Georgetown University: Title: Georgetown Supports U.S. Department Of Education Review Of Title IX, Including Accounting For LGBTQ

Press release from Georgetown University:

June 14, 2021

Last week, Georgetown expressed its support for a Department of Education review of recent changes to federal Title IX regulations, which went into effect on August 14, 2020.

Georgetown President John J. DeGioia submitted a formal comment to Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Suzanne B. Goldberg expressing concern about the regulations passed last year, which did not address many of the issues raised by Georgetown in an earlier comment to the department in January of 2019.

“When the Department issued its final regulations in August 2020, we were disappointed to see that the regulations failed to address many of the concerns that Georgetown and thousands of other commenters had raised,” wrote DeGioia. “We are therefore grateful for the Department’s interest in reviewing the final regulations, and for this renewed opportunity to provide our input.”

Intersecting Forms of Discrimination

President Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14021 on “Guaranteeing an Educational Environment Free From Discrimination on the Basis of Sex, Including Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity” called for a review of Title IX policies, prompting the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to organize a virtual public hearing on the topic.

Members of the public were able to comment on how the department can ensure educational environments are free from sexual harassment, which encompasses sexual assault and other forms of sexual violence. OCR also requested comments on discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in educational environments.

In its comment, the university supported principles outlined in the executive order, including accounting for intersecting forms of discrimination; accounting for the significant rates at which lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer students experience sexual harassment; ensuring students who have experienced sex discrimination receive support; and ensuring sexual misconduct grievance procedures are fair and equitable.

Engaging the Georgetown Community

Georgetown’s comment submitted in 2019 was informed by community feedback gathered at 11 listening sessions with more than 375 students, faculty and staff members.

The comment was included in the materials submitted to the Department of Education last week, reiterating the university’s concerns about the narrower scope of Title IX to address sexual misconduct, the low bar the regulations set for colleges and universities to respond to sexual misconduct and the overly legalistic grievance process.

Though the Biden Administration has not yet released proposed changes to Title IX policies, the university’s comment indicates appreciation for the review and encourages the department to seek more input from Georgetown and other universities.

“As the review of the 2020 Title IX Regulations moves forward, we would encourage the Department to continue seeking broad input from those most impacted by these regulations, including survivors and those who have been accused, as well as the counselors, clinicians, Title IX Coordinators, student conduct officials, and other campus officials who are charged with implementing these regulations on a daily basis on college and university campuses,” wrote DeGioia. “We hope that the Department views Georgetown, and all of higher education, as partners in this endeavor to make our schools safer, more equitable places to learn and work, and we look forward to helping the Department achieve these goals.”

Combating Sexual Misconduct

As the department reviews Title IX policies and procedures, the regulations that went into effect in 2020 remain in place.

Regardless of the outcome of the review, Georgetown remains committed to combating sexual misconduct and has resources available to help any community member who has been impacted by sexual misconduct.

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This press release was produced by Georgetown University.The views expressed here are the author’s own.