LSU announces change to Title IX policies: employees who fail to report violations will be fired

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - LSU has revised its Title IX policies so that an employee who is required to report violations and fails to do so or falsifies information will be fired, the university announced Thursday, April 29.

“The policy revision clearly states that any employee who is required to report instances of power-based trauma and fails to promptly make the report without good cause or, with the intent to harm or deceive, knowingly makes a report that is false, shall be terminated,” the university said in a statement Thursday.

The revision to the university’s policies was recommended in a report by the third-party law firm Husch-Blackwell.

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The university also announced it has appointed Dr. Daniel Swinton to serve as LSU’s interim Title IX coordinator until a permanent coordinator is selected.

LSU Interim President Tom Galligan, who recently withdrew his application to become the university’s full-time president, and Interim Vice President of Civil Rights and Title IX Jane Cassidy issued the following letter Thursday:

“LSU Community,

As we continue to implement our Title IX action plan and the recommendations made by Husch Blackwell, we want to share several important updates with you.

We understand the importance of having a Title IX coordinator whose sole responsibility is to serve in that capacity on campus, and that’s why we have brought in Daniel Swinton to serve as interim Title IX coordinator.

Dr. Swinton, who serves as vice president of the Association for Title IX Administrators, is a partner in TNG LLC, who frequently consults with universities on Title IX issues, the Violence Against Women Act and sexual violence, alcohol and other drugs, behavioral intervention, bystander intervention, student conduct policies and procedures, hearing board training, mediation, and legal issues in education. Prior to his work with TNG, he served as assistant dean and director of student conduct and academic integrity at Vanderbilt University.

We welcome Dr. Swinton, and we are confident that his expertise in the area of Title IX will be a tremendous help as we transition needed resources to this area. Additionally, we continue to add more staff in the new Office of Civil Rights & Title IX at the center of campus in Himes Hall, which includes our current searches for a case manager, investigator, and assistant to the vice president.

We also understand that having firm policies in place is an important step in addressing some of our past failures outlined in the Husch Blackwell report. To that end, we have revised PM-73: Title IX Policy Prohibiting Sexual Misconduct. The policy revision clearly states that any employee who is required to report instances of power-based trauma and fails to promptly make the report without good cause or, with the intent to harm or deceive, knowingly makes a report that is false, shall be terminated.

We are committed to building trust through our actions, and our work has only just begun. As we implement more changes and take additional actions on Title IX, we will keep you informed every step of the way.

Sincerely,

Tom Galligan

LSU Interim President and Professor of Law

Jane Cassidy

Interim Vice President of Civil Rights & Title IX”

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