Osvaldo Gomez, LSU’s associate vice president for civil rights and Title IX coordinator, provided the board of supervisors a systemwide training on power-based violence and Title IX that outlined reporting duties, supportive measures for students and the campus resources available to survivors.

Gomez said the state’s power-based violence law (2021 Act 472) complements federal Title IX protections and covers a broader set of misconduct by focusing on incidents where an individual asserts power to control or intimidate another. He described examples that fall under power-based violence — including dating violence, stalking and quid pro quo harassment — and explained that conduct meeting the federal Title IX standard (dating violence, domestic violence, quid pro quo and hostile environment harassment that is severe, pervasive and objectively offensive) also falls under the state law, but not all power-based-violence incidents meet Title IX standards.

Gomez told the board most LSU employees are mandatory reporters (also termed responsible employees in the presentation). He listed categories of mandatory reporters that include faculty, deans, coaches, graduate assistants with employment duties, residential advisors, and classified and unclassified staff; confidential resources — such as counselors, certain health-care workers and clergy acting in a confidential role — are not mandatory reporters. Gomez said the system has about 59 confidential supporters across campuses.

He described trauma-informed response principles — safety, choice, collaboration, trustworthiness and empowerment — and explained supportive measures available to students whether or not they file a formal complaint, including academic accommodations, housing changes, schedule adjustments, no-contact orders, safety planning and connections to health and mental-health services.

Gomez walked the board through how to report incidents via the LSU engagement website or the mobile app and said a report triggers outreach by the case management team; that outreach includes an intake meeting, an email summary of options, and, if requested, a link to a formal complaint form. He emphasized that the initial report does not automatically trigger a formal investigation.

Board member Williams asked whether the reporting framework informs mandatory reporters about the outcome of a report. Gomez said an automatic acknowledgment email is sent when a report is filed and that he would take back suggested wording clarifying what mandatory reporters will learn after they make a report. Gomez reiterated that privacy rules limit what can be shared about investigation outcomes with parties who are not the complainant.

Gomez also reviewed exceptions to mandatory reporting (for example, disclosures made at public awareness events or disclosures in academic work consistent with an assignment) and described the university’s confidentiality and immunity policies for those acting in good faith. He noted the statute includes accountability for knowingly failing to report; institutions must follow investigative steps before taking personnel actions related to a failure to report.

Gomez concluded by listing campus and community resources — including the Lighthouse advocacy program, campus health centers, SANE services and local community victim services — and urged board members to contact his office if they are unsure whether an item must be reported.