Dear CUNY SPH Community:
On Friday, January 31 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 For this reason, CUNY’s 2020 Policy on Sexual Misconduct (attached) replaces the fully rescinded 2024 Policy on Sex-Based Misconduct as the policy applicable to all open and future Title IX matters, including all “open Title IX investigations initiated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), and 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. Clinical staff in the Office of Student Counseling and Wellness Services are the Confidential Employees at CUNY SPH. Employees who are neither responsible employees nor Confidential Employees are strongly encouraged to report allegations of sexual misconduct to the CUNY SPH 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 should contact the Office of Accessibility Services
Any person wishing to submit a report of sexual misconduct should complete the Sexual Misconduct Allegation Form. Students, faculty and staff are advised to contact Sahana Gupta, Title IX Coordinator at 646-618-0129; 55 W. 125th Street, Room 606.
If you have any questions about this announcement, please contact SPH Title IX Coordinator sahana.gupta@sph.cuny.edu
For all other forms of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation, and for employment discrimination on the basis of sex, please submit a report using the CUNY University-Wide Discrimination and Retaliation Reporting Portal. These matters will be reviewed under CUNY’s Equal Opportunity and Non-Discrimination Policy.
Finally, CUNY SPH is a caring community. Please consider using the following resources that are available to you:
