On March 4, 2011, an undergraduate student at George Washington University filed a complaint with the US Department of Education, District of Columbia Office for Civil Rights (OCR). In her complaint, she alleged that the University discriminated against her on the basis of sex when it failed to respond in an equitable manner to her complaint that she was sexually assaulted by a fellow undergraduate student. On August 31, 2011, OCR announced that it would investigate the University regarding these allegations.

On August 31, 2011, before the conclusion of OCR’s investigations, University officials entered into a voluntary resolution agreement where it agreed to make a number of changes to its Title IX policies and practices. However, despite agreeing to make these changes, the University did not admit to any violations of federal law. As a part of the agreement, the University promised to:

• Revise its sexual misconduct policy and submit it to OCR for approval before implementation;


• Revise its notice of nondiscrimination to include the contact information for the Title IX Coordinator;


• Review the responsibilities of the individual designated to coordinate the University’s efforts to comply with Title IX and ensure that the Title IX Coordinator has appropriate oversight;


• Develop and submit training procedures for University employees which OCR is required to approve before implementation;


• Incorporate sexual violence prevention and response training into all freshman orientation programming;


• Establish a student committee designed to recommend policies, practices, and programming to prevent sex discrimination and harassment;


• Conduct an annual climate check to assess the effectiveness of steps taken pursuant to the agreement; and


• Submit all reports of sexual violence and the University response to OCR annually for review.

The parties agreed that OCR would monitor compliance with this agreement through the conclusion of the 2013-2014 academic year. As of 2018, there has been no further docket activity and the case is thus presumed closed.

Hope Brinn - 01/02/2019


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