Title IX Extends to Rapes at Fraternity, Court Rules

A federal court in Kansas decided earlier this month that Kansas State University potentially violated Title IX when it failed to investigate two students' reports of having been raped while attending parties at off-campus fraternity houses. The university argued in support of its motion to dismiss two plaintiffs' separate lawsuits that the fraternity house was not a "program or activity" of the university to which Title IX applies. But the court disagreed, distinguishing a fraternity house from other non-university housing or settings on the basis of the "substantial control" the university exhibits over the fraternity. In particular, the university regulates fraternities' conduct and authorizes its parties. In fact, in this case, the university used one of the plaintiff's report of rape as grounds to penalize the fraternity for alcohol violations. Other indicia of the nexus of control include the university-hired staff members who provide service and support to fraternities and sororities, and the university's recognition of fraternities and sororities on its website as student organizations. Notably, the court reached its decision that Title IX extends to sexual misconduct taking place at off-campus fraternity houses without extending any deference to OCR's 2011 Dear Colleague Letter, which also interprets Title IX in similar fashion. So even if OCR changes or withdraws the Dear Colleague Letter, such potential future changes in OCR policy will not affect this aspect of the ruling.

These decisions are only preliminary ones that allow the cases to proceed to the discovery phase of litigation. The plaintiffs will still have to prove that the university had notice of their rapes and responded with deliberate indifference. However, it seems undisputed that each notified the university and the university did not respond at all. Maybe the university will try to appeal the lower court's decisions not to dismiss, but otherwise my prediction is that the parties settle.

The two decisions are:

Weckhorst v. Kansas State Univ., No. 16-CV-2255-JAR-GEB, 2017 WL 980456 (D. Kan. Mar. 14, 2017).

Farmer v. Kansas State Univ., No. 16-CV-2256-JAR-GEB, 2017 WL 980460 (D. Kan. Mar. 14, 2017)

Government Sides With Plaintiff in Case that Tests Title IX's Application to Off-Campus Sexual Assault

Recently, the federal government sided with two Title IX plaintiffs in ongoing litigation against Kansas State University that challenges the institution's failure to respond to reports of sexual assault committed at off-campus fraternity houses.

The federal court's eventual decision in two pending cases will address an important issues of Title IX's scope. So it is noteworthy that the Department of Justice and the Department of Education submitted amicus briefs to challenge the university's contention that its obligations under Title IX do not apply to off-campus conduct.  The government argues that when Title IX uses the word "programs" in describing the statute's reach, it includes the house and events of a school-recognized fraternity, just like it applies to other off-campus activities like study-abroad programs and extracurricular activities that are still subject to the university's control. Moreover, the government argues that the university itself claims that its fraternities are part of the university in its marketing to prospective students, and exerts the requisite "substantial control" to prevent and respond to sexual assault that occurs at fraternities, in that the accused are students who are subject to the university disciplinary process and the fraternity itself relies on the university for ongoing recognition. In fact, the university demonstrates this control by sanctioning the accused student for alcohol violations, but not rape.

Clearly the government is watching this case closely, as we are as well.