Title IX Grievance Policy
Policy Statement
Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 prohibits any person in the United States from being discriminated against on the basis of sex in seeking access to any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. The U.S. Department of Education, which enforces Title IX, has long defined the meaning of Title IX’s prohibition on sex discrimination broadly to include various forms of sexual harassment and sexual violence that interfere with a student’s ability to equally access our educational programs and opportunities.
On May 19, 2020, the U.S. Department of Education issued a Final Rule under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 that:
- Defines the meaning of “sexual harassment” (including forms of sex-based violence)
- Addresses how this institution must respond to reports of misconduct falling within that definition of sexual harassment, and
- Mandates a grievance process that this institution must follow to comply with the law in these specific covered cases before issuing a disciplinary sanction against a person accused of sexual harassment.
See, 85 Fed. Reg. 30026 (May 19, 2020). The full text of the Final Rule and its extensive Preamble are available online.
Any formal complaint that meets the criteria of covered sex discrimination and harassment, as defined by the U.S. Department of Education's Title IX Final Rule of May 19, 2020 will be addressed per SUNY Geneseo's Title IX Grievance Policy. In addition, the college has adopted the following policies regarding Title IX Grievance Process Hearings SUNY Geneseo Guide for Determining Relevance for Title IX Grievance Process Hearings and SUNY Geneseo Decorum Policy for Title IX Grievance Process Hearings.
Important Update
On January 9, 2025, a federal judge in Kentucky ruled that the Biden administration's 2024 Title IX regulations were unconstitutional. The ruling applies nationwide and reinstates the 2020 rules.
What You Need to Know
If any faculty, staff member, or student has questions about reporting an incident, please contact the Title IX coordinator, Sara Mahoney, at titleIX@geneseo.edu or 585-245-5023. Geneseo will work with you to ensure the appropriate policies and/or procedures are applied to each report.
Section 106.45(b) of the 2020 Final Title IX Rules requires the sharing of “All materials used to train Title IX Coordinators, investigators, decision-makers, and any person who facilitates an informal resolution process. A recipient must make these training materials publicly available on its website, or if the recipient does not maintain a website the recipient must make these materials available upon request for inspection by members of the public.” The State University of New York at Geneseo is a member of SUNY's Student Conduct Institute (SCI), and individuals who are required to receive training must complete SCI trainings prior to investigating and hearing cases.
All training materials can be found on the SUNY website.
2020 Title IX Grievance Policy
Based on the Final Rule, SUNY Geneseo will implement the following Title IX Grievance Policy, effective August 14, 2020.