On May 6th, the Department of Education issued its Final Rule changing the Title IX obligations of all schools receiving federal funding. Consistent with the harmful rhetoric and anti-survivor ideology Secretary DeVos has brought to the Department, the Rule contains dangerous provisions that go against best practices, tip the scales against survivors, and jeopardize tens of thousands of students’ civil right to an education free from discrimination.

This rule will have devastating consequences for students and their families. Specifically, the rule will require schools to only investigate the most extreme forms of harassment and assault, require schools to ignore most violence that occurs off-campus, require live hearings and direct cross-examination of complainants and respondents by each of their chosen representatives, and allow needless delays in the completion of Title IX investigations. Altogether, these changes will discourage survivors from coming forward and utilizing the Title IX process at their schools, resulting in rampant sexual violence going unaddressed.

We, as students and community members, are calling on Georgia Tech and the University System of Georgia to uphold the civil rights of all students on campuses across Georgia. Multiple sections within the rule give schools discretion to choose how policies are implemented. We urge Georgia Tech and the University System of Georgia to commit to taking sexual violence seriously by choosing the options that would create the least harm for student survivors.

Below, we have listed our call to Georgia Tech, and more broadly the University System of Georgia, which asks for your clear commitment to maintaining the safest and fairest policies that are legal under the Final Rule.

As members of the Georgia Tech community and as individuals who are affected by the University System of Georgia's policies, we call on both organizations to commit to:

1. Establishing the preponderance of the evidence as the standard of evidence in all campus sexual misconduct, harassment, and discrimination cases. Preponderance of the evidence is the only standard that values the education of both complainants and respondents equally. 

2. Establishing a time limit of sixty calendar days for the completion of sexual misconduct, harassment, and discrimination cases, with exceptions only for substantial extenuating circumstances. Lengthy investigations are emotionally taxing on survivors, often causing students to drop-out before their cases are complete. Drawn-out timelines are bad for complainants and respondents alike, leaving them uncertain of where things stand with their schools.

3. Continuing to respond promptly to reports of and carrying out existing investigations into sexual misconduct during the global health crisis. The new rule makes clear that Title IX processes may continue remotely in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The rights of student complainants and respondents alike hinge on schools maintaining their commitment to prompt and equitable investigations even during these unprecedented times.

4. Guaranteeing all students access to reasonable interim measures regardless of where or when the violence or discrimination they experienced took place. The serious effects of violence and discrimination merit accommodations whether a student was harmed on-campus, on a study-abroad trip, or in their private apartment.

5. Creating and following sexual misconduct procedures for investigating otherwise not covered instances of off-campus and study abroad violence. While the rule does not allow formal Title IX investigations of off-campus violence, schools can still create separate sexual misconduct policies that ensure students can report off-campus violence. Whether you are raped in your on-campus dorm room or in another country, having to see your rapist in class equally interrupts your education. With many students living off campus at Georgia Tech and with rates of assault an estimated five times higher in study abroad programs, these additional procedures are necessary for the safety of our students.

6. Barring the use of informal resolution mechanisms including but not limited to mediation in cases of sexual assault, rape, dating and domestic violence, and stalking that is an extension of such violence. It is widely agreed upon that mediation is an inappropriate and even unsafe measure in these types of situations. Not only is barring mediation in line with the 2001 Title IX Guidance released by the DoE under the Bush Administration (and upheld during the Obama Administration), but experts in this field agree that mediation puts victims at risk of reliving their trauma.

7. Following the Department of Education’s rescinded 2016 guidance on protecting LGBTQ+ students in order to ensure all students have equal access to a safe learning environment, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.

We call on the University System of Georgia and Georgia Tech to issue a written public statement declaring their commitment to these seven policies by August 14th (the date these policies go into affect).

As dedicated members of this community, we believe in holding our institution to the highest standards. With a federal government that is failing students, it is up to institutions to ensure that every student has equal access to a safe education. We look forward to seeing a public statement from USG and/or Georgia Tech in the coming days.

Go to https://www.knowyourix.org/ to learn more about Title IX and what you can do to help!

See Student Governments from multiple USG schools letter in response to these Title IX changes: https://sga.gatech.edu/2020/07/21/title-ix-letter-to-usg/