Title IX Supportive Measures: Types, Requests, and Denials

Title IX supportive measures are free, individualized services your school must offer after learning of possible sex discrimination, harassment, or assault, and you can receive them without filing a formal complaint. Under 34 C.F.R. § 106.44, the school’s Title IX Coordinator has to reach out promptly, explain what is available, and help arrange the measures that fit your situation.¹ These services are not punishment. They are meant to keep you safe and keep your education on track while the school handles the underlying report.

Who Can Receive Them

Both the person who reported the conduct and the person accused can receive supportive measures. Federal regulations define them as individualized, reasonably available services offered at no cost and not imposed as discipline.² Filing a formal complaint is not a prerequisite. Once the Title IX Coordinator learns of possible sex discrimination, that coordinator is required to contact the complainant, describe the options, and make clear the services are available either way.¹

The measures must not unreasonably burden the other party. If an accommodation would seriously disrupt someone else’s education or work, the school looks for a balanced alternative that still protects your safety and access. Each request is evaluated on its specific facts.¹

What Your School Can Provide

Federal regulations give examples of measures but do not treat the list as exhaustive. The school has flexibility to arrange whatever is reasonably available given its resources and your circumstances.¹

Academic Adjustments

Academic accommodations tend to be the first practical need. Common options include deadline extensions, rescheduled exams, transferring to a different section, or attending class remotely to avoid contact with a specific person. Schools sometimes allow a course withdrawal or an incomplete without financial or academic penalty. The point is to prevent a situation from wrecking your transcript while you deal with it.³

Housing, Safety, and No-Contact Directives

If you live on campus, the school can move you to a different room or hall to create physical distance. Safety-focused options include security escorts between buildings and increased monitoring of specific areas.¹

A no-contact directive restricts direct or indirect communication between the parties. It is an institutional directive, not a court-issued protective order, so a violation triggers the school’s disciplinary process rather than a criminal contempt charge. Schools still treat violations seriously, and consequences can reach separation from the university. A directive can be one-sided or mutual depending on the situation.

Work and Work-Study Adjustments

Students and employees who work on campus, hold graduate assistantships, or participate in work-study can ask for schedule changes so shifts do not overlap with the other party. The school can also move someone to a different department or supervisor. When a change is made for the complainant as a supportive measure, it should be voluntary and equitable rather than imposed as a penalty.¹

Counseling and Mental Health Referrals

Counseling is named directly in the regulations as a supportive measure.¹ Most schools can connect you with an on-campus counseling center or refer you to an off-campus provider. Campus counselors and victim advocates often act as confidential resources, and they can help you request other supportive measures on your behalf without broadcasting details across campus.³

How to Request Supportive Measures

Start with your school’s Title IX Coordinator. Every school receiving federal funds must designate one, and the name and contact information are usually posted on the school’s Title IX webpage or in the student handbook. That person is your main point of contact.

When you reach out, be ready to share:

Your full name, student or employee ID, and current contact details.
A brief description of the situation, enough for the coordinator to understand why you need help. You do not need to give exhaustive detail at this stage.
The specific measures you want, if you already know. A course section change, a housing reassignment, or a no-contact directive can be named directly. The more specific you are, the faster the coordinator can weigh what is feasible.

Many schools post a standardized request form on their Title IX webpage. You can typically submit it through an online portal or by emailing the completed form to the coordinator. Some schools also take walk-ins or phone calls.

After you submit, the coordinator usually schedules a meeting to discuss options and figure out what else might help. Basic safety steps like a no-contact directive can often be in place the same day. Housing transfers or course changes depend on availability and logistics, but the regulations require the school to act promptly.

Keeping the Measures Confidential

The regulations require the school to keep information about your supportive measures confidential. It cannot disclose what you received to the other party or to third parties unless disclosure is necessary to provide the measure itself.¹ A no-contact directive is the obvious case where the other person has to be told something, because they need to know who they cannot contact. The school would not tell the respondent that you changed dorms or received counseling referrals unless that information was essential to making the measure work.

This duty continues through any grievance process. The Department of Education has said supportive measures are not treated as evidence in the formal investigation, so evidence-sharing procedures should not reveal what measures you received.⁴

If Your Request Is Denied or Your Situation Changes

Not every request will be granted, and schools do not have unlimited resources. You still have a right to review. Under 34 C.F.R. § 106.44(g)(4), if the school denies, modifies, or ends a supportive measure, you can ask an impartial employee to review the decision. The reviewer must be someone other than the person who made the original call, and must have authority to reverse or modify the decision if it was inconsistent with the federal definition.¹

You can also come back and request changes as things develop. If a class schedule shifts, a new incident occurs, or a measure stops working, the regulations entitle you to seek a modification or termination when circumstances change materially.¹

Emergency Removal Is a Different Tool

Emergency removal is not a supportive measure. It physically separates the respondent from programs or the campus and has a higher bar. A school can remove a respondent on an emergency basis only after an individualized safety and risk analysis showing the person poses an imminent and serious threat to someone’s health or safety, and only where that threat arises from the allegations of sex discrimination.¹

The respondent must receive notice and an immediate opportunity to challenge the removal. The analysis cannot rest on generalized fears, and the school must consider whether less restrictive supportive measures would adequately address the concern first. Emergency removal does not presume responsibility and does not substitute for the grievance process.

Retaliation Is Prohibited

Federal regulations bar retaliation against anyone who reports sex discrimination, requests supportive measures, or participates in a Title IX investigation. No one at the school can intimidate, threaten, or punish you for seeking help. Charging someone with an unrelated code-of-conduct violation drawn from the same facts, in order to interfere with their Title IX rights, is itself retaliation.⁵

If you believe you are experiencing retaliation for requesting supportive measures, you can file a retaliation complaint through your school’s grievance procedures, or report it directly to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.

Filing With the Office for Civil Rights

If your school fails to offer supportive measures, ignores your requests, or retaliates against you for asking, you can file a complaint with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). You do not have to exhaust the school’s internal complaint process first.⁶

The standard deadline is 180 calendar days from the discriminatory act, though OCR can grant waivers in limited circumstances. You can file online through OCR’s complaint form or submit by mail, fax, or email. If you are worried about retaliation, you can ask OCR to keep your identity confidential during the investigation.⁶

A Note on the Current Rules

Title IX regulations have been in flux. The Department of Education issued a major update in 2024, federal courts have intervened, and the enforceability of certain provisions varies by jurisdiction. The core obligation to offer supportive measures has remained consistent across both the 2020 and 2024 frameworks, so the guidance in this article applies regardless of which version your school follows. If you are unsure which set of rules governs where you are, your Title IX Coordinator should be able to tell you, and OCR can clarify which rules apply in your area.⁷

1
eCFR. 34 CFR 106.44 – Recipient’s Response to Sex Discrimination
2
eCFR. 34 CFR 106.2 – Definitions
3
U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women. Sample Language for Interim and Supportive Measures to Protect Students Following an Allegation of Sexual Misconduct
4
U.S. Department of Education. FERPA and Confidentiality
5
GovInfo. 34 CFR 106.71 – Retaliation
6
U.S. Department of Education. Questions and Answers on OCR’s Complaint Process
7
U.S. Department of Education. Title IX and Sex Discrimination