The Utah State University Board of Trustees approved changes to the school's confidentiality and amnesty policies Friday in an effort to inform students about their options if they or someone they know is sexually assaulted.
These changes already are in practice, said Mica McKinney, USU's general counsel, but it is important to codify them so there is a guiding policy for the whole campus.
The policies outline where sexual assault victims can report an attack confidentially or anonymously as well as grant amnesty for alcohol- and drug-related student code violations, should a student's health and safety be at risk.
The updated confidentiality policy informs students where they can report confidentially and where they cannot. No information is shared if a student reports an assault to the school's Counseling and Psychological Services and only aggregate data — time and place, for example — are reported to the school if a student goes to the Sexual Assault and Anti-Violence Information office.
The policy also states that if a student reports to a "responsible employee," such as a professor, for example, that incident must be reported to the school's Title IX office.
A student can request confidentially if he or she reports to a nonconfidential resource, but the school will weigh that request against its obligation to "provide a safe, nondiscriminatory environment for all students."
For example, the university must examine whether the alleged perpetrator could commit additional acts of sexual violence, whether he or she has been arrested before and whether the university can obtain evidence of this sexual violence, such as security cameras or physical evidence.
Also outlined in the policy is anonymous reporting. If the university receives an anonymous report with the name of the alleged perpetrator but not the victim, McKinney said the university is "unable to initiate an actionable investigation if they're not able to provide the accused party the name of the person accusing them."
She clarified later that this might not be the case if they received several anonymous reports naming the same individual.
"It's not an absolute statement that the university would not be able to take action, but we're just saying our ability is severely limited," she said. "We'll always seek, in the interest of safety, to take the most action we can, but it does require an evaluation of the information we have available."
Clarifying the policies is just one way USU is responding to concerns raised in July when The Salt Lake Tribune reported that four women — who did not know one another — separately told Logan police in 2015 that football player Torrey Green sexually assaulted them. Three of the women were USU students and say they also informed the school.
Green graduated after playing in every game of the 2015 football season, and it's unclear whether USU fully investigated the women's reports. In a July interview, Green told The Tribune that the school spoke to him about one incident, but he did not specify which.
Under Title IX, a federal law that bars sex discrimination, schools that receive federal funding are required to swiftly investigate potential sexual violence and determine what occurred and whether there were more incidents.
Prosecutors began re-examining the cases after The Tribune's story was published, and they charged Green earlier this month with four counts of rape, one count of aggravated kidnapping and one count of forcible sex abuse. Green is being held in the Cache County jail and is scheduled to appear in Utah's 1st District Court on Tuesday.
The school has said an internal investigation revealed it "fell short" in handling the reports against Green but will not elaborate, saying the information is protected by federal law and could discourage victims from reporting sexual assault.
At Friday's meeting, USU President Stan Albrecht said the school "simply cannot, by law, release information about student discipline and confidential Title IX matters," citing the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA, and Title IX policies.
However, FERPA states that schools can disclose disciplinary results when "a student is found responsible for an alleged crime of violence." Additionally, Title IX does not say that schools may not release records.
"Here is the key point I'd make to anyone who thinks that means we are hiding something: We are not, and we are not doing what we are doing to protect the university," Albrecht said. "We are doing this to protect victims and the principle that we will keep their private lives completely private."
S. Daniel Carter, a Georgia-based independent campus security consultant, told The Tribune that it is permissible under FERPA to release the outcome of discipline.
Additionally, he said, Title IX says schools have to act when sexual violence is reported, regardless of whether it is done anonymously.
The school's "ability to act may be limited due to the perpetrator's due process rights" but they can, at the very least, flag the alleged perpetrator's name in case it comes up again, he said.
When more than one student reports the name of an alleged perpetrator, schools "absolutely are required to investigate," he said.
"If there is an indication of a threat to more than one person, that changes the dynamic significantly," he said.
Another USU policy approved Friday states that, should a student transfer during a disciplinary proceeding, the school will send an updated transcript including the discipline to the new institution. A disciplinary penalty would not be added to a student's transcript until after the process, including appeals, is complete.
The board also approved the Utah System of Higher Education's systemwide policy guaranteeing students the right to an attorney or adviser who may make opening statements at formal disciplinary hearings.
The school's new amnesty policy informs students that if someone seeks medical help or reports a sexual violence incident, they will not be punished for another student code violation, such as underage drinking. The policy notes that amnesty is not granted for "criminal, civil or legal consequences for violations of federeal, state or local law."
Provo's Brigham Young University announced earlier this year that it is looking at changes to its policies after students said that people who reported that they'd been sexually assaulted were investigated for violating the private school's Honor Code, which includes curfews, dress codes and a ban on premarital sex. A petition requesting that the school — owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — add an Honor Code amnesty clause received more than 100,000 signatures. A committee was tasked with reviewing the school's policies and recommending possible changes, and its report is expected this fall. The school's president, Kevin Worthen, said in August that the "top priority in this extensive effort is the safety and well-being of our students, especially those who have been the victims of sexual assault."
astuckey@sltrib.com
Twitter: @alexdstuckey