Rule could limit colleges’ response to off-campus sex assaults

At some of the nation’s largest universities, the vast majority of sexual assaults take place not in dorm rooms or even on school property, but in the neighborhoods beyond campus boundaries, according to data obtained by the Associated Press.

But the schools’ obligation to investigate and respond to those off-campus attacks could be dramatically reduced by an Education Department proposal that’s included in its broader overhaul of campus sexual assault rules. And that’s alarmed advocacy groups and school officials who say it would strip students of important protections in the areas where most of them live.

At the University of Texas, the Austin campus has received 58 reports of sexual assault on campus grounds since fall 2014, while during the same period it fielded 237 in private apartments, houses and other areas outside campus, according to data obtained by the Associated Press through public records requests. Another 160 reports didn’t include locations.

“The majority of our students are just not in proximity to campus, and a lot of things happen when they’re not on campus,” said Krista Anderson, the university’s Title IX coordinator. Anderson said that although cases arising off campus can be complicated, the university will continue to investigate them unless it’s explicitly forbidden.

For now, federal guidelines urge colleges to take action against any sexual misconduct that disrupts a student’s education, regardless of where it took place.

But in its proposed rule, the department says schools of all levels should be required to address sexual misconduct only if it occurs within their “programs or activities,” a designation that would exclude many cases off campus.

The proposal is included in Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ rewrite of the Obama administration’s guidance on campus sexual assault.

The Associated Press asked the nation’s 10 largest public universities for several years of data on the location of sexual assaults. Out of eight that provided data, five had more reports from off campus than on school property: The University of Texas, Texas A&M, Arizona State, Michigan State and the University of Central Florida.

Leaders of some schools say the proposal appears to let them decide whether to handle cases beyond their borders, but conflicting language has led some to believe they would actually be barred from it.

Education Department spokeswoman Liz Hill said schools would be able to investigate cases outside their programs “at their discretion” but did not clarify the discrepancy.

Since the proposal was issued in November, it has generated a flood of feedback. A recent public comment period drew more than 104,000 responses, already the most in department history, and federal officials announced Tuesday that they would reopen the comment period for one day, on Feb. 15, because technical errors may have blocked some users from submitting feedback.

Tens of thousands of comments have been credited to campaigns meant to inundate the agency with criticism. In western Pennsylvania, for example, a local chapter of the National Organization for Women recently hosted an event on how to submit comments, one of many similar gatherings across the country.

The Education Department is now reviewing public comments before it issues a final rule.