Changes to the University of Michigan’s Sexual and Gender-Based Misconduct Policy are on hold until later in the academic year pending several federal lawsuits that have blocked the U.S. Department of Education from enforcing its latest Title IX regulations.
The new regulations, which were released in April and expected to take effect Aug. 1, seek to strengthen protections for LGBTQ+ students and pregnant students, and expand requirements for who must report information on a college campus.
The Education Department recently stated that the 2020 regulations would continue to apply in jurisdictions or against universities where lawsuits prevented the department from enforcing the new 2024 Title IX Regulations. U-M’s Ann Arbor and Dearborn campuses fall under that ruling.
As a result, all three U-M campuses will for now continue to operate under the 2020 regulations and existing university policy and procedures.
Currently, only individuals with reporting obligations are required to share information about alleged misconduct with the U-M Equity, Civil Rights and Title IX Office within 48 hours of receiving those details. Under an updated policy, all non-confidential employees would be required to report alleged sexual or gender-based misconduct to the Title IX coordinator within ECRT. ECRT is responsible for policy review as well as reviewing and investigating allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment.
