Title IX Awareness

Title IX is a comprehensive federal civil rights law passed as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. This law protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive Federal financial assistance. Title IX states that, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”

Title IX applies to any institution receiving federal financial assistance, including state and local educational agencies. Educational programs and activities that receive federal funds from the Department of Education must operate in a nondiscriminatory manner. Also, a recipient may not retaliate against any person for opposing an unlawful educational practice or policy, or because a person made charges, testified or participated in any complaint action under Title IX.

Title IX regulations guide how colleges and universities, including Baruch College, must respond to sexual harassment and other sexual misconduct through appropriate grievance procedures, supportive measures, and related policies.

On Friday, January 31 the U.S. Department of Education issued a Dear Colleague Letter stating, “[E]ffective immediately, the United States Department of Education’s (ED) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) will enforce Title IX under the provisions of the 2020 Title IX Rule, rather than the recently invalidated 2024 Title IX Rule.” For this reason, CUNY’s 2020 Policy on Sexual Misconduct replaces the fully rescinded 2024 Policy on Sex-Based Misconduct as the policy applicable to all open and future Title IX matters, including all “open Title IX investigations initiated under the 2024 Rule.”

With the systemwide return to the Policy on Sexual Misconduct, fewer employees will have a duty to inform their Title IX Coordinator when they learn of conduct that may constitute sexual misconduct (these employees are referred to as “responsible employees” under the Policy on Sexual Misconduct). To view the categories of employees CUNY designates as Responsible Employees, please refer to Section VI (B) of the 2020 policy.

Students may still consult with Confidential Employees, who will only share a report of sexual misconduct if instructed to do so by the person who confided in them. Students who wish to speak to someone who will keep their communications confidential should speak to one of the following:

• Counselor or other staff member at the Baruch College Counseling Center;
• Nurse, nurse practitioner or other college health office staff member at the Baruch College Student Health Care Center; or
• The Baruch College Ombuds.

Employees who are neither Responsible Employees nor Confidential Employees are strongly encouraged to report allegations of sexual misconduct to the College’s Interim Title IX Coordinator.

When an employee is informed that a student is pregnant, the employee is no longer required to provide the contact information of their Title IX Coordinator to that student, and the employee is no longer required to inform the pregnant student that their Title IX Coordinator can provide them with supportive measures. Nevertheless, CUNY encourages employees to assist students seeking supportive measures in these instances.