LOGAN — Utah State University has now nearly completed everything the United States Department of Justice asked it to do in a 2020 Settlement Agreement, after finding it violated Title IX regulations in the past.
This accomplishment means the DOJ has partially terminated the monitoring agreement over USU, that has been in place since 2020.
In February, the DOJ issued USU a letter stating it had met “substantial compliance” with the majority of items it tasked USU with addressing in the 2020 settlement, which were primarily related to failures in USU’s processes to prevent and respond to sexual misconduct at the school, specifically between 2013 and early 2017, according to USU.
The only remaining issues for USU to handle are improving its “relationship with local law enforcement” and addressing “educational climate issues,” it stated in a news release last week.
Cache GOP hosting leadership candidate meet and greet — DOJ says USU is now in “substantial compliance” with settlement over handling sexual assault cases
That next step was recently taken after it began an Interlocal Cooperative Agreement with the Cache County Sheriff’s Office and the Logan City Police Department that will be “documenting ongoing efforts to promote effective communication and to establish best practices to reduce crime, effectively respond to reports of sexual violence and/or other crimes, and to comply with federal and state reporting statutes,” a spokesperson for USU stated in the release. “The agreement builds on a shared commitment to the safety of all members of the USU and Logan’s surrounding communities.”
USU also says it is working on similar agreements with other law enforcement agencies throughout the valley.
“Strengthening the relationship with local law enforcement and focusing on collaboration has been a focus of mine since joining USU,” said USU Police Chief Jason Brei in a prepared statement. “We share the priority with our fellow law enforcement agencies of creating the safest community possible. We are grateful for these partnerships with Logan City and Cache County. Our departments engage in many collaborative opportunities and this is an essential step in memorializing those efforts.”
Some of the ways USU says it improved communication are:
- USU moved to a centralized dispatch system with the Cache County Sheriff’s Office, which facilitates shared data and records to identify criminal patterns and trends within the Cache Valley community.
- USU transitioned to the same records management system as local law enforcement to facilitate record sharing when appropriate.
- USU, Logan, and Cache County officials, including the Cache County Attorney’s Office and local law enforcement, meet regularly to discuss and collaborate on shared concerns and initiatives.
- When responding to reported crimes involving students at USU, Logan City and other local law enforcement provide individuals with a USU victim resource card to help inform them of campus resources.
- USU has hosted joint trainings with local law enforcement focused on sex crimes and dating and domestic violence. This includes multiple trainings with external experts and specialized training provided by USU on Title IX and the Clery Act.
- USUPD, USU’s Title IX Coordinator, and local law enforcement regularly participate in the Cache County Sexual Assault Response Team (SART)
- USUPD partners with regional law enforcement agencies as part of the Northern Utah Critical Incident Investigative Team under the oversight of Cache County Attorney’s Office.
The first student survey began in 2017 and allows the university data to better identify areas requiring enhanced prevention training and to monitor the prevalence of sexual misconduct at USU.
“Our campus climate survey has been, and continues to be, invaluable in helping the Office of Equity to develop an informed and comprehensive approach to sexual misconduct prevention & education,” said Cody Carmichael, USU’s Title IX coordinator.
The DOJ stated in the February letter that USU has now also addressed all the issues that were raised last fall in a noncompliance letter.