BATON ROUGE - Louisiana State University announced Thursday that progress has been made in implementing changes to the university's application of Title IX policies.

The campus-wide update, issued by Interim Vice President of Civil Rights & Title IX, Jane Cassidy,  says LSU aims to support survivors of sexual harassment and assault in addition to taking measures to prevent such attacks from occurring in the first place.

Cassidy said, "We have been focused on resources, protocol, and communication in order to begin to restore campus trust in our ability to support survivors."

"Now that the campus is open again, we are turning to education and coalition building as means to prevent all forms of sexual misconduct and discrimination and to ensure an environment where all members of the LSU community feel safe and respected," Cassidy continued. "While we still have more work to do and will always continue to refine our processes based on best practices, we would like to share the latest updates with you."

Updates in regards to LSU's Title IX policy are listed below.

-The Office of Civil Rights & Title IX has moved from the University Administration Building to 118 Himes Hall and many new hires have been made.

-LSU officials revised PM-73: Title IX Policy Prohibiting Sexual Misconduct to align with Act No. 439 of the 2021 Regular Legislative Session in identifying employees as mandatory reporters, unless otherwise notified, and who are required to report instances of power-based trauma of which they are aware or they shall be terminated.

-Title IX staff at all campuses have been trained in the repercussions of sexual trauma, and dating and domestic violence, as well as on record keeping in both Maxient and EthicsPoint data collection systems. Additionally, leadership on LSU campus has been educated on the repercussions of sexual misconduct and mandatory annual online training for faculty and staff, with a new curriculum developed by STAR (Sexual Trauma Awareness and Response) and designed by LSU Online, will be available later this year.

- LSU Athletics has instituted training in sexual assault for all employees, including coaches, provided training on reporting directly to the Title IX coordinator, and contracted with A Call to Men to work on culture change; bystander intervention training has been offered to student-athletes; and staff members have been added who will monitor training and ensure accurate reporting.

-A President’s Student Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Assault and Violence has been named, and this group of student leaders is developing education and awareness events that will happen throughout the year. LSU adds that a campaign is being developed for April during Sexual Assault and Awareness month.

-Quarterly reporting has been instituted and the second quarter report was delivered to President Tate in early July. Annual reporting will follow the requirements recently put forth in state law. All staff in Title IX have been retrained in the use of Maxient and EthicsPoint. A template for new and more substantive investigative reports for Title IX complaints is also being used.

-A more user-friendly website for support and reporting has been developed at lsu.edu/support, and the LSU Mobile app has an icon for survivor support that directly links to filing a report. In addition, LSU's action plan with monthly updates is available online. 

LSU came under fire earlier this year for its failure to apply Title IX policy in the investigation of multiple cases of reported on-campus assaults. Click here to read more.