Fifty-two years ago in June, Title IX was signed into law. Many people are familiar with Title IX for the role it plays in providing equal athletics in schools, but there has been more recognition of Title IX’s role in protecting students from sexual harm. But what is Title IX exactly? And what updates do we need to know about?

While Title IX itself is less than 40 words in total and does not explicitly reference sexual harassment or assault, over time the Department of Education has clarified how schools must address this type of violence against its students and staff, says Christina Zuba, CAASE’s managing attorney for educational advocacy. In addition to the text of the law itself, schools’ obligations and students’ rights under Title IX come from new rules and regulations, court cases, or guidance documents from the Department of Education.

This past April, the Biden administration finalized new Title IX rules, rescinding the Trump administration’s rules that had the effect of limiting liability for schools and making reporting sexual harm and navigating the disciplinary process more difficult for survivors. Specifically, these new regulations improve the previous regulations by increasing protections for survivors, LGBTQ+ students, and pregnant and parenting students.

Here are four major changes in the Biden administration regulations students should know, and what these updates will look like for survivors on campuses.

Giving a Broader Definition of Sexual Harassment

First, these regulations define sexual harassment more broadly – no longer excluding incidents that took place off campus or on study abroad programs, for example. “More survivors of different types of harassment, and different levels of severity of harassment, will be able to receive help from their school without their case being dismissed outright,” Zuba explains. In the past, schools would dismiss cases if the conduct did not seem “bad enough”. Now, schools will be required to address less severe forms of harassment.

Additionally, the location of these complaints also plays a new role. Under the 2020 regulations, schools were required to dismiss cases with incidents that took place in a study abroad program in another country, or if the incident occurred at an off-campus apartment rather than an on-campus dormitory run by the school.

“(This change is) really significant because if it’s two students and (the sexual assault incident) happened off campus, if the (survivor) is feeling unsafe on campus, if they’re seeing the (perpetrator), if it’s affecting their life at school, their school is going to be able to address that and be required to address that now,” Zuba says.

Addressing the Complaint Even if the Survivor Is No Longer at School

Another important change from April is that schools are required to address a complaint even if the survivor is not enrolled at the school anymore, if at their time of assault, they were trying to participate in school.

“(This) would include someone visiting the school for admitted students’ weekend, or someone who went to the school and no longer attends,” Zuba explains. “That is significant because oftentimes, someone has graduated or withdrawn because of the assault, but their perpetrator still goes there, and the school should want to investigate whether the perpetrator might be a danger to other students, or if they harmed someone who used to go there. So now schools will be required to investigate even if the survivor doesn’t go there anymore.”

This update is helpful to not only the survivors who are making Title IX complaints but also other students who benefit from having those who caused harm removed from their school environment, making it safer for everyone.

Expanding What School Personnel Must Act

The new Title IX regulations also expand the rules about who at the school must respond when made aware of sexual harm happening. In higher education, only certain people at the school, like a Title IX coordinator or a dean, were required to act under the 2020 regulations. For example, if an employee like a teaching assistant, coach, resident assistant, or professor knew about a sexual assault and did not do or say anything, the school would not have violated the law.

This changes in the new regulations, Zuba says. Now, a school employee with knowledge of an incident like sexual assault or harassment is required to “respond promptly and effectively,” Zuba says. “That is good because the survivor shouldn’t have to think about… ‘Are they required to do something? Are they actually going to help me? Will they know how to help me?’ There should be more (employees) who can and have to assist them.”

This should make the process of disclosing harm clearer and less traumatizing for survivors seeking help, giving them more options for people they can go to and rely on help for.

Removing Required Cross-Examinations or Hearings

Live hearings and cross-examinations, which can be traumatizing to survivors, are no longer required under the new regulations – a huge win for survivors. Cross-examination in sexual assault cases can be aggressive and accusatory, even blaming survivors for the harm they experienced and to feel like they’ve done something wrong by coming forward. Cross-examination is done by the advisor of the parties’ choice, meaning the survivor is forced to answer questions asked by whoever their assailant chooses. Now, schools can choose to have a hearing or use what’s called “a single investigator model,” where investigations into an incident are conducted by a trained investigator who will make a determination without a hearing, similar to how workplace investigations or other administrative matters are resolved.

In addition, schools now must use the same standard to evaluate evidence as to whether a person is responsible for sexual assault as they do for other types of disciplinary issues. The 2020 regulations allowed schools to choose to use a higher standard of proof than they were required to use previously, which would make it harder for survivors to win their cases.

“(The change in standard) is also good because it removes some of the double standards that have existed around how we’re treating sexual assault versus how we’re treating other types of assault,” Zuba says.

How an Attorney Can Help

Title IX has evolved so much over the past 52 years. Knowing about survivor’s rights and options is one of the first steps in a journey toward healing. A lawyer can provide a high level of expertise and insight into Title IX processes. As CAASE’s lead Title IX attorney, Zuba represents students seeking assistance or help with their Title IX cases in the face or aftermath of sexual harm all the time.  

“I think the most impactful thing is for students to understand that having a lawyer through this process is actually really useful,” she explains. Hiring a lawyer may feel too formal or unnecessary for this process, Zuba says, but having a lawyer as an advisor can make the Title IX process less challenging or retraumatizing – knowing someone is there to fully assert your rights as a survivor in school.  

If CAASE’s legal services can help you as you navigate school, please reach out via email at legal@caase.org, or you can call our legal intake line at 773-244-2230, ext. 205. Click here to learn more about CAASE’s legal service. 

CAASE published this piece on June 10, 2024. It was authored by Lizzy Springer and edited by Madeleine Behr with input from Christina Zuba. Learn more about our staff here.