Carlton Collins & Kristin Suess
Universal Design & Learning Presentation
Courts continue to debate the meaning behind each clause, but in principle, Title IX aligns with Universal Design in that regardless of sex, learners need to have equal opportunity to the benefits of learning. For instructional designers who are intentionally building inclusive material for the sexes, attention should be paid to representing both males and females in:
a) Authorship of referenced or required scholarly readings
b) Guest speakers or recorded interviews
c) Role-playing scenarios
Designers also need to check their inherent biases, to be sure they are not inadvertently assigning sexist character traits to either males (the macho hero) or females (the beautiful damsel in distress) in hypothetical scenarios meant to teach or illustrate a concept.
To bring this full-circle, let us return to the current application of Title IX to the issue of sexual harassment and assault on college campuses. Betsy DeVos, the Secretary of the Department of Education in President Trump’s administration has moved to roll-back the Obama-era “Dear Colleague” letters that provided comprehensive guidelines for Title IX implementation regarding campus sexual harassment and assault (Vagianos, 2017).
Further comments by Secretary DeVos demean the quality and effectiveness of current training around sexual misconduct judicial proceedings. She proposes transitioning to optional regional reporting centers; however, it is likely that institutions will opt to improve training instead of overhauling their systems (Vagianos, 2017). The opportunity for Universal Design lies in this training.
Here is an additional resource for your viewing and to greater capture the current happenings within Title IX legislation within the Trump Administration.
A stipulation of The Clery Act requires that “[c]osts to improve safety on campus will include annual training of officials on issues related to dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking as well as training on how to conduct disciplinary proceeding investigations and hearings” (National Archives, 2014). If a common course of instruction were developed that effectively utilizes Universal Design, it could make progress toward consistent training that educates all officials, across the nation’s campuses.
REFERENCES
National Archives and Records Administration. (2000). Rules and regulations. Federal Register, 65 (169), 52859. https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/crt/legacy/2010/12/14/t9final.pdf
National Archives and Records Administration. (2014). Rules and regulations. Federal Register, 79 (202), 62753.
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-10-20/pdf/2014-24284.pdf#page=33
Reutter, J. (2017, September 15). After one year UC remains without Title IX coordinator. The News Record. Retrieved from http://www.newsrecord.org/news/after-one-year-uc-remains-without-title-ix-coordinator/article_367f0d42-9180-11e7-8d82-8b194a6d270c.html
Valentin, I. (1997, August). Title IX: A brief history. Women’s Educational Equity Act (WEEA) Resource Center at EDC. Retrieved from http://www2.edc.org/WomensEquity/pdffiles/t9digest.pdf
Vagianos, A. (2017, September 7). Betsy DeVos says the Title IX system has ‘failed’ both survivors and the accused. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/betsy-devos-announces-she-plans-to-roll-back-title-ix-guidelines_us_59b14e36e4b0dfaafcf5dfeb