Feds Say Michigan State Mishandled Sexual Assault Complaints (Read the Report)

This story has been updated.

Michigan State University’s mishandling of sexual assault allegations from 2005 to 2014 may have “contributed to a continuation of a sexually hostile environment” for students and staff, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights said in a damning report Tuesday.

The university’s handling of the complaints “ultimately were thorough and equitable,” OCR director Meena Morey Chandra wrote in the report, but for five years Michian State failed to address them in a timely or equitable manner.

The investigation also found Michigan State “operated noncompliant grievance procedures, had an inadequate notice of nondiscrimination and failed to appropriately notify students and employees of the identity of its Title IX coordinator.”

Michigan State was one of 132 public universities, including the University of Michigan and Grand Valley State University, that the federal government investigated for their handling of sexual assault violations.

Related:

• Michigan Schools Under the Microscope for Handling of Sexual Assault Investigations

Michigan State and the ORC have reached an agreement to resolve the problems, according to the report.

In a statement, Catherine E. Lhamon, assistant secretary for civil rights, said the university has already begun to implement changes.

“With this agreement, Michigan State University undertakes a strong and comprehensive commitment to address sexual harassment and sexual violence,” Lhamon said.

In a statement, Michigan State President Lou Anna K. Simon said sexual assault and harassment are pervasive problems in society and across college campuses nationwide.

“No member of our community should be threatened by sexual violence, and we have made a commitment to be part of a larger societal conversation on this issue,” Simon said. “We have been constantly making improvements, using various inputs to be better tomorrow than we are today.

“We did not let the process of the OCR investigations delay our progress, and we were pleased that changes we have made over the past few years address nearly all of the primary OCR concerns.”

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The investigators noted that since the OCR opened its investigation of the two complaints, Michigan State has “taken significant action to address OCR’s concerns,” including hiring more Title IX investigative staff, developing memorandums of understanding with local police and implementing a campuswide awareness campaign against sexual assault.

However, the investigators said additional steps are necessary. In the agreement with the OCR, the university agreed to several conditions, outlined in the letter below. They included:

• Revising non-discrimination and Title IX complaint procedures;
• Issuing a public anti-harassment statement;
• Training staff on the new procedures, including bi-annual training on recognizing and reporting sexual harassment;
• Improving procedures for documentation and handling of sexual discrimination procedures;
• Evaluating whether campus lighting is adequate and emergency phones are available;
• Examining past complaints to ensure they were correctly handled.