employees remain at work, and/or ensure someone who recently gave birth–or who experienced the loss or termination of a pregnancy– can return to school or work.

The fact resource includes information pertinent to students, employees, and employment applicants, and discusses:

  • The prohibition of discrimination and/or exclusion based on pregnancy or related conditions
  • The obligation to treat pregnancy and related conditions the same as any other temporary disability
  • The requirement to provide leaves of absence for students and employees
  • The option to file a complaint through a school’s grievance procedures or the Office for Civil Rights

If you are a student seeking support or accommodations for pregnancy or related conditions, you are encouraged to work directly with your instructors and/or the Disability Resources for Students (DRS) office for your campus (Bothell DRS, Seattle DRS, Tacoma DRS). If you are an instructor, you have the responsibility and authority to make a variety of reasonable adjustments or modifications without requiring a student to work with Disability Resources for Students. If you are an employee seeking support or accommodations, you are encouraged to review the UW HR Pregnancy accommodation website and contact the Disability Services Office with questions.

To learn more about support, protections, and/or accommodations under Title IX and other federal and state laws visit the Pregnancy & related conditions page on the UW Office of the Title IX Coordinators website.

UW submits response to 2022 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

September 12, 2022

The U.S. Department of Education posted proposed Title IX regulations in the Federal Register on July 12, 2022. The University of Washington submitted a detailed response, which includes a letter from President Cauce and specific feedback based on the Office of the Title IX Coordinator’s analysis and input received from partners across the UW.

Additional updates will be posted here as we learn more about the Department’s response to comments it receives, any additional proposed rules–as the Department noted additional proposed rulemaking regarding Title IX and athletics would be forthcoming–and any final Title IX regulations.

 

Proposed Title IX Rules

July 12, 2022

The U.S. Department of Education posted proposed Title IX regulations on June 23, 2022, which were published in the Federal Register on July 12, 2022. A 60-day notice and comment period is now underway, with comments due to the Department of Education on or before September 12, 2022.

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) aims to actualize Title IX’s goals of preventing sex discrimination in education and ensuring that all students are able to access equal educational opportunities. The NPRM broadens the definition of sex discrimination to include discrimination based on sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity, and pregnancy status as well as discrimination due to sex- and gender-based violence. As such, the NPRM codifies protection for LGBTQI+ and pregnant students and employees. Further, the NPRM reiterates the Department of Education’s commitment to requiring that schools promptly respond to all complaints of sex discrimination through a fair process that treats complainants and respondents equitably.

The University is conducting a full analysis of the proposed regulations and their potential impact on UW processes and protocols. Based on initial analysis, some of the NPRM’s most impactful changes include: 

  • More UW employees will be required to take action and report any time they learn that someone has potentially experienced sex discrimination;
  • The broader definition of “sex discrimination” will lead to more complaints of alleged behaviors being addressed under a Title IX framework at UW, though the grievance procedure will be less prescriptive than was required by the 2020 federal Title IX regulations;
  • UW’s provision of modifications and accommodations for pregnant students and employees will likely be expanded.

As a member of the University community, we welcome anything you’d like us to consider as we prepare content for a UW institutional response to the NPRM. If you’d like to provide input, please email that to titleix@uw.edu. Additionally, any individual can provide their own feedback to the Department of Education. Instructions for how to do so are in the published NPRM.

Portion of Title IX regulations deemed “arbitrary and capricious”

September 10, 2021

Recently, a federal court ruled that one part of the Department of Education’s 2020 federal Title IX regulations was “arbitrary and capricious” and set it aside. The Department of Education then issued a letter stating that the Department would immediately stop enforcing that part of the 2020 Title IX regulations. UW will similarly stop enforcing that arbitrary and capricious provision.

Before it was deemed unlawful, this provision—sometimes called the “suppression provision”—prevented a decision maker (at UW, the hearing officer) from considering as evidence any statements a party or witness made outside of the hearing unless that party or witness testified and answered all questions asked of them during a hearing.

UW included this provision in the Student Conduct Code (WAC 478-121-675(1)) and Executive Order No. 70, the code and policy that were implemented at UW to comply with the 2020 federal Title IX regulations. However, this code and policy apply only when the regulations are deemed enforceable by law and/or by United States courts.

Going forward, the suppression provision will no longer be enforced. A UW hearing officer may now consider statements a party or witness made outside of the hearing—such as to an investigator or in a text message—so long as those statements are considered relevant, admissible evidence even if/when that party or witness does not testify. If a current investigation includes allegations of conduct prohibited by the federal Title IX regulations, parties will be notified immediately of this change.

 

Biden orders review of the Title IX regulations within 100 days

March 9, 2021

President Biden issued an executive order on March 8, 2021 guaranteeing an educational environment free from discrimination on the basis of sex, including sexual orientation or gender identity. The order requires a review of all agency actions that may be inconsistent with this guarantee and specifically references the Title IX regulations that were issued by the Trump administration in 2020.

The Executive Order further requires that the review occur within 100 days and that the Secretary of Education shall consider suspending, revising, or rescinding—or publishing for notice and comment proposed rules suspending, revising, or rescinding—these regulations and other agency actions that may be inconsistent with the guarantee of an educational environment free from discrimination on the basis of sex, including sexual harassment, which encompasses sexual violence.

The March 8 executive order and 100 day review are the first steps toward potential changes to the 2020 Title IX federal regulations. The Office of the Title IX Coordinator will be monitoring this process closely. As information becomes available that may affect UW policy or practice, we will provide updates to this post.

Will Title IX rules change under Biden Administration?

December 7, 2020

The Office of the Title IX Coordinator has received numerous questions about what we expect given the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.  We don’t have any “insider information” about who President-Elect Biden will select as the Secretary of Education, but we have read the news articles many of you have also read in which President-Elect Biden has referred to ending the federal Title IX regulations issued by Secretary DeVos.

We anticipate that the federal Title IX regulations will, again, change; however, the same Notice-and-Comment Rulemaking procedure utilized by the Department of Education led by Secretary DeVos will likely need to be employed. The Notice-and-Comment Rulemaking procedure is time consuming. The Department of Education under Secretary DeVos—after expressing its intent to change federal Title IX regulations in September 2017—issued its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in late November 2018 and accepted comments until January 30, 2019. Over 124,000 comments were received, and it took the Department of Education until May 6, 2020, to respond to each of the comments and issue its final rule which was officially published on May 19, 2020. Thus, the formal Notice-and-Comment Rulemaking procedure from start to finish was approximately 18 months.

It is also possible that rather than utilize Notice-and-Comment Rulemaking, Congress may be able to act to change the Title IX regulations. Congress’s ability to take that approach will likely be dependent on what occurs in the U.S. Senate, which will—in part—be determined by the upcoming run-off elections in Georgia. Even then, as long as the filibuster exists, there would be a sufficient number of Republican senators to prevent the Senate from voting on changes to Title IX regulations.

We have read and heard, like many of you, that the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights may not enforce the new/current federal Title IX regulations that went into effect August 14, 2020. Even if this becomes the case, the regulations would remain law and would be enforced by courts, should any educational institution be sued by an individual complainant or respondent. To that end, the University of Washington will be required to comply with the 2020 federal Title IX regulations so long as they remain codified and effective law in the Code of Federal Regulations.

October Title IX Community Conversation – Video Now Available

November 12, 2020

If you weren’t able to join the October 28 or 29 community conversation, a recording is now available of the October 29 presentation.

The video includes information about what the new federal rules require and how UW has come into compliance. We also discuss initiatives that are focused on moving beyond compliance. View the recording to learn more about UW’s two-pathway approach to implementing the rules, receive an update on our education & prevention work, and learn more about conversations that are underway regarding alternative resolution options.  Please email titleix@uw.edu if you are interested in providing input or participating in any of this work.

Message to Students About UW’s Implementation of 2020 Title IX Rules

October 22, 2020

Dear UW Students:

Title IX is a federal gender equity law that prohibits discrimination based on sex or gender. New Title IX regulations from the U.S. Department of Education went into effect on August 14, 2020, which govern how educational institutions must respond to particular instances of sexual assault, sexual harassment and other forms of sexual misconduct.

Despite our concerns regarding these new rules, nothing they require will deter us from our commitment to inclusion, equity and accountability.

We invite you to join the Office of the Title IX Coordinator and other members of the UW community in a Title IX Community Conversation on October 28 or 29. The sessions will cover UW’s two-pathway approach to implementing the new regulations and how you as students can be involved as we move forward. We will then broaden the conversation beyond compliance to discuss initiatives and strategies that prioritize equity in all spaces, for everyone.

As we shared in August, the federal regulations do not apply to all sexual misconduct, but when they do, specific procedures including a live (virtual) hearing and direct cross-examination of all parties and witnesses are required. For more information, see the Title IX website, which includes:

  • FAQs for all students and employees
  • Support resources for any member of our community who has experienced unwanted conduct or harm
  • Information about how to make a formal complaint
  • Emergency and interim policies that outline the grievance procedures for complaints

Thank you for your commitment to working together to build an inclusive community that treats every member with dignity, fairness and respect.

Sincerely,

Valery Richardson
Title IX Coordinator – University of Washington

Denzil Suite
Vice President for Student Life – Seattle Campus

Tim Wilson
Dean of Student Affairs – Bothell Campus

Mentha Hynes-Wilson
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs – Tacoma Campus

Title IX Community Conversations: Moving Forward after the 2020 Federal Rules

October 19, 2020

The new federal Title IX rules went into effect on August 14, 2020, and require universities to respond to particular forms of sexual misconduct in specific ways. Join us for a community conversation about UW’s two-pathway approach to implementing the rules and provide input as we review and adjust our interim policies and practices before finalizing them. We will then broaden the conversation beyond compliance with the federal rules to gender equity initiatives for folks of all identities, including prevention strategies and alternatives for responding to and addressing harassing behaviors in our UW community.

Both Community Conversations are open to UW students, faculty, and staff from all UW campuses and locations.

Wednesday, October 28
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Click here to register for this conversation on Zoom

–OR–

Thursday, October 29
11 a.m. – 12 noon
Click here to register for this conversation on Zoom

A confirmation with the meeting link will be sent to your UW email address. Note: the confirmation may arrive in your clutter or filtered folder.

Accommodation requests related to a disability should be made 24 hours in advance of the event to TitleIX@uw.edu