September 30, 2024

Mandatory annual Title IX training to launch Oct. 15, include new regulations

To be compliant with the new Title IX regulations, all employees must complete training before Dec. 13, 2024. The Office of Equity and Compliance is updating the annual required training to reflect the changes to the Title IX regulations. The training, Preventing Harassment and Discrimination: Supervisors + Clery Act and Title IX, will launch on Oct. 15. The supervisory version is assigned to all employees to meet content requirements. Nick Wortman, associate vice chancellor of human resources and Title IX coordinator, explains in the message below. Email notifications will be sent to employees via Vector Solutions. The link to the training will also be available on the Office of Equity and Compliance website.
 

Dear SIU Carbondale Community:

On April 19, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education released its Title IX Final Rule amending the existing regulations. The Final Rule specifies how recipients of federal financial assistance – including postsecondary institutions such as SIU Carbondale – must stop, prevent and remedy sex discrimination and sex-based harassment in all education and employment activities. The new regulations went into effect on Aug. 1, 2024. 

As required by the Final Rule, all employees must complete annual training on the scope of Title IX, including prohibited behaviors, employee reporting duties and information sharing responsibilities. We will continue to offer students annual education on Title IX, reporting options and resources. The changes required by the regulations are significant but also build on the previous regulations that were in place from Aug. 14, 2020, to July 31, 2024. Those regulations will continue to apply to all incidents that occurred during that period, with the new regulations applying to all incidents that occur on or after Aug. 1, 2024. 

Within the 2024 regulations, you will see: 

  • Revised and updated definitions of offenses, including sex-based harassment.
  • Expanded supportive measures for impacted parties.
  • A variety of potential resolution processes, including informal resolution.
  • Expanded mandated reporting obligations for employees.
  • Broader protections for pregnancy and related conditions.
  • Clarification of how Title IX protects LGBTQ+ members of our community. 

The new regulations require the institution to continually monitor and address any barriers to reporting that may exist, which will help us to make our resolution processes more accessible to the members of our campus community. We remain committed to providing an education and employment environment free from sex discrimination and sex-based harassment and will continue to strive to create a community and a culture that is respectful and inclusive. 

To be compliant with the new regulations, all employees must complete training prior to Dec. 13, 2024. The Office of Equity and Compliance is updating the annual required training to reflect the changes to the Title IX regulations. The training, Preventing Harassment and Discrimination: Supervisors + Clery Act and Title IX, will launch on Oct. 15. The supervisory version is assigned to all employees to meet our content requirements. 

Please be aware that this is mandatory training. Employees who do not comply with the directive to complete this training will be subject to disciplinary action. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at equity@siu.edu. You may report prohibited conduct to the Title IX office via SAFE Report at https://safe.siu.edu/file-a-report/crime-reporting-form.php.  

Nicholas Wortman, Title IX Coordinator
Associate Vice Chancellor of Human Resources