By Grace Hogsten
Copy Editor
Recent updates to federal Title IX legislation mean that Washington College’s Title IX policy must change, most notably by designating many of the College’s student employees as mandated reporters.
On Aug. 1, Title IX Coordinator and Dean of Students Gregory Krikorian sent a campus-wide email to deliver a copy of the updated Washington College Policy on Sexual Discrimination and Harassment hich is also available online — and remind the campus community that the new legislation was effective starting that day.
As word of the changes to WC’s Title IX policy spread around campus, confusion came with it. Initially, some students were unsure whether their mandated reporter duties concerned only Title IX issues or whether they extended to alcohol violations or mental health concerns.
While required mandated reporter training cleared up the most basic distinctions for some by establishing that these mandated reporters’ duties were confined to issues related to Title IX, the training sessions neglected some important details. Incongruities between written and verbal policy led to further confusion.
According to the College’s policy, “All Washington College faculty and employees (including student-employees), other than those deemed Confidential Employees, are Mandated Reporters.”
However, students who have attended one of the training sessions hosted by Krikorian or sought clarification from him directly have heard a different story.
“As we were drafting the policy, I worked with our college attorney and provided a list of potential positions,” Krikorian said. “Based on their responsibilities, we determined whether or not they would be [mandated reporters] and the determining factor was…the types of conversations that might occur.”
Due to this incongruity, many students are not sure whether they are mandated reporters or not. While the official written policy, available on the College’s website, says that every student employee is a mandated reporter, Krikorian says that, in actuality, only some are.
“I think we can clarify it…it might just simply need to be rephrased,” Krikorian said in response to the written policy’s contradiction of his verbal assertions.
Further contradictions arise on the subject of mandated reporters’ responsibilities regarding pregnant students.
Title IX includes protections for students facing discrimination or harassment related to pregnancy, according to the Department of Education, and requires institutions to provide support and accommodations for pregnant students.
“One of the roles I now have is, if a student is pregnant, ensuring that they have support and care tobe able to continue their educational program while they’re working through that situation,” Krikorian said during a virtual mandated reporter training for students.
According to the College’s policy, employees — all of whom it assumes are mandated reporters — have an “obligation to report sexual misconduct to the Title IX Coordinator, and to provide a pregnant student with the Title IX Coordinator’s contact information.”
This aspect of a mandated reporter’s duties seems simple: report instances of pregnancy-related discrimination or harassment and make sure pregnant students have Krikorian’s contact information so they can seek support as needed.
However, when asked for further clarification on mandated reporters’ responsibilities following a student’s disclosure of pregnancy, Krikorian said that mandated reporters must notify him if a student discloses their pregnancy, even if there is no incident of discrimination or harassment involved.
“It is a requirement. They technically have to do it in writing,” Krikorian said.
Because this mandate is not clearly or consistently communicated, it could have upsetting consequences for any party involved.
While Krikorian advises mandated reporters to disclose that they are mandated reporters, a pregnant student seeking to confide in a peer could very likely not know that mandated reporters must notify the Title IX coordinator, especially because there is no sign of this expectation in the written policy and no mention of it during training.
Pregnant students deserve to choose how and when to disclose their pregnancy, and the miscommunication of Title IX policy prevents them from doing so.
Furthermore, mandated reporters may understandably assume that their duties include only what their training and the College’s policy detail. If the College’s Title IX department wants mandated reporters to report circumstances not directly related to discrimination and harassment, it must make these requirements abundantly clear.
Mandated reporters may face consequences for failing to comply with rules they did not know existed because WC’s Title IX policy expanded its scope but only communicated its new expectations to some.
During one training session, Krikorian explained what these penalties might entail.
“You’ve all been told now that you’re a mandated reporter about 16 times. If you fail to submit a report under our policy…you would face student consequences…which could include losing your job,” Krikorian said.
In the wake of contradictions between the College’s written and verbal policies, students seeking official explanations from government sources may struggle to find it.
Following multiple requests from The Elm, Krikorian failed to produce the official version of the legislation that he and the College’s attorney referenced while drafting WC’s policy.
While Krikorian said that a document detailing the updated legislation is easily accessible on the Department of Education website, one of the most recent all-encompassing updates appears to be a press release on the changes that went into effect on Aug. 1, which includes a link to an unofficial version of the final regulations.
The unofficial version includes discussion of challenges some states have made against the legislation. According to Krikorian, Maryland is not involved in any of these challenges, so the federal updates to Title IX legislation — called “the provision” in the unofficial version of the legislation — still stand for WC.
While the unofficial version of this federal legislation seems to align with WC’s written policy, it contradicts one of Krikorian’s assertions.
According to the unofficial version of the legislation, “The provision also does not require an employee to directly notify the Title IX Coordinator regarding a student’s pregnancy or related conditions. Rather, the final provision requires an employee to promptly provide the Title IX Coordinator’s contact information.”
Recent updates to Title IX legislation aim to equip mandated reporters with the resources and knowledge they need to help protect their peers from discrimination and harassment.
However, with so many contradicting instructions from various sources, students do not have the information they need to navigate the plethora of difficult situations that Title IX can address.
Photo courtesy of Gregory Krikorian.
Photo Caption: New Title IX policy changes spark confusion amongst Washington College students.