On Friday, Jan. 31, the U.S. Department of Education issued a Dear Colleague Letter stating, “[E]ffective immediately, the United States Department of Education’s (ED) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) will enforce Title IX under the provisions of the 2020 Title IX Rule, rather than the recently invalidated 2024 Title IX Rule.” For this reason, CUNY’s 2020 Policy on Sexual Misconduct replaces the fully rescinded 2024 Policy on Sex-Based Misconduct as the policy applicable to all open and future Title IX matters, including all “open Title IX investigations initiated under the 2024 Rule.”

Please note that, as has always been the case, the Policy on Sexual Misconduct prohibits unwelcome verbal or physical behavior based on a person’s sex (e.g., sexual orientation, gender, gender expression, and gender identity, which includes transgender status), and CUNY remains committed to creating and maintaining an environment in which its community members live, learn, and work free from all forms of sex discrimination.

With this system-wide return to the Policy on Sexual Misconduct, fewer employees will have a duty to inform their Title IX Coordinator when they learn of conduct that may constitute sexual misconduct (these employees are referred to as “Responsible Employees” under the Policy on Sexual Misconduct). To view the categories of employees CUNY designates as Responsible Employees, please see Section VI(B) of the online policy. Students may still consult with Confidential Employees, who will only share a report of sexual misconduct if instructed to do so by the person who confided in them. The following staff and faculty members are Confidential Employees at CSI:

  • Counselors or other staff members at CSI’s Counseling Center;
  • Nurses, nurse practitioners, or other staff members at CSI’s Health Center;
  • Pastoral counselor (a person associated with a religious order or denomination, recognized by that order or denomination as someone who provides confidential counseling and identified by CUNY as functioning within the scope of that recognition);
  • Director of the Bertha Harris Women’s Center;
  • Director of CSI’s Men’s Center

Employees who are neither Responsible Employees nor Confidential Employees are strongly encouraged to report allegations of sexual misconduct to CSI’s Title IX Coordinator, Tara Mastrangelo.

Additionally, when an employee is informed that a student is pregnant, the employee is no longer required to provide the contact information of their Title IX Coordinator to that student, and the employee is no longer required to inform the pregnant student that their Title IX Coordinator can provide them with supportive measures. Nevertheless, CUNY encourages employees to assist students seeking supportive measures in these instances. Students who need support and/or accommodations pertaining to a pregnancy-related condition should contact the Office of Accessibility Services.

Any person wishing to submit a report of sexual misconduct should: complete the Sexual Misconduct Allegation Form and email it to Tara.Mastrangelo@csi.cuny.edu; report via telephone by calling 718.982.2688; or visit the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion located in Building 1A, Room 205.

If you have a pending matter or you have any questions about this announcement, please contact your Title IX Coordinator at Tara.Mastrangelo@csi.cuny.edu.

For all other forms of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation, and for employment discrimination on the basis of sex, please submit a report using the CUNY University-Wide Discrimination and Retaliation Reporting Portal. These matters will be reviewed under CUNY’s Equal Opportunity and Non-Discrimination Policy.

Finally, CSI is a caring community. Please consider using the following resources that are available to you:

  • CSI Counseling Center: Building 1A, Room 109; telephone: 718.982.2391; email: Coubseling@csi.cuny.edu
  • CSI Health Center: Campus Center (Building 1C), Room 112; telephone: 718.982.3045; email:HealthCenter@csi.cuny.edu
  • Office of Accessibility Services: Center for the Arts (Building 1P), Room 101; telephone: 718.982.2510; email: Access@csi.cuny.edu
  • Office of Public Safety: Building 2A, Room 108; telephone: 718.982.2113
    • To report an Emergency please call: 718.982.2111
  • Office of Student Affairs: Building 1A, Room 401; telephone: 718.982.2335; email: StudentAffairs@csi.cuny.edu
  • · LGBTQ Resource Center: Campus Center (Building 1C), Room 226; telephone: 718.982.3091; email: Jeremiah.Jurkiewicz@csi.cuny.edu
  • Bertha Harris Women’s Center: Building 2N, Room 106; telephone: 718.982.2871; email: WMSCenter@csi.cuny.edu
  • CSI Men’s Center: Campus Center (Building 1C), Room 220; telephone: 718.982.3107; email: John.Meche@csi.cuny.edu
  • Office of Human Resources: Building 1A, Room 201; telephone: 718.982.2379; email: HumanResources@csi.cuny.edu
  • CUNY Work/Life Program: Company Code: CUNY
  • CSI Labor Relations Director and Legal Counsel: Catherine Ferrara, Esq., Building 1A, Room 404; telephone: 718.982.2346; email: Catherine.Ferrara@csi.cuny.edu

External Resources:

  • NYPD 121st Precinct: Telephone: 718.697.8700
    • Domestic Violence Prevention Officer: Telephone: 718.697.8800; email: 121pctdvo@nypd.org
  • Staten Island Family Justice Center: Telephone: 718.697.4300
  • Safe Horizon: Telephone: 718.720.2591

By Tara J. Mastrangelo (she/her)