The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights placed the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater on a list of schools possibly inappropriately handling harassment cases, according to a Thursday White House release.
The list is comprised of higher education institutions under investigation for possible violations of federal law, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, over the handling of sexual violence and harassment complaints, according to the statement.
Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in all education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance.
According to the statement, the list is the first comprehensive look at which campuses are under review by the Office for Civil Rights for possible violations of the law’s requirements around sexual violence.
“We are making this list available in an effort to bring more transparency to our enforcement work and to foster better public awareness of civil rights,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine Lhamon said in the statement. “We hope this increased transparency will spur community dialogue about this important issue.
The statement also clarified that just because a school is on the list does not mean it is violating the law. UW-Whitewater was the only Wisconsin school placed on the list, along with Ohio State University, Michigan State University, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and Indiana University.
