In a precedential decision issued on May 29, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reversed the lower court’s dismissal of a complaint filed against a private university alleging discrimination under Title IX and...more
6/2/2020
/ Breach of Contract ,
Cross Examination ,
Dear Colleague Letter ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Title IX ,
Universities
After 17 months and more than 120,000 public comments, the Department has released its new regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. The regulations represent a seismic shift in process and...more
5/20/2020
/ Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Educational Institutions ,
New Regulations ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Universities
On May 6, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) made public its long-anticipated regulations under Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, which prohibits sex discrimination in most education programs and...more
5/11/2020
/ Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Title IX ,
Universities
As discussed in an earlier alert, the CARES Act’s Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund allocates almost $14 billion to institutions of higher education (IHEs). While this amount is an important and appreciated show of...more
Last spring, I was in my seventh year as general counsel and chief of staff at a private university with a close-knit senior leadership team. I thrived on collaborating with my colleagues to find solutions to our...more
Institutions of higher education (IHEs) are undertaking herculean measures to ensure students have the opportunity to continue their academic progress during this extraordinary time....more
As institutions of higher education begin their spring 2020 semester, they should be aware of several Pennsylvania-specific developments regarding sexual misconduct and child abuse. ...more
1/17/2020
/ Child Abuse ,
Clery Act ,
Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
Hazing ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Statutory Violations ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Universities ,
Willful Misconduct
On December 12, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued its decision in Kollaritsch v. Michigan State University Board of Trustees, holding that, in order to be liable for deliberate indifference under Title...more
12/17/2019
/ Complaint Procedures ,
Educational Institutions ,
Evidence ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Rape ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Students ,
Title IX
In a recent blog post, ACE General Counsel Peter McDonough outlined principles recognized by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) as guideposts to avoid running afoul of the Americans with...more
11/5/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Educational Institutions ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Fair Process Doctrine ,
Medical Evaluation Reports ,
Mental Health ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Rehabilitation Act ,
Risk Assessment ,
Section 504 ,
Students ,
Withdrawal
On July 8, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf held a ceremonial bill signing for two initiatives intended to encourage reporting of sexual harassment and sexual violence at institutions of higher education across the Commonwealth. ...more