MORE TITLE IX Lawsuits by Accusers and Accused
Universities and colleges are increasingly experiencing legal challenges to their institutions’ Title IX enforcement processes. Legal challenges in federal courts exploded following the Obama administration’s 2011 guidance, which called on universities and colleges to vigorously root out campus sexual assault and harassment with a preponderance of evidence standard, leaving officials to determine if “it is more likely than not that sexual harassment or violence occurred.” There’s a consensus among higher education and legal experts that students are increasingly claiming flawed hearings or unfair disciplinary sanctions as a result of procedural failings at their universities.
Accused students in particular are more frequently turning to federal courts to claim due process violations during Title IX proceedings at public institutions. Students at publicly funded universities have due process rights in Title IX proceedings and can sue the institutions for violations, while students at private institutions don’t have much chance of success at making such claims. Other accused students have filed suit because of an “erroneous outcome” in their hearing because a disciplinary panel was allegedly biased against them.
UE, one of the largest insurance providers for postsecondary institutions, also reported that sexual assault was the top liability for colleges and universities in 2018. Payouts resulting from Title IX procedural challenges, which went primarily to victims of sexual assault, surpassed the legal costs of large risks such as wrongful death or negligence and wrongful termination, according to the report. Settling complaints from alleged victims in court cost colleges and universities an average of $350,000 in the years following the Obama guidance, and some settlements reached $1 million, UE reported in an analysis of Title IX claims from 2011 to 2015 at 1,600 institutions. This does not include legal defense expenses, which can cost colleges and universities millions before settlements are even reached. Claims settled with a student accused of sexual misconduct cost universities less in damages on average — around $20,000 to $30,000, covering the accused student’s losses in tuition and housing.
insidehighered-Greta Anderson
