At the close of each academic year, the Office for Civil Rights reviews the work completed during the academic year and clarifies the policy governing the work of the office. We would like to share a link to the updated College policy and important updates from the U.S. Department of Education and other federal agencies, which are reflected in the College’s policy.
Kenyon's Policy. The 2023-24 Civil Rights Policy: Discrimination, Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct has been posted to the College's website and is effective beginning July 1, 2023. The behavioral expectations, reporting options, and resolution options detailed within this policy pertain to all members of the Kenyon community. Education and training sessions will be offered throughout the academic year.
Supreme Court Decision on Affirmative Action in Admissions. Download the Supreme Court ruling, and read Kenyon's response.
Title IX Regulations. On May 26, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights posted on its blog page that the publication date for the final Title IX regulations was moved from “May 2023” to “October 2023.” The College will continue to monitor the release of the anticipated regulations, including the date by which these regulations must be incorporated into College policy.
Proposed Title IX Regulations on Students’ Athletic Eligibility. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights issued separate regulations addressing students’ athletic eligibility under Title IX. The regulations were posted to the Federal Register on April 13, 2023, and the 30-day comment period closed on May 15, 2023. The proposed regulations provide, in part, the following:
“In particular, the Department proposes amending § 106.41(b) of its Title IX regulations to provide that, if a recipient adopts or applies sex-related criteria that would limit or deny a student's eligibility to participate on a male or female athletic team consistent with their gender identity, those criteria must, for each sport, level of competition, and grade or education level: (i) be substantially related to the achievement of an important educational objective, and (ii) minimize harms to students whose opportunity to participate on a male or female team consistent with their gender identity would be limited or denied. As discussed below, the proposed regulation would not prohibit a recipient's use of sex-related criteria altogether.”
As with all regulatory changes, the College is closely monitoring the publication of these final regulations and will incorporate any needed changes into the existing College policy.
EEOC PWFA. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enacted a new law — The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) — that went into effect on June 27, 2023. The PWFA “requires covered employers to provide “reasonable accommodations” to a worker’s known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation will cause the employer an “undue hardship.” The PWFA applies only to accommodations. Pregnant staff and faculty who require accommodations should contact the Office of Human Resources at hr@kenyon.edu.
U.S. Department of Labor, PUMP Act. A part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 signed into law by President Biden on December 29, 2022 is the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, more commonly called the PUMP Act. The PUMP Act provides the right to a broader swath of employees the right to obtain appropriate time and space throughout the workday to express breast milk. The College has a designated space in Chalmers Library, room 435, for the purpose of expressing breast milk. Any employee who requires assistance to secure a location should contact Human Resources.
DOJ & OCR Joint Letter. The Department of Justice and the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights issued a joint letter on May 19, 2023, reminding educational institutions that barriers preventing users from accessing digital and online resources need to be addressed. Digital access includes, but may not be limited to, webpages, virtual meetings, in-class digital content and virtual programming and events.
White House Issues National Strategy on Anti-Semitism. On May 25, 2023, the White House issued an inaugural national strategy to combat anti-semitism. The strategy lays out four pillars guiding the implementation of the strategy: to increase awareness and understanding; improve safety for Jewish communities; reverse the normalization of antisemitism and discrimination; build cross-community solidarity and collective action to counter hate.