Vassar College’s Title IX department, recently renamed the Office for Institutional Equity, explained in a March 6 email to students that it will be reverting back to the Department of Education’s (DOE) Title IX standards and definitions from 2020, pursuant to a memo from the Trump administration’s DOE Office of Civil Rights.
The letter, sent on Feb. 4 by Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor, detailed how, in light of a ruling in Tennessee v. Cardona by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, the 2024 Title IX rules established by the Biden administration were vacated. As a result, the regulatory framework for Title IX enforcement has been reverted back to the Trump administration’s 2020 rules. Most notably, the return to the 2020 rules signals a change in Title IX’s definition of sexual harassment. However, the 2024 Title IX policies were only in effect from August 2024 through January 2025, meaning all deviations were fairly temporary. While the Biden administration’s DOE defined the standard for sexual harassment in schools as needing to be “subjectively and objectively offensive” and “sufficiently severe or pervasive,” the Trump administration has ordered schools to return to the “severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive” standard. The change restricts what behavior can be considered for investigation under Title IX, effectively limiting the standard for what qualifies as sexual harassment.
Because Vassar receives federal funding, the College has chosen to abide by the Trump administration’s new standard and has updated its definition accordingly. In an email sent to students by Assistant Vice President for Institutional Equity and Title IX Coordinator Belinda Guthrie and Faculty Director of Affirmative Action Jeffrey Schneider, the College explained their decision: “In February 2025, the U.S. Department of Education reinstated the 2020 Title IX regulations introduced during the first Trump administration. As a result, federally-funded schools must update their Title IX policies. Vassar’s Title IX Policy and resolution procedures are being updated as follows.”
Vassar administrators, however, have emphasized that the changes to the sexual harassment definition will not substantially alter how the College deals with instances of sexual harassment because of other policies that Vassar has in place, such as the College’s Interim Policy Against Discrimination, Harassment and Sexual Misconduct, which went into effect Aug. 1, 2024, and Vassar’s longstanding Nondiscrimination Policy.
“Even when [the Trump administration’s] definition was in place in 2020, colleges and universities like Vassar continued to address sexual harassment that did not meet that ‘severe and pervasive’ threshold,” said Guthrie in an interview with The Miscellany News. “That’s where the College also has that flexibility to address other conduct that falls outside the scope of Title IX.”
Despite administrators’ reassurances, some members of the Vassar community remain concerned about the new sexual harassment definition’s potential impact. “I feel like this could discourage people from coming forward given that they might have concerns that their experience might not meet the Trump administration’s new threshold,” said Michelle Itkin ’26. In a written correspondence with The Miscellany News, Vassar Voices for Planned Parenthood (VVPP) noted: “While it is hard to say what impact this will have of students who are victims of sexual harassment because the college has not offered a more comprehensive definition, it seems like the college is deliberately not trying to advertise the change and we believe that this is shutting down the opportunity for dialogue. We are deeply concerned about the change from ‘subjectively and objectively offensive’ to ‘objectively’ offensive and we believe it will make survivors more apprehensive to come forward.”
Pursuant to the Dear Colleague letter, Vassar will also revert back to using live virtual hearings as a part of the Title IX complaint process. Guthrie explained that starting in 2021, Vassar moved away from an in-person hearing model, partially based on responses from an ad hoc committee consisting of students, faculty and administrators, electing to move such events to a virtual setting in order to create a less adversarial environment.
“At the time there was both excitement and consensus [for] moving away from the [broader] live hearing model which was mandated under the 2020 regulations for sexual harrassment and other forms of sexual misconduct, which includes sexual assault, domestic and dating violence and sex-based stalking,” said Guthrie.
After the decision to switch to virtual hearings in 2021, as of August 2024, Vassar had departed from the hearing format altogether. Vassar’s current policy regarding fact-finding in Title IX cases is to outsource findings to an impartial external investigator. The Office for Institutional Equity also works with investigators who are part of the institutional equity team, in addition to external investigators, in an effort to manage the office’s caseload.
Now, if a student comes forward with allegations of sexual misconduct and decides to participate in the formalized Title IX process, there will also be a live hearing on Zoom during which the parties’ advisors will conduct cross-examinations. This change has prompted concerns from administrators involved in supporting students through the Title IX process. Allison Jasso, the Support, Advocacy & Violence Prevention (SAVP) office’s Program Coordinator and Survivor Advocate, emphasized in an interview with The Miscellany News that these live virtual hearings can re-traumatize students who have experienced sexual misconduct. Jasso also explained that in her experience working with people considering participating in a Title IX investigation, live hearings can often deter students from continuing with the process.
The Dear Colleague letter also explained the effect of Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” on educational policies. The executive order requires all agencies and departments under the purview of the Executive Branch, including the DOE, to promote the idea that there are two unchangeable sexes through all sex-protective laws, including Title IX.
Guthrie explained: “What didn’t change is that even though the rollback to the 2020 regulations removed [Title IX] protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression, Vassar has long recognized and will continue to extend full non-discrimination protections to the community based on sexual orientation.”
Following the executive order, the Trump administration froze $175 million of federal funding from the University of Pennsylvania for allowing a transgender athlete to participate in the university’s varsity sports program in 2022, causing worry about how the administration’s hostility towards transgender athletes might impact Vassar students more broadly. While Guthrie noted that students should not be immediately concerned about their rights being stripped away, she did explain that Vassar will need to abide by National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) regulations regarding participation in sports competitions, which could potentially change during the Trump administration’s tenure.
As a college in New York State, Vassar and its students are subject to state-level protections that prohibit sex and sexual orientation-based discrimination. The state’s 2019 Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) amended New York State Human Rights Law (HRL) to include gender identity or expression as a protected class in all justiciable areas, including schools. Similarly, New York State’s 2003 Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act (SONDA) prohibits discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation. The Office of the New York State Attorney General’s website explains, “SONDA applies when a transgender person is discriminated against based upon his or her actual or perceived sexual orientation. In addition, courts in the State have held that transgender people are protected under other provisions of the Human Rights Law, including prohibitions against discrimination on the basis of sex and/or disability.” While New York State laws provide some protections for students, participation in national organizations such as the NCAA will be subject to the respective organizations’ regulations.
In light of the changes to Vassar’s Title IX policies, offices and organizations on campus have reaffirmed their commitment to supporting students who have experienced sexual misconduct. Jasso explained that SAVP is a constant source of support for students that will continue to provide guidance during the Title IX process. “To do anything else would honestly be violent,” said Jasso. Similarly, VVPP noted, “We will continue making sure that the sexual/reproductive health services being provided to students through our campus health center will continue. Our mission is to inform people about the resources available to them when making decisions about their bodies and we will continue to do that in partnership with Planned Parenthood and the health providers on campus.”