Highline may see fewer sexual harassment hearings because of planned changes to the student conduct code.

These changes are in response to new federal guidelines regarding Title IX, specifically as it pertains to complaints of sexual misconduct.

Title IX, a federal civil rights law, prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools that are funded by the government. 

Over the last five years, Highline has received two to three sexual harassment cases per year, said Summer Korst, who is the executive director for Human Resources at Highline. This has already changed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The fact that our community members have been learning and working remotely has changed the way we interact with each other,” she said. Therefore, “The number of cases will likely decrease because the virtual environment creates less opportunity for in-person interactions where sexual harassment or gender discrimination can occur.”

Last May, then-President Donald Trump unveiled new regulations for colleges regarding Title IX. Numerous reports at the time criticized Trump for these changes.

A recent email from college officials briefly outlined the updated guidelines and explained what they mean for the college.

“The new regulations addressed the grievance process for formal complaints of sexual harassment and became effective on Aug. 14, 2020,” said Aaron Reader, who is the vice president for Student Services at Highline.

One major way Trump’s new regulations will impact students is the added requirement of a live hearing with cross-examination for all sexual harassment complaints, Reader said.

“This is a significant change because all cases will result in a live hearing after the final report has been submitted,” he said.

Korst said this change is not likely to make things easier on those coming forward with sexual harassment cases, but Highline intends to continue offering support measures to remedy this.

“The investigation and hearing process will be stressful for reporting parties and respondents,” she said. “The new regulation is intended to ensure a transparent process that includes the principles of impartial fact-finding. The new regulation does not limit the college’s ability to provide supportive measures throughout the process.”

At a public Zoom forum on Feb. 16, college officials moderated a community discussion that offered students and faculty the chance to ask questions and/or voice their concerns about the conduct code changes.

Korst further explained some of the changes.

“There are some significant changes that have happened with Title IX,” Korst said. “The jurisdiction for Title IX has narrowed, and this change will likely lead to fewer title IX cases, most significantly. 

“Under the formal rules, any reported case impacting a person’s ability to pursue education, regardless of where the incident happened, fell under the Title IX jurisdiction. Now, only incidents that happen in the U.S., if the student is participating in an educational program offered by the college, will fall under the jurisdiction.”

As a result of these changes, college officials said they plan to update the student conduct code, which hasn’t been changed in six years.

“Our student conduct code needs updating in order to better align student conduct with the new Title IX regulations that became effective on August 14,” Reader said. “Previously, we didn’t really have anything that identified due process and academic freedom. This is called a model 20 student conduct code. Underneath our prohibited student conduct behaviors, there have been a couple of changes.

He said the changes will cover several topics and introduce new language that better reflects the new Title IX regulations.

“We start that off talking about academic dishonesty, and there is now new language talking about consequences,” Reader said. “There are also some language changes around some of the conduct behaviors. Property violations have had some changes, as well as sexual misconduct. Part of that was due to the Title IX changes that we received over last summer.”

Reader said that because the college is planning to make so many changes to the conduct code, it may be best to add a new chapter.

Another public meeting will be held via Zoom on April 7 at 11 a.m. and is open to all students and faculty who wish to provide feedback on or ask questions about the planned student conduct code changes. A link will be provided before the meeting, officials said.