Ithaca College

Submitted on behalf of Guilherme Costa, Vice President and General Counsel

As you may have read or heard, there has been a significant development on the federal level regarding sexual harassment and sexual assault on college campuses.

On November 16, 2018, the U.S. Department of Education issued an unofficial Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Title IX, which would replace previous guidance on how colleges and universities handle allegations of sexual misconduct. On November 29, the proposed rule was published in the Federal Register, which began a 60-day period during which the department will accept comments from the public. This is just the first step in what is likely to be a lengthy process.

Once the 60-day period ends, the department will review those comments in the weeks or months that follow, and will eventually issue a final regulation that will include a date on which the new guidance will ultimately go into effect.

The college is currently reviewing the proposed rule. We will provide comments to the department either directly or through the various higher education associations to which the college belongs, which are also reviewing this proposed rule.

We remain fully committed to creating and maintaining an environment that is free of harassment and discrimination, and to ensuring that we have a fair process for investigating Title IX complaints. Our policies and their enforcement will not change as a result of this proposed rule unless and until such time as a final regulation is enacted.

Additional information about the proposed rule can be found in the Department of Education announcement here.

For more information on Title IX resources and reporting processes at Ithaca College, visit the Sexual Harassment and Assault Response & Education (SHARE) website here.

Guilherme Costa
Vice President and General Counsel