Page 21 - BusinessWest October 28, 2024

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Title IX
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Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming. The Department also maintains a list of schools where the 2024 Title IX regulations currently cannot be enforced.
It should also be noted that schools on the depart- ment’s list are not limited to schools in the above- listed states. For example, the list currently has nine schools listed from Connecticut, four schools in Massachusetts, 20 schools in New York, and several schools in California.
Institutions included in either list may be asking, what now? In light of the litigation and injunctions, the DOE has issued guidance explaining that — in states or schools where the 2024 regulations are
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enjoined — the Title IX regulations, as amended in 2020, apply.
Some institutions covered by the regulations have not amended their policies that applied during the 2023-24 school year. Other schools, particularly those that are not in the 26 states covered by a statewide injunction, have decided to implement policies that are consistent (either wholly or in part) with the new 2024 regulations, reasoning that the injunctions do not apply to the schools themselves but rather to the DOE’s ability to enforce the new regulations to those schools.
As the litigations play out in due course, institu- tions in affected states will want to be on the lookout for any changes to these preliminary injunctions as
well as consider whether any state laws weigh into their consideration whether to amend their policies to be consistent with the new regulations. BW
Kathleen E. Dion is chair of the education industry team at Robinson+Cole. She represents private schools, colleges, and universities in a variety of civil matters, such as tuition disputes, allegations of staff misconduct, and Title IX matters. Sabrina Galli is a member of Robinson+Cole’s business litigation group and education industry team. She represents corporate clients in general commercial litigation matters involving breach of contract and business torts, as well as in arbitrations, mediations, and settlement negotiations.
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UMass
affordable,” he noted, adding that, with funds raised from the campaign, the university will focus on all aspects of affordability — not simply tuition, but also the “cost of living,” as he put it, and the costs associated with undertak- ing an internship, such as travel and, in some cases, living in a different city of country.
Meanwhile, this campaign will place additional emphasis on reinforcing the university as a force in economic devel- opment across the state.
“When you think of community engagement, community-engaged research, reaching out to the commu- nity and being not only a partner, but
a collaborator ... it really is a different era for the university,” Reyes said. “And we’re going to start showcasing that
as part of this campaign, since some
of the resources that we’ll be able to gather from this campaign can help with that community engagement, with that outreach.”
Bottom Line
Overall, “Accelerate” comes at a pivotal moment — for the university, higher education, this region, the coun- try, and the world. It is a critical initia- tive for an institution that has gener- ated large amounts of momentum and wants to create more.
It was launched with the goal of raising $600 million, but also the larger, even more important goal of tak- ing philanthropy at the state’s flagship university to a new level, one where the goal for the next campaign may, indeed, be $1 billion.
“Campaigns are not just about the dollars today,” Reyes said. “Campaigns are also about building the stature and the connectivity of the university such that, in the future, this support and this engagement with your alumni network and those that have a stake in the uni- versity continue to be strengthened, grown, and maintained.”
That’s what “Accelerate” is all about, and thus far, it is certainly living up to that name. BW
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