In a settlement for a lawsuit over how the University of Tennessee handles sexual misconduct, the school agreed to increase training for all employees on addressing sexual violence, change who is appointed to student disciplinary boards and hire consultants to improve school policies.
But there aren’t many other concrete steps the school must take under the settlement agreement, which was obtained by The Huffington Post on Wednesday, and substantial changes might only come if they’re recommended by the consultants UT eventually hires.
The UT flagship, in Knoxville, Tennessee, announced a settlement of $2.48 million on Tuesday to eight women who sued the school, claiming it mishandled sexual assault cases. All of the women remained anonymous, but several of them accused student athletes of assault and argued the university was biased in favor of its celebrated football and basketball players.
It’s up to the plaintiffs’ law firm to figure out how much each plaintiff will receive.
In exchange, the plaintiffs agreed to drop the suit. They also agreed not to sue again over these claims, and neither they nor their lawyers will say anything to cast the university “in a negative light.” The women also cannot contact any member of the football or basketball team for the next three years unless it’s for a court proceeding.
The university said it likewise will instruct employees not to speak unfavorably about the plaintiffs, and that student athletes should avoid any direct contact with the women who sued UT.
Within 60 days, the university must appoint a commission full of “independent, unaffiliated, nationally recognized” experts on federal compliance to help reform how UT handles sexual misconduct.
But the settlement does not obligate the university to provide advocates for rape victims or experts in sexual violence, making it more likely the university would hire consultants instead.
Given the stipulation that the experts must be “nationally recognized,” it’s likely UT may pick Pepper Hamilton, a law firm that recently conducted a scathing review of Baylor University’s handling of football players committing rape, or the NCHERM Group, another firm frequently hired by colleges for sexual misconduct policies.
The school could choose other consultants ― like S. Daniel Carter, who is well-respected by advocates, and lobbies on Capitol Hill ― but it’s unclear what credential would meet the settlement’s requirement for prominence.
The settlement agreement did stipulate a couple specific changes to address charges of bias in favor of football team members. UT will no longer provide a list of possible lawyers for student athletes accused of misconduct, like rape or assault, “even though the practice did not violate any law or NCAA rule,” the settlement states. The university may refer accused student athletes to a local bar association instead.
Additionally, students will no longer be appointed to serve on disciplinary hearing boards in sexual assault cases unless both the accuser and accused agree to it, but this policy will need to be approved by the Tennessee legislature’s joint government operations committee before it can be fully implemented.
The settlement agreement says nothing about whether athletes will be able to delay hearings in order to finish athletic seasons and transfer, as the original lawsuit alleged the school was allowing.
Read the settlement between UT and the eight Jane Does below:
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Tyler Kingkade is a national reporter covering higher education and sexual violence. You can reach him at tyler.kingkade@huffingtonpost.com, or find him on Twitter: @tylerkingkade.