Title IX

What is Title IX?

“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” – 34 C.F.R. Part 106 (Title IX

Title IX holds universities accountable for discrimination on the basis of sex.  This discrimination includes sexual harassment and sexual violence (e.g. sexual assault and stalking.) Universities, like Mid-Atlantic, that receive federal funds may be held legally responsible when it knows about or ignores issues and incidents of sex-based discrimination in its programs or activities.

Timeline

• 1972 – Congress passed Title IX of the Education Amendments as a federal civil rights law in 1972.  Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex for any education program or activity that receives federal funding.
• 1979 -The Department of Education is recreated by the Department of Education Organization Act and is given oversight of Title IX through the Office of Civil Rights.
• 1984 – Title IX is limited in scope by the U.S. Supreme Court to only apply to programs or activities actively funded by federal money (Grove City College v. Bell).
• 1988 – The Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 overturned the Supreme Court’s ruling and returned Title IX’s jurisdiction

Report Title IX Sexual Misconduct

Report Title IX Sexual Misconduct

Report Title IX Discriminatory Conduct

Submit Title IX Discriminatory Conduct Report

Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)

What is VAWA?

President Obama signed The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA) into federal law on March 7, 2013.  Full text of the VAWA can be found here.  MACU’s VAWA/Sexual Violence policy can be found here.

VAWA (amendments to  the Clery Act ) goes above and beyond Title IX and imposes additional obligations on universities to improve how universities handle issues of sexual violence. These obligations include, but are not limited to:

• Jurisdiction of security personnel
• Additional policy statements related to sexual violence
• Prevention and awareness programs, including:
  • Description of required programs
  • Definitions of crimes and consent
  • Active bystander information
  • Risk reduction techniques
• Sexual violence incident procedures
• Disciplinary procedures and sanctions
• Addressing confidentiality
• The expansion of record-keeping and disclosure of crimes (under the Clery Act) to include domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.
• Reporting and disclosing “unfounded” crimes.
• Including gender identity and national origin as new categories of bias for a discrimination of a hate crime.
• Utilizing FBI definitions for sex offences and sexual violence related crimes.

On October 20, 2014, the Department of Education published additional clarifications to VAWA in order to aid universities in defining training requirements for staff, faculty, and students.  These training requirements include ongoing prevention and awareness training related to VAWA.  These amendments to VAWA also include the expansion and clarification of rights for survivors of sexual violence.

In accordance with VAWA requirements, the University provides comprehensive educational prevention and awareness programs for incoming students and new employees. Additionally, the University maintains ongoing prevention and awareness campaigns for students and employees related to VAWA regulations.  Finally, the University conducts annual training for members of the University Judiciary Committee (UJC).  The UJC hears all cases of reported offences of sexual violence.