Few things can be more harmful to a student's academic career and future than being wrongly accused of sexual assault. It's a terrifying, traumatic experience and it feels like the world is crashing down. The student needs to quickly know their options and the school's policies and procedures so they can make a plan and move forward. However, recent research shows that universities' Title IX policies are so unclear and loaded with legalese that even students who are NOT panicked and fearful often can't make any sense of them.

School Title IX Policies Can be Confusing

Two hundred current college students were asked to analyze one of five Title IX policies currently in place at American universities, with each of the policies very representative of the ones in place at other universities nationwide. The students were told to find specific information in the policy and to try to comprehend the policy. While students were mostly able to find information like the university's 24-hour crisis hotline number, they were largely unable to understand various terms and concepts in the policy, including—critically—the definition of sexual assault and the university's standard of proof in disciplinary hearings about sexual assault.

What this means is that students who were not under additional stress were not able to determine, according to the university's policies, if a sexual assault had occurred or what proof they would need to provide to prove it. Now imagine that a student who has just been accused is trying to read the same policies.

Harder to Read than Harvard Law Review

The recent study also analyzed the readability of the policies to see how likely they are to be understood by undergraduates. Using the Flesch Reading Ease Readability Formula, the researchers found the university policies had an average score of about 30. That means they're harder to read than Harvard Law Review, which has a score of 34, and much harder to read than Time Magazine, which has a score of 57. With such a low Flesch score, it's no surprise that the students were not able to understand the policies. The policies—which can literally ruin students' lives—were not written to be understood by students.

Current undergraduates are up against so many obstacles. After spending much of the pandemic completely or partially isolated from each other, these students have not had the same opportunities to practice and perfect social behaviors that other cohorts have had. They're exploring sexuality and sexual identity during a time when they and their peers are simply not very practiced at reading each other's social cues. Pair that with Title IX policies that are written to only be understood by the nation's brightest, mature, legal minds, and it's like they're being set up to fail. Students shouldn't be expected to navigate these complex waters on their own.

Nationwide Title IX Defense

For this and many other reasons, it's imperative that students who have been accused of a Title IX violation have legal assistance from an attorney who understands Title IX law and how colleges and universities implement these policies. Attorney Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team have represented hundreds of students all over the country on Title IX issues. Call the Lento Law Firm today at 888-535-3686, and let us help you, too.