Volunteers Needed in Anticipation of Proposed Title IX Amendments
Call to Action
By Ellen Miller, IOA Executive Director
Calling All US Academic Ombuds
We need your help. The US Department of Education has finalized its proposed amendments to Title IX and we expect a Notice of Proposed Rule Making to be issued in the next 60–90 days. According to an abstract previewing the amendments, the following changes may be included to align Title IX with Biden-Harris Administration priorities:
- Designation of coordinator
- Dissemination of policy
- Adoption of grievance procedures
- Definitions
- Recipient’s response to sexual harassment
- Grievance process for formal complaints of sexual harassment
You may recall that in March 2021, President Biden directed the Department of Education to review changes made to Title IX during the Trump administration that prompted a week of exploratory hearings last summer. IOA participated by submitting comments that encouraged the retention of two amendments to preserve the effectiveness of organizational ombuds on college campuses.
We have new work to do in light of this anticipated Notice of Proposed Rule Making. Are you a college, university, or community college ombuds in the United States? Your expertise and perspective are needed to join our team to review the changes and help draft comments. We want to ensure we have a strong IOA response. We are looking for a variety of perspectives including practice setting, gender, BIPOC, dual role, and contract ombuds. Please join our group.
To learn more about IOA’s work in this area, or to volunteer, please reach out to our new Executive Director, Ellen Miller who can be reached at [email protected] or 619-943-0792.
Email IOA ED
IOA Executive Director
This may be worth discussing at the Academic Sector meeting at IOA2022 on 5 and 6 April.