The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) today in correspondence to SAFE Campuses, LLC clarified that institutions of higher education may comply with their Title IX obligations by using the same definitions of “VAWA offenses” in disciplinary proceedings that they are required to use under Clery Act regulations. The VAWA offenses encompass sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking.
“OCR has consulted with FSA’s Clery Office and advises that to prevent unnecessary confusion and for ease of use, recipients that must comply with Title IX and the Clery Act can use the definitions in the Clery Act regulations for these purposes” wrote OCR’s Program Legal Group. Click here to read the full correspondence.
“However, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking must be based on sex in order to be covered under Title IX” OCR further wrote. “In addition, the Department reminds recipients that are subject to the Clery Act that they must adopt the definitions as they appear in the Clery Act regulations and that they cannot modify or replace the definitions through adjustments to their policies and procedures.”
The recently published 2024 Title IX Rule, which has an August 1st implementation deadline, presented definitions of those terms in a slightly different form from those in the Clery regulations which had led to some confusion. It is our conclusion that the correspondence means institutions that are subject to both Title IX and Clery obligations must use the definitions found in the Clery regulations and may not deviate from them.
Congress amended the Clery Act in 2013, as part of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) reauthorization, to require colleges and universities to prohibit these offenses and meet specific standards in their disciplinary proceedings. Since 2015 Clery regulations have required institutions to use the same definitions in these proceedings that they also use to report crime statistics. Both the 2020 and 2024 Title IX regulations have adopted a similar approach for these same offenses.
Helping institutions to navigate the intersection of Title IX and the Clery Act’s VAWA requirements is one of SAFE Campuses, LLC’s top priorities. Please contact us at info@safecampuses.biz today to learn more about how we can help you.
This blog does not provide legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you need legal advice, please contact an attorney directly.
