Dive Brief:

• The number of investigations by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights into how schools have handled sexual assault cases has reached 159 colleges and universities, as well as 63 K-12 schools and districts.
• The office is set to hire additional staff members to handle the caseload following a $7 million budget increase, less than President Barack Obama requested but an amount approved by Congress in December.
• The Huffington Post reports the number of investigations of higher education institutions has jumped from 55 in May 2014 to 85 in October of that year, to 124 in July 2015, and 159 as of December 30.

Dive Insight:

The growth in the number of K-12 schools and districts under investigation has seen its own jump, albeit at a smaller scale. The number of these schools under investigation has grown 162% since November 2014, when 24 schools were being investigated.

The Obama administration has increased awareness among the higher education community that students have Title IX and the Office of Civil Rights as a recourse against perceived mistreatment. Activist groups have also sprung up, like Know Your IX, helping students understand their rights and file complaints. A major challenge for colleges and universities in 2016 will be responding to demands for better systems to handle sexual assault allegations. As the accused begin to win more legal battles over their own rights, schools will continue to be caught in the middle.