San Jose State To Pay Settlements After Title IX Violations

By Olivia Wynkoop, Bay City News Foundation

SAN JOSE, CA — San Jose State University will pay $1.6 million to student-athletes that reported sexual harassment and assault cases on campus, according to a settlement with the U.S Attorney's Office and the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division announced Tuesday.

The department conducted an investigation of the university under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 after female student-athletes said an athletic trainer repeatedly initiated sexual touching during treatments on campus, which began as early as 2009.

The department found that SJSU inadequately addressed the situation and terminated two employees who raised concerns about the trainer.

Under the agreement, first initiated in 2020, the university will work to improve their response to Title IX concerns, publicize Title IX policies to the university's community, provide training to SJSU Athletics employees on Title IX protocol and give support to student-athletes who faced sexual harrasment by the trainer. SJSU will also allocate $1.6 million to the student athletes that were a part of the department's investigations.

"No student should be subjected to sexual harassment at a college or university in our country, especially by an employee who wields a position of power," Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division said in a statement. "With this agreement, San Jose State University will provide relief to survivors and transform its Title IX process to ensure accountability in its athletics program and create a safer campus for all its students."

The department will overview the agreement's implementation until the 2024-2025 academic year.

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