FOIA Requests and Title IX Cases
Whether a college or university where the complaint has been filed is a public or private institution may impact the type of information that can be obtained through a FOIA request, but at private institutions, information from Title IX complaints may not be released through FOIA requests in order to protect the privacy of parties involved in the complaint. According to a report from Yale Daily News, “FOIA requests for Title IX are usually denied to protect the privacy of any victims of sexual misconduct who may act as cosignatories.” In situations where a university or another party does obtain a Title IX complaint through a FOIA request, it may not be able to disclose information to the public without obtaining permission from the parties involved.Even when some information is made available after a FOIA request, FERPA can protect the identities of the parties involved. To be clear, the identities of the parties involved in a Title IX case are almost always private and kept confidential (unless there is permission in some situations), but other information contained in a Title IX case may be available to the public with a FOIA request or by other means when exceptions apply. Students who have questions about maintaining confidentiality should learn the specific rules in their college or university Code of Conduct, and should speak with a lawyer about options to keep their case confidential.
Are Title IX Complaints Public? - Duffy Law
Generally, Title IX complaints are not public, but information concerning Title IX cases can become public knowledge in certain circumstances.
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