Education Dept releases names of 55 schools facing sex assault probes (no MU)

[Tugg Speedman]

Education Department releases names of 55 schools facing sex assault probes

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/05/01/education-department-releases-names-55-schools-facing-sex-assault-probes/

he Education Department on Thursday released a list of 55 colleges and universities under investigation for their handling of sexual abuse claims, in an unprecedented step aimed at increasing transparency regarding sex assault in higher education.

The schools listed are all facing a Title IX investigation.

According to the list released by the administration, the schools include:

-- Harvard University Law School

-- Princeton University

-- Vanderbilt University

-- University of California, Berkeley

-- Dartmouth College

Click to see the list of colleges under investigation

The release came two days after a White House task force promised greater government transparency on the issue. Going forward, the department said, it will keep an updated list of schools facing such an investigation and make it available upon request.

The agency previously would confirm such an investigation when asked, but students and others were often unaware of them.

"We hope this increased transparency will spur community dialogue about this important issue," Catherine E. Lhamon, the department's assistant secretary for civil rights, said in a statement.

Lhamon said a school's appearance on the list does not mean that it has violated the law but that an investigation is ongoing.

Title IX prohibits gender discrimination at schools that receive federal funds. It is the same law that guarantees girls equal access to sports, but it also regulates institutions' handling of sexual violence and increasingly is being used by victims who say their schools failed to protect them.

Citing research, the White House has said that 1 in 5 female students is assaulted. President Barack Obama appointed a task force comprised of his Cabinet members to review the issue after hearing complaints about the poor treatment of campus rape victims and the hidden nature of such crimes.

The task force announced the creation of a website, notalone.gov, offering resources for victims and information about past enforcement actions on campuses. The task force also made a wide range of recommendations to schools, such as identifying confidential victims' advocates and conducting surveys to better gauge the frequency of sexual assault on their campuses.

The department publicized guidance on Title IX's sexual assault provisions in 2011, and complaints by students have since increased. Complaints, however, don't always lead to an investigation.

The department can withhold federal funding from a school that doesn't comply with the law, but it so far has not used that power and instead has negotiated voluntary resolutions for violators.

Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., have said non-compliance under the law is "far too common." They say a lack of federal resources is partly to blame for that, and they've sought more money to ensure timely and proper investigations.

Another law that campus sexual assault cases fall under is the Clery Act, which requires colleges and universities to report crime statistics on or near their campuses. It also requires schools to develop prevention policies and ensure victims their basic rights. Investigations under this law are not included in the list that was released.

------------------------------------------------

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

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

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 at press@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.

State    Institution
AZ   Arizona State University
CA   Butte-Glen Community College District
CA   Occidental College
CA   University of California-Berkeley
CA   University of Southern California
CO   Regis University
CO   University of Colorado at Boulder
CO   University of Colorado at Denver
CO   University of Denver
CT   University of Connecticut
DC   Catholic University of America
FL   Florida State University
GA   Emory University
HI   University of Hawaii at Manoa
ID   University of Idaho
IL   Knox College
IL   University of Chicago
IN   Indiana University-Bloomington
IN   Vincennes University
MA   Amherst College
MA   Boston University
MA   Emerson College
MA   Harvard College
MA   Harvard University—Law School
MA   University of Massachusetts-Amherst
MD   Frostburg State University
MI   Michigan State University
MI   University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
NC   Guilford College
NC   University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
ND   Minot State University
NH   Dartmouth College
NJ   Princeton University
NY   Cuny Hunter College
NY   Hobart and William Smith Colleges
NY   Sarah Lawrence College
NY   Suny at Binghamton
OH   Denison University
OH   Ohio State University
OH   Wittenberg University
OK   Oklahoma State University
PA   Carnegie Mellon University
PA   Franklin and Marshall College
PA   Pennsylvania State University
PA   Swarthmore College
PA   Temple University
TN   Vanderbilt University
TX   Southern Methodist University
TX   The University of Texas-Pan American
VA   College of William and Mary
VA   University of Virginia
WA   Washington State University
WI   University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
WV   Bethany College
WV   West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Things are gettin' cold at Frostburg State.