SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The Department of Justice and Utah State University have agreed to a series of guidelines following a three-year investigation into the school’s alleged mishandling of sexual assault cases on campus.
The agreement released Wednesday notes that the federal review of USU will be completed when the school fulfills its side of the deal, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
“Sexual harassment and violence have no place on college campuses, and too often deny students their right to an equal education.” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband. “No student should feel unsafe because of a school’s failure to address sexual violence and its devastating impacts.”
The Justice Department’s review, which began in early 2017, came after its civil rights division learned of multiple allegations of “student-on-student” rape and harassment at the school in northern Utah. The inquiry focused on cases reported between 2013 and 2016.
Three Utah State students have been convicted in high-profile sexual assaults that happened between 2013 and 2015. Those three cases fell within the time frame of the DOJ investigation, but more cases at USU came to light in 2018.
Investigators found that school administrators had done little to address a pervasive culture of sexism and multiple allegations of mistreatment by faculty in the piano department dating back to 2004 and as recently as 2017. That includes a student alleging she was raped by a teacher in 2009.
Utah State must comply with a list of requirements as part of the agreement announced Wednesday, including providing better training for students and employees on policies and federal laws involving sexual harassment. It also must conduct “climate surveys” to collect information about students’ understanding of the university’s reporting procedures and to gauge the effectiveness of the university’s outreach, education and prevention efforts, as well as the frequency of sexual harassment and retaliation.
The Department of Justice will monitor compliance with the agreement, which will be in effect through the 2022-2023 academic year.
The investigation differed widely from and was more serious than a typical Title IX review of a school, which is usually conducted by the Department of Education. Title IX is a federal law that charges universities with ensuring students receive education without sex-based discrimination.
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