Officials with the University of Arizonaβs Title IX office are working to absorb and adapt to the nearly 2,000-page sexual misconduct policy handed down by federal officials Wednesday.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos proposed sweeping changes to the gender discrimination policy in November 2018, some of which were met with heavy criticism. The policy handed down Wednesday watered down some of the proposed measures, but many changes were officially put into effect.
The new policy bolsters the rights of the accused and reduces the scope of cases that colleges are required to investigate.
One of the largest changes is that college coaches are no longer considered mandatory reporters by default, but rather at the collegeβs discretion. Under the previous policy, coaches and athletic trainers were required to report sexual misconduct if they learn of it.
At the UA, mandatory reporting of sexual misconduct has been written into the coachesβ contracts with the Arizona Board of Regents. Under their current contracts, they will still be required to report incidents to the appropriate offices.
Mary Beth Tucker, the UAβs Title IX coordinator and interim associate vice president of equity, said that she was working to read and digest the lengthy policy.
βI anticipate working with campus partners to analyze the regulations and update policies as needed,β Tucker told the Star in an email. βBut we will, of course, continue our efforts to equitably and compassionately address sexual harassment and all other forms of discrimination.β
With no students on campus since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, the state of Title IX on the UA has been different than in previous semesters.
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Tucker said that the office has not begun to tackle how coronavirus will impact operations just yet, but that itβs in the works.
βOur focus will continue to be on serving our students and employees to the very best of our abilities,β Tucker said. βIt is hard to even imagine what to expect this fall, given all the COVID-related uncertainties and variables.β
Under DeVosβ changes, the definition of sexual harassment has been narrowed and colleges are required to investigate claims only if they are reported to certain campus officials.
Schools will only be accountable for mishandling complaints if they acted with βdeliberate indifference,β and students will be allowed to question one another through representatives during live hearings.
The changes proposed November suggested that colleges would not be required to handle complaints outside of campus borders, but the final policy includes fraternity and sorority houses, as well as other situations in which the college exercises substantial control over the accused and context.
