Title IX’s implementing regulations require each institution to have a designated employee responsible for Title IX compliance, referred to as a Title IX Coordinator. The Title IX Coordinator’s name, title, and contact information must be widely publicized to the school community. Title IX also requires that schools have policies in place for responding to Title IX complaints and that these policies are disseminated and widely available to the student body.  When schools are made aware of sexual assault, they must respond promptly and equitably.

Title IX is enforced by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) (as well as the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division).¹ OCR also provides information and guidance to assist schools’ compliance with Title IX and to this end has provided guidance documents on the responsibility of schools in order to comply with Title IX. 

Understanding that the problem of sexual assault on campus is an epidemic and that schools are often ill-equipped to adjudicate such complaints, some states (including California and New York) have passed state laws with more specific requirements that schools must meet in their response to sexual violence on campus. Consult your agency’s state-specific supplemental guide for whether your state has laws applicable to campus sexual assault.