IU on DOE list for Title IX investigation

IU-Bloomington is one of dozens of higher education institutions under investigation by the United States Department of Education for possible violations of federal law over dealing with sexual violence and harassment complaints.

A list of more than 50 schools was released Thursday morning by the DOE’s Office for Civil Rights. The DOE will not disclose case-specific information regarding any of the schools under investigation, according to a press release.

Associate Vice President for University Communications and IU Spokesperson Mark Land said IU’s inclusion on the list reflects a routine compliance review to check on the school’s handling of cases. Land said there have been no complaints filed against the University.

“We try to be very transparent,” he said. “We know that the work in this area is never going to be done, but we do feel good about what we’re trying to do.”

Land said the OCR informed the University in March that it had been selected for the list and will be cooperating with the review in hopes of further improving the University’s response to sexual assault.

“We realize that this is an extreme, serious issue,” Land said. “We welcome all the help we can get.”

According to the 2013 IU Annual Security report, 35 sexual assaults were reported on the IUB campus in 2012. This number does not include any assaults reported off campus.

One other Indiana school, Vincennes University , is also listed.

“We hope this increased transparency will spur community dialogue about this important issue,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine Lhamon said in the release.  “I also want to make it clear that a college or university’s appearance on this list and being the subject of a Title IX investigation in no way indicates at this stage that the college or university is violating or has violated the law.”

Gage Bentley, Holly Hays and Michael Majchrowicz