The Department of Education Thursday released a list of 55 colleges and universities it is investigating for their handling of sexual assaults, an unprecedented move prompted by recommendations from a White House task force.
The department’s Office for Civil Rights investigates possible violations of Title IX, the 1972 law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs or activities receiving federal funds.
The agency considers sexual harassment and violence to be forms of discrimination under the law.
The schools listed run the spectrum in size and mission, from community college to Ivy League schools, from large public universities to smaller private schools. The University of California-Berkeley, Florida State, Ohio State and the University of Virginia are all being investigated.
Also on the list are four schools in Colorado: the Boulder and Denver campuses of the University of Colorado, the University of Denver and Regis University.
“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,” said Catherine E. Lhamon, assistant secretary for civil rights. “We hope this increased transparency will spur community dialogue about this important issue.”
Lhamon noted that although a school is being investigated, it does not necessarily mean that a violation has occurred.
The federal agency opens investigations either in response to a complaint or by proactively starting a compliance review.
The release of the list comes at the recommendation of the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault, which unveiled its report Tuesday.
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