Covering Sexual Assault and Harassment

Last updated Nov. 3, 2026

Reports of sexual assault and harassment are among the most important — and legally tricky — stories in student journalism. This Student Press Law Center guide provides general information on the laws and potential records involved, but you should consult a local attorney or SPLC’s Legal Hotline for information about your specific circumstances.

SPLC Webinars

In this October 2026 webinar, NBC News reporter Tyler Kingkade, University of Southern California professor Christina Bellantoni and SPLC senior staff attorney Jonathan Gaston-Falk discuss Title IX and how to navigate these important, sensitive stories.

In this March 2025 webinar, investigative reporter Matt Drange discusses how to uncover serious educator misconduct based on his reporting on sexual misconduct at his own high school.

Four bodies of law intersect here and are helpful to know as you begin any reporting: Title IX, the Clery Act, FERPA and state law.

Note that a single incident can move through several separate processes. One allegation may lead to a criminal investigation, a campus Title IX case, a student conduct case and a civil lawsuit, all at once or not at all. Each process has its own decision-maker, rules, standard of proof, vocabulary and records. A prosecutor’s decision not to charge does not mean the school cleared anyone. A school finding of “responsible” is not a criminal conviction. Criminal courts find people “guilty.” Campus processes find students “responsible,” usually under a lower standard of proof. Mixing up these terms is one of the most common sources of libel risk in this coverage.

Title IX

Title IX is federal law that bars sex discrimination “under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” 

The Department of Education’s regulations tell schools what to do once they learn of it. 

  • High school: A school is considered on notice once “any employee” knows, including a teacher or a media adviser. A hearing is optional.
  • College: The school is on notice when the Title IX Coordinator or an official with authority to act knows. Colleges must hold a live hearing for formal complaints.

For harassment that is not quid pro quo and is not assault, dating violence, domestic violence or stalking, the conduct must be “so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access” to education to fall under Title IX.  In practice, that means not every instance of sex-based harassment is a Title IX violation. The harassment must be serious enough to interfere with a student’s ability to participate in or benefit from educational opportunities. Conduct below that bar may be handled under a separate conduct code. 

Some things to keep in mind about Title IX:

  • People in a Title IX case can generally talk to you. Under the Title IX rules, schools must “[n]ot restrict the ability of either party to discuss the allegations under investigation.” A complainant or respondent who wants to share their experience usually can, even while the case is pending. Both parties also receive the written determination simultaneously, including findings of fact, the rationale and any sanctions (§ 106.45(b)(7)). At colleges, the Clery Act separately requires written outcomes in dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking cases. A willing source can share these documents with you.
  • Title IX does not require schools to censor journalism. The regulations state that nothing in them requires a school to restrict speech that the First Amendment protects (34 C.F.R. § 106.6(d)). Exercising First Amendment rights is also not prohibited retaliation (§ 106.71(b)(1)). If an administrator claims a story would violate Title IX, ask for the specific provision.
  • Title IX covers locations, events and circumstances where the school had substantial control over the respondent and the setting. It also covers any building owned or controlled by an officially recognized student organization (34 C.F.R. § 106.44(a)). In a fraternity case, for example, ask whether the chapter was recognized at the time, and what control the school had over the event.

The Clery Act

The Clery Act requires schools that take part in federal student aid programs — which covers most colleges, public and private — to disclose campus crime information. It does not apply to high schools. Learn more about the law in our Guide to the Clery Act.

Three disclosures may be particularly helpful to reporters: a daily crime log, an Annual Security Report due each Oct. 1, and timely warnings about ongoing threats. Schools must keep victims’ names out of timely warnings and public recordkeeping.

FERPA

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act penalizes schools that release a student’s education records without consent. FERPA is widely misunderstood and miscited, but it does not stop student journalists from publishing information about other students. Learn more about FERPA in SPLC’s FERPA Toolkit.

It applies to K-12 and colleges that receive federal funding. Parents hold the rights until the student turns 18 or enrolls in college (20 U.S. Code § 1232g(d)).

“Education records” are records “[d]irectly related to a student” and “[m]aintained by an educational agency or institution.” The definition excludes records of a campus law enforcement unit (34 C.F.R. § 99.3). A campus police or security department keeps that status even if it also investigates conduct that leads to discipline (34 C.F.R. § 99.8). Disciplinary records are generally education records. However, FERPA lets colleges release the name, violation and sanction of a student found responsible for a crime of violence or non-forcible sex offense.

State law

At public schools and colleges, state open records laws generally require agencies to release records unless a statute exempts them. Learn more about public records in our guide, and use the Reporters Committee’s Open Government Guide to understand your specific state’s laws.

Getting Records

Start with what must be public. The Clery Act requires a campus with a police or security department to keep a daily crime log. The log records “the nature, date, time, and general location of each crime” and “the disposition of the complaint, if known” (34 C.F.R. § 668.46(f)). Entries must be made within two business days, unless that disclosure is prohibited by law or “would jeopardize the confidentiality of the victim.” 

A school may withhold information only on “clear and convincing evidence” of specific harms, such as jeopardizing an investigation or causing a suspect to flee. It must release the information once the harm is no longer likely. It may withhold only the information that would cause the harm. The log for the most recent 60 days must be open to public inspection during normal business hours. Older entries must be produced within two business days of a request.

Example: You read the crime log and see “sexual assault, residence hall, reported 9/14.” You check again a week later and the disposition has not been updated. That gap may be a story in itself, and it gives you a specific question to put to campus police.

The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights no longer updates its list of schools under investigation for potential Title IX and other civil rights violations. However, ProPublica obtained much of the 2025 and 2026 data through litigation and made it publicly available.

Then ask for what the school may release. FERPA permits a college to release the “final results” of a disciplinary proceeding in one situation. The student must be an alleged perpetrator of a crime of violence or a nonforcible sex offense, and the school must find that the student violated its rules (20 U.S.C. § 1232g(b)(6)(B)). Final results include “only the name of the student, the violation committed, and any sanction imposed.” Other students, including victims and witnesses, may be named only with their written consent. “Violation committed” includes “any essential findings,” and “sanction imposed” includes the sanction’s date and duration (34 C.F.R. § 99.39).

This FERPA exception permits release but does not require it. State public records law can turn that permission into a duty, but it can also prohibit the release. In North Carolina, the student-led Daily Tar Heel won a public records lawsuit to obtain records about students found responsible for sexual assault, but then the legislature passed a law in 2026 prohibiting release of that information. Western Washington University journalism students sued for campus sexual assault records, and the university paid $111,780 in penalties.

Ask sources for their own records. FERPA gives students a right to see their own education records. In cases involving dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking, the Clery Act requires schools to notify both parties of the outcome in writing at the same time (34 C.F.R. § 668.46(k)(2)(v)). That result must include “the rationale for the result and the sanctions,” notwithstanding FERPA. A victim in these cases may share the outcome with a journalist.

Records to consider requesting, depending on your state laws:

  • The daily crime log, the Annual Security Report and recent timely warnings. Timely warnings must withhold victims’ names and identifying information.
  • Title IX policies, training materials and annual counts of reports and outcomes. Request these as aggregate data with no names.
  • Dean of students data on violations in residence halls and Greek houses over five to 10 years, with names redacted.
  • Final results of a student disciplinary hearing under the FERPA exception, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g(b)(6)(B), where your state’s records law supports it.
  • Police reports from campus and municipal departments, which should include a reasonable description of the incident.
  • Personnel and investigation records for employees accused of misconduct. Exemptions vary by state.
  • Settlement agreements, outside investigator contracts and legal invoices, depending on your state law.
  • Court records in criminal cases and civil lawsuits. Complaints often lay out events in detail, though they represent only one side of the litigation.

High school: The FERPA final-results exception applies only to postsecondary institutions. High school disciplinary records are generally confidential. Focus on district-level aggregate data, school board minutes, lawsuits against the district, and police or school resource officer reports.

College: Public colleges are subject to both state records law and Clery. Clery sets a floor on disclosure; it is not a ceiling. At private colleges, which usually fall outside state records laws, rely on Clery, court records and your sources’ own documents. A handful of states consider private university police departments to be subject to public records laws.

When the school stalls or overcharges. Delays and high fees are common. Officials sometimes stall, hoping student reporters graduate or give up.

  • Use the SPLC letter generator and cite the specific statute.
  • Ask for a fee waiver and a written explanation of every charge.
  • Narrow the request or ask for records in the format the school already keeps.
  • Track every deadline and appeal any denial using your state’s appeal process.
  • Report on the obstacles.
  • For Clery violations, consider a complaint to the Department of Education. Formal reviews can take two to five years, so publishing about the noncompliance is often faster.

Go deeper: How to Use the Clery Act to Cover Campus Crime; RCFP Open Government Guide; ED Campus Security; 34 C.F.R. Part 99.