Sanctions and Punishment for University Violations of Title IX

[author: Aliya Brown]

Allegations of sexual assault and discrimination at colleges and universities and their subsequent mishandling of said allegations have become a large part of the nationwide #MeToo discussion.

At the center of the conversations are the regulations imposed on universities by the Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. These regulations govern discriminatory complaints that a student brings at a university, be it against a student or member of faculty or staff.

Our student defense attorneys at DC Student Defense have worked with many students facing Title IX accusations and helped them through the process. But what happens when a university faces sanctions for Title IX violations?

Title IX states that:

“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

Title IX does not simply encompass sexual assault allegations but rather complaints of any sort of discriminatory nature on the basis of gender, including treatment of pregnant or parenting students, discriminatory practices in athletics, and admissions practices.

In 2011, the Obama administration’s Department of Education issued an unofficial guidance, often referred to as the “Dear Colleague” Letter, encouraging school administrations to take effective steps to end sexual harassment and violence. The letter also made it clear that any school which fails to live up to this responsibility could be in danger of losing their federal funding.

Under the Trump administration, the Department of Education implemented a new set of rules — many of which directly contradicted the policies established under the Obama administration.

It remains to be seen how President Biden’s administration will handle this subject.

The language of the statute very clearly states that any college or university that receives federal funding must comply with these regulations, or they will face withholding of federal funds.

However, would the federal government actually withhold funds from a large university when those funds are a large part of its budget?

The investigation against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill a few years ago provided an overview of what to expect when a school is under investigation for failure to comply with Title IX regulations.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights began a formal investigation into UNC’s handling of Title IX complaints after two women, both alumni of the university who previously filed sexual assault complaints against other students, began a national campaign demanding greater scrutiny of the university’s practices after they university failed to comply with federal procedures in handling their complaints.

After five years of thorough federal investigation, the government found that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill had violated Title IX procedures.

Instead of denial of federal funding, the university formulated a resolution agreement with the Department of Education with a variety of mandatory actions to prove to the Department of Education that the University is in compliance with Title IX procedures:

Currently, the Department of Education is still investigating 392 cases of alleged mishandling of Title IX complaints about sexual violence.

But truthfully, it is inconceivable that the government would withhold funds from every school found in violation of Title IX procedures.

The real punishment that universities face is to their reputations.

Universities strive for pristine reputations and high enrollment rates but face serious backlash for failures to properly handle these complaints. In the case of the University of North Carolina, a documentary film followed the two alumni who sparked the federal investigation, and dragged the university’s reputation through the mud.