students or others do not have clear protection against such retaliation, they may be unwilling to come forward with information or a complaint of sex discrimination, leaving Title IX protections unfulfilled.
The proposed regulations would make clear that schools must not intimidate, threaten, coerce, or discriminate against someone because they provided information about or made a complaint of sex discrimination or because they participated in the school’s Title IX process—and that schools must protect students from retaliation by other students.
Improve the adaptability of the regulations’ grievance procedure requirements so that all recipients can implement Title IX’s promise of nondiscrimination fully and fairly in their educational environments.
To be effective in implementing Title IX, a school’s grievance procedures for sex discrimination complaints must adapt to the age, maturity, needs, and level of independence of students in various educational settings, and the particular contexts of employees and third parties.
Based on this reality, the Department’s proposed regulations would include a framework that accounts for these differences, including requirements that apply in all settings and specialized requirements that are tailored to the unique situation of sex-based harassment complaints involving postsecondary students.
This framework would ensure that all federally funded schools and postsecondary institutions can provide for the prompt and equitable resolution of sex discrimination complaints in their respective settings.
Ensure that schools share their nondiscrimination policies with all students, employees, and other participants in their education programs or activities
The proposed regulations also would require all schools that receive federal funding to clearly and effectively communicate their nondiscrimination policies to all students, employees, and other participants in their education programs or activities.
The Department’s proposed Title IX regulations will be open for public comment for 60 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register.
Additional information on the proposed rule is available here. The unofficial version of the proposed rule is available here.
