While many fear that the Trump administration will lead to policy changes that will abandon Title IX provisions, colleges and victim’s rights advocates say otherwise according to an article by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Title IX requires that men and women be treated equally, and it is a particular point of conversation when it comes to how colleges handle reports of sexual assault. Under pressure from the Obama administration and from students accusing institutions of ignoring complaints or shielding perpetrators, the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) now offers guidance to colleges regarding sexual misconduct policies. But that guidance may not last.

As endorsed by the Republican Party last July at the Republican National Convention, the Trump administration will likely encourage sexual assault cases to be handled by courts rather than colleges.

“I think you can be certain that OCR will be downsized and be less prominent in a Trump administration,” said Frederick Hess, director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, in the article.

But despite what Trump might do (or not do), colleges will most likely continue improving their sexual misconduct policies. The OCR is expected to play a smaller role in how colleges handle complaints, but Title IX will still be the law.

Many colleges have also already created policies and regulations to prevent and respond to sexual assault which are unlikely to be abolished.

Even if the federal government does turn away, campus activists and advocacy groups won’t, as sexual assault on campus has become a nationwide conversation.

According to one Title IX officer, anonymous in the article, “Institutions are going to remain focused on this issue because it is the right thing to do. We also worked so hard to raise awareness on this issue in the last few years that students are really attuned, and they wouldn’t allow institutions to walk away from this commitment.” 

To read the full story in The Chronicle of Higher Education, click here.