Your Chance to Comment on Proposed Title IX Rule Changes

As reported recently, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has released new proposed regulations to Title IX. The proposed changes run counter to what we have learned through the TSS Group as well as research nationally about the causes and consequences of sexual assault, reporting decisions, and the importance of trauma-informed responses. The sweeping changes would be far-reaching, affecting the kinds of cases that can even be investigated to requiring survivors to submit to cross-examination by an advisor of the accused’s choosing. The proposed changes promise to have a chilling effect on reporting and institutional responses to campus sexual assault. And, unlike Obama-era guidance on Title IX, the new rules would be legally binding.

Now that the new rules have been proposed, the public has until January 28, 2019 to comment. Several resources are available to learn more about the proposed rule changes as well as how to make an effective comment that draws on data to make substantive critiques and/or suggest alternative policies. Here are a few:

• How do I access the proposed rules?
  • Proposed Regulations
• What is in the proposed rule changes?
  • 9 Things to Know About the Rule (Know Your IX)
  • Guide to proposed rules (National Women’s Law Center)
  • Comment Guide (Equal Rights Advocates)
  • What You Need to Know about the Proposed Title IX Regulations (Chronicle of Higher Education)
    • Follow-up: The Fight Over the Title IX Has Reached the Comments Section. Here’s What People Are Saying. (Chronicle of Higher Education)
• What is “Notice and Comment”?
  • Quick video on Notice and Comment 101 (Know Your IX)
  • What is Notice and Comment (Equal Rights Advocates)
• How do I write an effective comment?
  • Notice and Comment Toolkit (Know Your IX)
  • Sample comment (National Women’s Law Center)
  • Notice and Comment Data Guide (The Action Network)
  • Submit a Comment (Hands Off IX)
  • Writing and Effective Comment (Equal Rights Advocates)
  • Your Voice Counts: Title IX Proposed Rule and How to Comment Effectively (CCASA)

Maybe it’s the college professor in me, but here’s one more reminder: The due date for public comments is January 30, 2019 – no extensions.

Update: January 12, 2019. New resource links were added to this post. 

Update: January 25, 2019. Because the Federal eRulemaking Portal was unavailable for two days, the due date for comments was extended to on January 30, 2019. The deadline has been updated in the post above.