U.S. Department of Education Of?ce of Communications Outreach, Press Of?ce 400 Maryland, Ave, S.W. Washington, 11C. 20202 FOR RELEASE Sept. 2015 Contact: Press Of?ce 202-4014 576 or press@ed.gov Contact: Anthony P. de Bruyn, University of Virginia 400 or adebruyn@virginia.edu U.S. Education Department Reaches Agreement with the University of Virginia to Address and Prevent Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment The US. Department of Education?s Of?ce for Civil Rights (OCR) and the University of Virginia (UVA) announced today that UVA has entered into a resolution agreement to ensure that the University?s handling of sexual violence and sexual harassment complies with the requirements of Titie IX oi?the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title 1X). ?1 am pleaSed to join President Teresa Sullivan in announcing the resolution we reached with the University of Virginia,? said Catherine E. Lhamon, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights. ?President Sullivan?s leadership in crafting an exemplary new policy to address sexual violence and sexual harassment and in con?rming her continuing commitment to comprehensive work to assure a safe learning environment at UVA sets just the right tone for her students, for which I am deeply grateful.? ?By signing the resolution agreement, we have reaf?rmed our commitment to continue taking steps we believe to be an important part of effective reaponses to sexual harassment and assault urgent and complex societal issues of national importance that are challenging institutions of higher education and beyond,? UVA President Teresa A. Sullivan said. ?We have already implemented many of the measures identi?ed in the agreement.? investigation determined UVA had a mixed record of responding to reports of sexual harassment and sexual violence. During the course of investigation, the University took important steps to ensure it is meeting its Title IX obligations, including consistently providing support to students who report sexual violence and revising University policies on eliminating, preventing and addressing sexual harassment and sexual violence. These and other steps taken by UVA re?ect a commitment to support a safe leaming environment. in addition, the University?s current poiicy is the ?rst university policy OCR has found to be fully compliant with Title IX since the release of April 2014 Frequently Asked Questions document. academic years 2008-09 throth 201 1-12, and with respect to three speci?c concerns identi?ed after the 201 1-12 academic year, OCR found UVA to be in violation of Title IX for failing to and equitably respond to Page 908 of 1820 certain complaints of sexual violence, including in at?least?t-we-instances during-?ieresaevein which the University did not investigate information in cases that involved student ergandeatiensfratemities. OCR also found a hostile environment for the affected students and that the University failed to take suf?cient steps to eliminate the hostile environment and prevent itsrecurrencethe portion of the investigation that OCR completed. OCR also found that prior to the adoption of its current policy, the policies used by UVA to investigate and respond to sexual violence did not fully comply with Title IX. Some aspects of the prior policy did not provide fair process either to complainants or to students accused of sexual violence, and the University corrected this during the course of review, which opened in June 2011. in addition, OCR found that the University did not adequately distribute its Title-IX?required notice to students and others that it does not discriminate on the basis of sex, and that the Title IX coordinator did not adequately coordinate the University?s efforts to comply with and carry out its responsibilities under Title IX. The University entered into a resolution agreement before OCR completed its investigation. The terms of the resolution agreement address ?ndings as well as the remaining compliance concerns OCR had identified before concluding the investigation. The University has agreed to: I Continue to follow its revised Title IX policies- 1- Ensure that agreements with student organizations a including fraternities and sororities - clearly state that sexual harassment, sexual violence and retaliation are prohibited and that the failure of an organization?s student members to comply with the Title IX policy may result in the University severing all ties with the organization. The agreements will also state that UVA has the authority to investigate reports of sexual harassment and sexual violence against members of the student organization and to determine appropriate sanctions. - Develop and implement a system for tracking and reviewing all reports, investigations, interim measures and resolutions of student and employee conduct that may constitute sexual harassment or sexual violence, to ensure that such reports are adequately, reliably, and impartially investigated and resolved. in Provide training to ensure that all members of the UVA community including students, faculty, administrators and other staff are trained regularly on issues related to sexual harassment and sexual violence, the requirements of Title IX, and the University?s policies and procedures when a student reports possible sexual harassment and sexual violence. I Improve outreach to and feedback from students, including conducting focus groups, conducting an annual climate assessment to determine students? attitudes and knowledge regarding sexual harassment and sexual violence, determine whether students know to whom and how to report such conduct, identify potential barriers to reporting, and solicit input on Page 909 of 1820 how the university can encourage reporting of sexual harassment and sexual violence and better respond to such reports. a Review all complaints heard by the University Sexual Misconduct Board during the 20] 1-42, 2012-13 and 2013-14 academic years to determine whether each complaint was handled appropriately and take action to address any problems identified through that review, including providing appropriate remedies that may still be available to the complainants in these cases and remedies that may be necessary to address the climate of the larger University community. 0 Submit to OCR for review and approval copies of all reports and complaints alleging sexual harassment and sexual violence, ?led by students during the 2014~i5 and 2015-16 school years, as well as documentation of the university?s response to these complaints. A copy of the letter can be found [add link here]. A copy of the agreement can be found [add link here]. mission is to ensure equal secess to education and promote educational excellence throughout the nation through the vigorous enforcement of civil rights. OCR is responsible for enforcing federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination by educational institutions on the basis of disability, race, color, national origin, sex, and age, as well as the Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act of 2001. Page 910 of 1820