Update on the Definition of Sexual Assault Under the Title IX Regulations
Author: Andrea Stagg, Director of Consulting Services
During summer of 2025 we shared an article about updates to the NIBRS User Manual from June 2025 and the potential impact on Title IX and Clery. As discussed, Grand River Solutions wrote to the Department of Education for clarification and received a response in July 2026.
OCR’s Program Legal Group acknowledged the User Manual update and that “[t]he changes to the definition of a sex offense also impact the definition of sexual assault in the 2020 Title IX regulations.” Further, “[a]ny updates to the relevant definitions in NIBRS are automatically incorporated into the 2020 Title IX regulations.” (emphasis added)
OCR will use the revised definition in their investigation of cases involving conduct occurring on or after June 23, 2025.
Recall that “fondling” was replaced with “criminal sexual contact,” a broader definition that no longer requires the touching to be of “private” body parts, and in addition to the purpose of “sexual gratification,” criminal sexual contact can be for the purpose of “sexual degradation” or “sexual humiliation.” Criminal Sexual Contact also includes circumstances where the perpetrator forces the victim to touch the perpetrator’s body, which was not explicitly addressed by the prior Fondling definition.
The full definition of Criminal Sexual Contact from the NIBRS user manual is as follows:
“The intentional touching of the clothed or unclothed body parts without consent of the victim for the purpose of sexual degradation, sexual gratification, or sexual humiliation. The forced touching by the victim of the actor’s clothed or unclothed body parts, without consent of the victim for the purpose of sexual degradation, sexual gratification, or sexual humiliation. This offense includes instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of age or incapacity due to temporary or permanent mental or physical impairment or intoxication.”
Note that for policy drafting purposes, Grand River Solutions recommends removing the word “criminal” and referring to that prohibited conduct as simply “sexual contact.”
This email response from OCR is not a formal policy. Still, it is instructive and is aligned with our understanding of the impact of the NIBRS User Manual update. Institutions of higher education and schools should review their policies, training, and other materials and ensure that “fondling” has been replaced with “sexual contact.”
Please note that while this response from OCR includes “failure to register as a sex offender” as a “sex offense” as per NIBRS, such a violation is not “on the basis of sex” and thus should not be considered Title IX sexual harassment. And while there is a brief reference to the Clery Act in OCR’s response, the statement is not conclusive. Further, OCR does not enforce or interpret Clery.
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