Tell Betsy DeVos #HandsOffIX | Notice-and-Comment Writing Party
In November 2018 the Department of Education released a proposal to amend Title IX regulations. If the proposed rule becomes law, campuses will become less safe for victims/survivors, and perpetrators will be less frequently held accountable. Before these proposed rules become legally binding, the Department must give the public a chance to voice their opinions through a process known as “notice-and-comment.”
To help make it easier (and more fun!) for people to submit comments, Gender Justice and MNCASA are hosting a virtual Title IX Notice-and-Comment Writing Event on Thursday, January 24. We’ll be going live on Facebook starting at 1:00 p.m. to share information on the harmful proposed regulations and the comment writing process. Our event will also feature a student survivor from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. She’ll share her story and give a voice to the very real and devastating impact these rules would have on survivors. As part of this event, we’ll also be collecting comments and submitting them on behalf of individuals unable to do so.
We hope you’ll join us in standing up for victims/survivors, and encourage your networks to participate as well. The more people writing strong comments, the better. Even if comments submitted to this proposal do not create immediate substantive change, they can delay the rules from taking effect and are crucial to providing support for future efforts to protect victims and survivors. If you are unable to join us, comments can be submitted through January 30!
Find more information about the event, RSVP, and invite others to attend here. If you haven’t yet, follow us on facebook to be notified when we go live! Together, we can fight for victims/survivors and prevent this harmful proposal from taking effect.
What is Title IX?
- Title IX is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any educational program or activity that receives federal funding. This includes most schools, including private institutions and grades K-12.
- Title IX addresses sexual harassment, sexual violence, or any gender-based discrimination that may deny a person access to educational benefits and opportunities.
- Under current Title IX regulations, schools must ensure that all students have equal access to education, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
- Sexual harassment and sexual violence are forms of gender discrimination prohibited by Title IX.
- Along with providing a formal complaint and investigation process for survivors of sexual violence, Title IX allows survivors to receive living or academic accommodations, gives survivors the right to notify law enforcement, and allows survivors to choose interim measures, such as no contact orders and changes to transportation, dining, and working situations.
How do the proposed regulations harm survivors?
- The definition of sexual harassment will be severely limited.
- Schools are not required to investigate assaults that occur off-campus.
- Schools are only required to investigate complaints made to individuals who have the “authority to institute corrective measures.”
- Survivors will have to endure severe, repeated, or escalating harassment before they can file a Title IX complaints.
- Schools are not required to investigate assaults that take place off-campus, shutting out the thousands of survivors who are assaulted at parties held by fraternities, bars, or online.
- College students would have to go directly to their Title IX coordinator or another high-ranking university official rather than being able to talk to a teacher or mentor they trust.