Duke Chronicle quotes Sokolow on Title IX investigations

"OCR [may] publicize resolutions with prominent colleges to make sure that other colleges are paying attention." 

http://ow.ly/nR0R303WqcG

Vulnerable Students

Daniel Swinton, senior executive vice president at the NCHERM Group, a law and consulting firm that advises schools and colleges on safer schools and campuses, said that it’s difficult to speculate on which departments may be more prone to instances of sexual assault by faculty, since it’s so underreported as a crime in general.

But faced with allegations, he said, institutions have an obligation to take “reasonable and targeted” measures to stop the harassment or abuse, prevent its reoccurrence and remedy its effects. 

Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/07/30/could-music-students-be-more-risk-sexual-misconduct-professors#ixzz2aXX1CJg4 

Michelle Issadore, M.Ed. and Daniel C. Swinton, J.D., Ed.D. comment on new OCR guidelines

Michelle Issadore, M.Ed. and Daniel C. Swinton, J.D., Ed.D. comment on new OCR guidelines in Holding Colleges Accountable, a June article in Inside Higher Ed. Issadore makes note that recent changes have been in response to student assembly and that students are becoming more informed about their rights under Title IX and the Clery Act, and they're organizing." Swinton discusses how the principles and approaches outlined in the recent Montana Resolution Agreement are "transferable to many institutions." 

W. Scott Lewis clarifies OCR position in The Atlantic

A recent The Atlantic article (Which Matters More: Reporting Assault or Respecting a Victim's Wishes?) critiques Columbia's "conservative reading of Title IX" and the policy implications that order faculty and staff to report cases of sexual harassment even when the student has pleaded for secrecy. The NCHERM Group Partner W. Scott Lewis clarifies OCR's intended position on mandatory reporting: "the Office of Civil Rights wanted deans, directors, assistant directors, VPs, and provosts to be the 'responsible employees' who must report sexual harassment. These are the people who can do suspensions or no-contact orders, move people from residence halls, or find other solutions to a sexual harassment problem."

Review of Georgetown Title IX case referenced in Inside Higher Ed

A May 2013 article in Inside Higher Ed discusses Otterbein University's recent decision to discontinue using a form that required victims, perpetrators, and witnesses to a sexual assault investigation to "not share information." Students perceived the document to be a nondisclosure agreement and questioned why alleged victims were being told not to discuss their cases. Let's Not Talk About It referenced a review of a 2004 OCR investigation at Georgetown University written by Brett A. Sokolow, Esq., President & CEO of The NCHERM Group. The review explicitly identifies these actions as Clery Act violations: The Clery Act mandates that complainants be told of the outcomes of any sanctions of any hearing based on their complaint of sexual assault. No condition, limitation, or confidentiality requirement may interfere with that mandate.

Brett A. Sokolow, Esq. discusses perceived improvements to "garden variety" sexual assault cases

Brett A. Sokolow, Esq., President & CEO of The NCHERM Group, discussed perceived improvements to "garden variety" sexual assault cases in "Notre Dame University and the complexities of sexual assault cases." He goes on to comment that "the old rules still apply if [the alleged assailant is] a star athlete or student president... Corruption still exists in those cases."

Saunie Schuster, Esq. discusses recent "wake-up calls" in Diverse Issues in Higher Education

Saunie Schuster, Esq., Partner at The NCHERM Group, was interviewed in "Organizations Work to Raise Awareness to Prevent Rape," in Diverse Issues in Higher Education. Schuster commented on what was describe as the vortex of wake-up calls to campus officials by saying, “The fact that the OCR began doing voluntary compliance reviews and not merely responding to a complaint communicated to schools that they were serious about the enforcement of the Title IX Guidance.”