Discussion List for campus-based and allied personnel working to end gender-based violence on campus.

[Brett Sokolow <>]

Here is the OCR position on that:

Dear Mr. Sokolow,

 

Thank you for your email regarding whether disclosures made to faculty researchers who are otherwise mandated reporters are allowed to be maintained in confidence when the disclosures are made in the context of Human Subjects Research (under the supervision of an IRB) on subjects like trauma. 

 

As you are aware, under Title IX, a responsible school employee generally must report incidents of sexual violence to the school’s Title IX coordinator or other appropriate school designee. This is because a school is obligated to address sexual violence about which a responsible employee knew or should have known. OCR’s April 2014 Q&A on Title IX and sexual violence made clear that there are some limited exceptions for this reporting obligation. These exceptions include a disclosure of sexual assault made during “Take Back the Night” or other public awareness events where students are unlikely to expect that the disclosure would trigger such reporting obligations. Since the disclosure you describe in your email occurs in the context of a research project, it is similarly unlikely that a student would expect that such a disclosure would trigger any reporting obligations under Title IX and therefore a faculty researcher would not be required to report the information to the Title IX coordinator or other appropriate school designee.

 

If a faculty researcher thinks that interviews conducted in the context of a research project may illicit a personal account of a sexual assault, prior to the interview, the faculty researcher should make clear to students that disclosures made during interviews, without more, are not considered notice to the school for the purposes of triggering an individual investigation.  If students share such accounts during interviews, the faculty researcher should also provide information on Title IX and how to file a Title IX complaint with the school, as well as options for reporting an incident of sexual violence to campus or local law enforcement and any available on and off-campus resources for survivors of sexual violence.  These steps will help ensure that students understand their Title IX rights related to sexual violence.

 

OCR is committed to providing the public, including students, parents, educators, representatives of school districts, colleges, and universities, and other interested persons, with information about the civil rights laws OCR enforces.  In responding to correspondence, OCR provides customers with general, publicly available information about a wide variety of civil rights issues in the education context.  OCR does not, however, provide legal or other advice or issue advisory opinions to customers concerning specific factual scenarios.  Correspondence issued by OCR in response to an inquiry from the public does not constitute a formal statement of OCR policy and should not be construed as creating or articulating new policy.  OCR’s formal policy statements are approved by a duly authorized OCR official and made available to the public.

 

I hope this information is helpful.

 

Sincerely,

 

Rachel Gettler

Office for Civil Rights

U.S. Department of Education

 

Regards,
Brett A. Sokolow
Brett A. Sokolow, Esq.
Attorney-at-Law

President & CEO, The NCHERM Group LLC

Executive Director, The National Behavioral Intervention Team Association 

Executive Director, The Association of Title IX Administrators 

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From: <McKendry>, "Megan K - (mmckendry)" <>
Date: Tuesday, April 14, 2015 at 11:57 AM
To: "" <>
Subject: Title IX Mandated Reporting and Focus Groups

Hi folks--

I'm conducting a qualitative needs assessment about sexual assault using participatory methods (i.e., in partnership with undergraduate students) on my campus. We are concerned that we may be required to report sexual violence incidents to the school if a research participant discloses during a focus group. I've reached out to the school's legal counsel, but I'd also like to hear how others have approached this. Has anyone dealt with this before?

Thanks in advance!

Megan

Megan McKendry, MPH
Violence Prevention Coordinator
Oasis Program Against Sexual Assault & Relationship Violence
The University of Arizona | Campus Health Service
1224 E. Lowell Street | Tucson, AZ 85721-0095
P: 520-626-1829 | F: 520-621-8325
| www.oasis.web.arizona.edu
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