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Covered Sexual Harassment

On May 19, 2020, the U.S. Department of Education updated the definition of sexual harassment for the Final Rule of Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972. Only incidents falling within the Final Rule’s definition of sexual harassment will be investigated and adjudicated through the Title IX Grievance Policy. 

SUNY Cortland remains committed to addressing any violations of its policies, even those not meeting the narrow standards defined under the Title IX Final Rule.  Note that conduct that does not meet one or more of these criteria below, may still be prohibited under the Student Code of Conduct or Discrimination Complaint Procedures.  

Sexual Harassment

Under the Title IX Grievance Policy covered sexual harassment includes any conduct on the basis of sex that satisfies one or more of the following:  

  1. An employee conditioning educational benefits on participation in unwelcome sexual conduct (i.e., quid pro quo); 
  2. Unwelcome conduct that a reasonable person would determine is so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the educational institution’s education program or activity; 
  3. Sexual assault (as defined in the Clery Act), which includes any sexual act directed against another person, without the consent of the victim including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent;
  4. Dating violence (as defined in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) amendments to the Clery Act), which includes any violence committed by a person: (A) who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim; and (B) where the existence of such a relationship shall be determined based on a consideration of the following factors: (i) The length of the relationship; (ii) The type of relationship; (iii) The frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship.
  5. Domestic violence (as defined in the VAWA amendments to the Clery Act), which includes any felony or misdemeanor crimes of violence committed by a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the victim, by a person with whom the victim shares a child in common, by a person who is cohabitating with or has cohabitated with the victim as a spouse or intimate partner, by a person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim under New York state’s domestic or family violence laws or by any other person against an adult or youth victim who is protected from that person's acts under the domestic or family violence laws of New York.
  6. Stalking (as defined in the VAWA amendments to the Clery Act), meaning engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to — (A) fear for their safety or the safety of others; or (B) suffer substantial emotional distress.