Dear Members of the York College Community,
On Friday, January 31st, the U.S. Department of Education issued a Dear Colleague Letter stating, “[E]ffective immediately, the United States Department of Education’s (ED) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) will enforce Title IX under the provisions of the 2020 Title IX Rule, rather than the recently invalidated 2024 Title IX Rule.” For this reason, CUNY’s 2020 Policy on Sexual Misconduct (attached) replaces the fully rescinded 2024 Policy on Sex-Based Misconduct as the policy applicable to all open and future Title IX matters, including all “open Title IX investigations initiated under the 2024 Rule.” Please note that, as has always been the case, the Policy on Sexual Misconduct prohibits unwelcome verbal or physical behavior based on a person’s sex (e.g., sexual orientation, gender, gender expression, and gender identity, which includes transgender status). CUNY remains committed to creating and maintaining an environment in which its community members live, learn, and work free from all forms of sex discrimination.
With this systemwide return to the Policy on Sexual Misconduct, fewer employees will have a duty to inform their Title IX Coordinator when they learn of conduct that may constitute sexual misconduct (these employees are referred to as “responsible employees” under the Policy on Sexual Misconduct). To view the categories of employees CUNY designates as responsible employees, please see Section VI(B) of the attached policy. Students may still consult with Confidential Employees, who will only share a report of sexual misconduct if instructed to do so by the person who confided in them. The following individuals are Confidential Employees at York College:
FOR STUDENTS:
Designated Staff members in the College's
Women's and
Men's Centers
Employees who are neither responsible employees nor Confidential Employees are strongly encouraged to report allegations of sexual misconduct to York College’s Title IX Coordinator.
Additionally, when an employee is informed that a student is pregnant, the employee is no longer required to provide the contact information of their Title IX Coordinator to that student, and the employee is no longer required to inform the pregnant student that their Title IX Coordinator can provide them with supportive measures. Nevertheless, CUNY encourages employees to assist students seeking supportive measures in these instances. Students who need support and/or accommodations pertaining to a pregnancy-related condition are encouraged to contact the College's Center for Students with Disabilities, at 718-262-2191 / csd@PROTECTED . If you have a pending matter or any questions about this announcement, please contact our York Title IX Coordinators at apeterson1@PROTECTED (Arlene Peterson) and/ or Bellonne Pierre-Canel at bpierrecanel@PROTECTED. Finally, York College is a caring community. Please consider using the following resources that are available to you:
If you need immediate assistance, the following external resources are also available to you:
Mayor's Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence (ENDGBV) -
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