Letter to university leaders: 2024 Title IX regulations progress and other updates from MSU OCR

What’s new:

  • OCR has completed policy revisions related to new Title IX regulations that go into effect Aug. 1.
  • Mandatory training updates for RVSM and sex/gender discrimination are underway.
  • OCR is piloting a new tool called “Civil Rights Compliance Assist,” a document to provide guidance on unit compliance with legal requirements and university policy.
  • OCR’s Office for Institutional Equity is now the Investigation, Support and Resolution Department within OCR.

Key takeaway: We all have a shared responsibility in ensuring compliance with federal, state and local laws as well as university policy. Please review these important updates with your teams and reach out to the Office for Civil Rights and Title IX Education and Compliance at ocr@msu.edu directly if you need further guidance. The Office of the General Counsel is also available for consultation on this topic.

Dear colleagues,

As many of you know, our team in the Office for Civil Rights and Title IX Education and Compliance, or OCR, has been working tirelessly with campus partners to ensure MSU is in compliance with the new Title IX regulations that were released April 19 and take effect Aug. 1. The first 90 days of this work has focused on revising four policies, drafting training updates and communicating compliance requirements that impact all university operations. I am grateful to everyone who has been part of this effort and pleased to share our 90-day progress report and other OCR updates. 

Completed policy revisions effective Aug. 1 

Revisions of four policies have been completed and approved by President Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D. These policies are the newly renamed Relationship Violence, Sexual Misconduct and Sex/Gender Discrimination Policy, or RVSM Policy; the Anti-Discrimination Policy, or ADP; the newly renamed Mandatory Reporting for Relationship Violence, Sexual Misconduct, Stalking and Sex/Gender Discrimination Policy, or RVSM Mandatory Reporting Policy; and the Pregnancy, Childbirth and Pregnancy-Related Conditions for Student and Employees Policy. These revised policies will be available in the University Policy Library next week and take effect Aug. 1.

Due to the broadened scope of the new regulations, there have been significant shifts related to sex/gender discrimination, including:

  • Sex or gender is defined to also include actual or perceived gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy or related conditions, sex characteristics, sex or gender stereotypes, or sexual orientation/identity. 
  • Sex/gender discrimination has moved from the ADP to the RVSM Policy.
  • Mandatory reporting obligations now include sex/gender discrimination under the RVSM Mandatory Reporting Policy.

Please refer to the attached summary for a description of key changes to all four policies. An email announcement will be sent to the university community later this month, and communication will continue throughout the summer and into the fall semester. 

Mandatory training requirements

Based on the policy revisions, OCR’s Prevention, Outreach and Education Department, or POE, is updating all the required student and employee RVSM training courses, optional workshops and related materials. These updates will be completed by Aug. 1. Optional workshops for any unit or department will be available by requesting a training. There are two important items to note for employees based on the upcoming changes for employees:

  1. The new Title IX regulations require that all employees must participate in annual training. This shift from the biennial to annual training for employees will occur after Aug. 1 and impact all employees over the next year. Individual training cycles will continue to follow each employee’s original anniversary date but shift to an annual cycle. For example, Employee A who completed training August 5, 2023, will be prompted to complete it again by August 5, 2024, to meet the new annual requirement. Employee B who completed training July 5, 2024, will be prompted to complete it again by July 5, 2025. However, in the meantime, Employee B will be provided with a written summary of the changes and options for on-request training while all employees are filtered through the updated process. Employees will continue to be prompted when their training date is approaching through the regular notification system.
  2. MSU is currently evaluating all staffing levels to determine what level of training is appropriate for each role. If the expectation shifts, impacted employees can expect to be notified by email in the coming weeks. 

If you have additional questions regarding training, notifications or training-related issues, please contact the POE department and a staff member will assist you.

Civil rights compliance assistance

Thank you for your engagement following the June 17 email regarding compliance with the new Title IX regulations in your areas. A special note of thanks to IT for identifying that the correct/accessible link for the Notice of Non-Discrimination, Anti-Harassment and Non-Retaliation is: https://civilrights.msu.edu/policies/Notice-of-Non-Discrimination-Anti-Harassment-and-Non-Retaliation.html. The link previously provided is to a PDF of the notice and should not be used. 

Your questions and requests prompted us to pilot a guidance tool that includes frequently asked questions called “Civil Rights Compliance Assist,” which is attached. We plan to share these periodically to create a dialogue and an enhanced understanding of civil rights at MSU (beyond incident reporting and case processes). Our intent is to provide practical support to implement these important shared responsibilities throughout the university’s operations. Please share your feedback and ideas with us at ocr@msu.edu to make this resource as useful as possible. 

Investigation, Support and Resolution Department, or ISR, replaces OIE 

Over the past year, we have developed OCR’s structure to create four branches or departments. In developing this structure, we identified the need to rename the Office of Institutional Equity, or OIE. To provide clarity and convey the scope of what this branch of OCR now does, it has been renamed the Investigation, Support and Resolution Department, or ISR. Please note the following related changes to emails, effective Aug. 1:

  • ISR soon will replace OIE or OCR in team members’ role email addresses. 
  • Any emails sent to the old email addresses (ISR, SIT or individual team members) will be automatically forwarded to the new email addresses. 

We recognize that there are a lot of websites that name or reference OIE, and our team is working to update these references on our OCR-related webpages. You will begin to see these changes leading up to Aug. 1 and will need to update your respective websites and digital materials after that date. If you have questions about updates in your areas, please contact ocr.isr@msu.edu. 

Next steps

Over the next 90 days, our implementation team will move forward with the processes to implement the policies, training, communications, data systems and overall compliance. We intend to regularly update you on the progress related to this plan and bring you more ways that you can enhance your compliance efforts.

Thank you for reviewing this information and sharing it within your areas to advance civil rights at MSU. Please let me know your questions and how OCR can assist you.  

With Spartan spirit, 

Laura Rugless (she/her)

Vice President and Title IX Coordinator

Office for Civil Rights and Title IX Education and Compliance

ocr.laurarugless@msu.edu

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