Title IX: Role of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners in Campus Sexual Assault Proceedings

•As the work of the SANE is used with growing frequency into campus proceedings, SANEs will need to expand their knowledge to include an understanding of how those proceedings function and how the nurse might be called upon to provide information within those proceedings.•SANE testimony and documentation of the medical forensic examination are potential evidence that may be considered in campus sexual misconduct proceedings.•SANEs should become familiar with Title IX processes so that medical forensic evidence can be effectively considered within campus proceedings.•SANEs may be called as fact and expert witnesses in Title IX proceedings.•SANEs have an important role to play in educating Title IX staff about sexual violence.•Title IX proceedings are significantly different than criminal court proceedings.

The work of sexual assault nurse examiners, traditionally introduced as evidence in criminal prosecutions, is used with growing frequency in institutional investigations and adjudications of campus sexual assault. This article explains what Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments requires of institutions with respect to investigating sexual assault allegations, and how sexual assault nurse examiners can expect to interact with institutional Title IX staff and systems.