NORFOLK — Four new schools have been added to the Department of Education’s list of colleges and universities under investigation for possible violations of Title IX since the list was first published in May 2014.
The original list released last May included two Virginia schools: William & Mary and University of Virginia.
The four schools that have been added are Virginia Military Institute, Washington & Lee University, James Madison University and University of Richmond.
The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights investigates institutions of higher education after students file complaints that the school failed to properly handle cases of sexual assault.
Sexual assault survivor Aryle Butler has been a part of several complaints against her alma mater, University of California-Berkeley. She’s now an advocate with the non-profit End Rape on Campus.
Butler said the list of DOE investigations is growing because more victims are becoming aware that they can file a Title IX complaint.
She said the growing list is helping shine a light on the problem of sexual assaults on college campuses.
“It’s not something new. We knew it was happening at every campus,” she said. “But what it shows us is there’s a renewed interest in talking about it and bringing it forth to the public’s attention.”
Butler said she thinks federal regulators are taking the complaints seriously, which, in turn, is encouraging more victims to file reports.
“With the increase in complaints, OCR is taking this much more seriously. This is the first time they’ve had so many all at once that they have to investigate.”
In addition to drawing attention to the problem of sexual assaults on campus, Butler also said the increase in Title IX complaints has highlighted a need for new laws with tougher penalties for schools who violate Title IX.
Last month, a bi-partisan group of 10 senators introduced a new version of theCampus Safety and Accountability Act.
Virginia Senator Mark Warner was among the group to introduce the bill.
“Unfortunately, incidents that have continued to play out over this past year have shown that this legislation is extraordinarily needed,” Warner said.
The legislation requires, among other things, that schools train personnel to a minimum standard, coordinate with law enforcement and increases the penalty for violating the law to $150,000 per incident. The current penalty is $35,000.
“We’re trying to send the message that you shouldn’t try to sweep this under the rug,” Warner said. “That campus sexual assault is a serious issue.”
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