C.F.R. » Title 34 » CHAPTER I—OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION › PART 106—NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF SEX IN EDUCATION PROGRAMS OR ACTIVITIES RECEIVING FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE › Subpart D—Discrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Prohibited

34 C.F.R. § 106.44

Recipient's response to sexual harassment

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(a) General response to sexual harassment. A recipient with actual knowledge of sexual harassment in an education program or activity of the recipient against a person in the United States, must respond promptly in a manner that is not deliberately indifferent. A recipient is deliberately indifferent only if its response to sexual harassment is clearly unreasonable in light of the known circumstances. For the purposes of this section, §§ 106.30, and 106.45, “education program or activity” includes locations, events, or circumstances over which the recipient exercised substantial control over both the respondent and the context in which the sexual harassment occurs, and also includes any building owned or controlled by a student organization that is officially recognized by a postsecondary institution. A recipient's response must treat complainants and respondents equitably by offering supportive measures as defined in § 106.30 to a complainant, and by following a grievance process that complies with § 106.45 before the imposition of any disciplinary sanctions or other actions that are not supportive measures as defined in § 106.30, against a respondent. The Title IX Coordinator must promptly contact the complainant to discuss the availability of supportive measures as defined in § 106.30, consider the complainant's wishes with respect to supportive measures, inform the complainant of the availability of supportive measures with or without the filing of a formal complaint, and explain to the complainant the process for filing a formal complaint. The Department may not deem a recipient to have satisfied the recipient's duty to not be deliberately indifferent under this part based on the recipient's restriction of rights protected under the U.S. Constitution, including the First Amendment, Fifth Amendment, and Fourteenth Amendment.

(b) Response to a formal complaint. (1) In response to a formal complaint, a recipient must follow a grievance process that complies with § 106.45. With or without a formal complaint, a recipient must comply with § 106.44(a).

(2) The Assistant Secretary will not deem a recipient's determination regarding responsibility to be evidence of deliberate indifference by the recipient, or otherwise evidence of discrimination under title IX by the recipient, solely because the Assistant Secretary would have reached a different determination based on an independent weighing of the evidence.

(c) Emergency removal. Nothing in this part precludes a recipient from removing a respondent from the recipient's education program or activity on an emergency basis, provided that the recipient undertakes an individualized safety and risk analysis, determines that an immediate threat to the physical health or safety of any student or other individual arising from the allegations of sexual harassment justifies removal, and provides the respondent with notice and an opportunity to challenge the decision immediately following the removal. This provision may not be construed to modify any rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, or the Americans with Disabilities Act.

(d) Administrative leave. Nothing in this subpart precludes a recipient from placing a non-student employee respondent on administrative leave during the pendency of a grievance process that complies with § 106.45. This provision may not be construed to modify any rights under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 or the Americans with Disabilities Act.

[91 FR 61318, Sept. 29, 2026]
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 26 cases (24 in the last 5 years), 2020–2025 · leading case: Doe v. Massachusetts Inst. of Tech., 46 F.4th 61 (1st Cir. 2022).
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Doe v. Massachusetts Inst. of Tech., 46 F.4th 61 (1st Cir. 2022). “That narrow regulatory focus may reflect either a desire to preserve the autonomy (and, perhaps, 4 The Department recently proposed moving this provision to 34 C.F.R. § 106.44 (j), without substantially altering it.”
C. S. v. Madison Metro. Sch., 34 F.4th 536 (7th Cir. 2022). “The Supreme Court has said that these are distinct; the De- partment of Education agrees, 34 C.F.R. §106.44 (a); declara- tions by some panels that they are just different aspects of a single inquiry cannot stand.”
Schiebel v. Schoharie Cent. Sch. Dist., 120 F.4th 1082 (2d Cir. 2024). “See 34 C.F.R. §§ 106.44 , 106.45 (effective August 14, 2020, to July 31, 2024).”
Dep't of Educ. v. Louisiana, 603 U.S. 866 (2024). “33888–33895 (to be codifed in 34 CFR §§ 106.44 , 106.45, 106.46); a provision addressing schools' obligations to designate Title IX coordinators, and adopt and im- plement a nondiscrimination policy and grievance procedures, 89 Fed.”
L.S. v. Hanover Area Sch. Dist., No. 3:22-cv-00234, 2024 WL 2393038 (M.D. Pa. May 23, 2024). · cites it 4× “” 34 C.F.R. § 106.44 (a) (2020). “Actual knowledge” means, in part, “notice of sexual harassment or allegations of sexual harassment to a recipient's Title IX Coordinator or any official of the recipient who has authority to institute corrective measures on behalf of the…”
Matter of Doe 1 v. State Univ. of N.Y. at Buffalo, 219 A.D.3d 1663 (N.Y. App. Div. 4th Dep't 2023). “Respondent's Title IX Policy was established pursuant to 34 CFR 106.44 (b) (1), which requires as relevant here that respondent, in response to a formal complaint, follow a grievance process that complies with 34 CFR 106.”
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Devos, 480 F. Supp. 3d 47 (D.D.C. 2020). · cites it 3× “” 34 C.F.R. § 106.44 (a). The Rule obligates recipients to respond when they have active knowledge of sexual harassment and requires them to “respond promptly in a manner that is not deliberately indifferent.”
Shannon v. Bd. of Trs. of the Univ. of Illinois, No. 2:24-cv-02010 (C.D. Ill. Jan. 19, 2024). · cites it 3× “Title IX Claim (1) Educational Programs or Activities In Count I of his complaint, Plaintiff asks the Court to declare “that Title IX applies to this situation” and that the University “either immediately perform an individualized safety and risk analysis pursuant to 34 CFR §…”
Doe v. Syracuse Univ., No. 5:21-cv-00977 (N.D.N.Y. Sept. 7, 2022). · cites it 2× “¶¶ 46, 50), all in accordance with the Department of Education’s Title IX 15 regulations, see 34 C.F.R. § 106.44 (a) (“A recipient with actual knowledge of sexual harassment .”
State of New York v. United States Dep't of Educ., No. 1:20-cv-04260 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 9, 2020). · cites it 2× “” 34 C.F.R. § 106.44 . Postsecondary institutions have actual knowledge when a “Title IX Coordinator or any official of the recipient who has authority to institute corrective measures on behalf of the recipient” receives notice of sexual harassment or allegations of sexual…”
Doe 1 v. Starpoint Cent. Sch. Dist., No. 1:23-cv-00207 (W.D.N.Y. Apr. 10, 2023). · cites it 2× “” 34 C.F.R. § 106.44 (c). they seek an order under Article 78 of the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules (“C.”
State of Texas v. United States, 740 F. Supp. 3d 537 (N.D. Tex. 2024). · cites it 2× “45 (b)(2)); initiation of a complaint by the Title IX Coordinator ( 34 C.F.R. § 106.44 (f)(1)(v)); the manner in which a recipient may allow parties to a complaint to access the relevant evidence ( 34 C.”
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