May 8, 2020
The U.S. Department of Education has recently released its new Title IX regulations, with its wide-ranging changes in definitions, responsibilities and procedures regarding sexual assault with an August 14, 2020 effective date. Mount Holyoke’s existing Title IX policies comply with the statute and with prior Office of Civil Rights (OCR) guidance. However, the College is required to amend its current policies to implement these new regulations, as all educational institutions that receive federal funding must.
Mount Holyoke College is committed to creating and maintaining a community in which all its members, including students, faculty, staff and visitors, can live and work together in an environment free from discrimination, including that based upon sex. While our policies and procedures may be amended to comply with OCR guidelines, our Institutional values for the expansion of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and the commitment we share for the safety of our community, will not.
The College agrees with the statement from the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities’ President Barbara K. Mistick, who says: “We are extremely disappointed that the Department is imposing such a short implementation timeline at a time when the global pandemic has created a crisis for institutions and students alike, and when officials are not able to be on campus to prepare and implement the new rules.
“Many will be very concerned that these regulations will have a chilling effect on victims of sexual assault. In addition, the overly legalistic nature of the regulations will turn campuses into courtrooms and impose an expensive and burdensome process on institutions and students.”
In January 2019, Mount Holyoke joined 23 fellow private liberal arts colleges in releasing a statement on these changes to Title IX. That statement includes “...that a number of the specific details of the Proposed Regulations are unnecessary, will have unforeseen consequences, and will cause considerable harm.” Our primary concern was that “the Department of Education seeks to remove the autonomy of private, independent schools by seeking to impose a uniform, ‘one-size-fits-all’ set of procedures for handling all allegations of sexual violence and sexual harassment, for every school in the United States, regardless of the school’s size, history, geography, mission, values or culture.”
Over the coming weeks, the College will be reviewing the new regulations and determining how to implement the new requirements in a way that continues to be fair, equitable, thorough and sensitive for all survivors, parties and witnesses.
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