NSF Will Require Grant Applications to Disclose Sexual Harassment

The National Science Foundation announced last week that it will require institutions seeking foundation grants to disclose in their proposals any institutional findings of sexual harassment (or other harassment) by the grant's primary investigators or other personnel. Additionally, a grant-recipient must report any grant personnel are put on administrative leave over harassment allegations. This obligation extends throughout the period of time the grant is in effect, and could result in the NSF's suspension of the grant. 

Because NSF is a federal agency that distributes federal funds, it has a responsibility independent from Department of Education's to ensure that its grant decisions do not violate Title IX requirement that taxpayer dollars are not used to support sex discrimination. Consistent with this requirement, the NSF has its own Title IX regulations and conducts routine, random reviews of academic departments that it supports with grant money. It has also already denounced sexual harassment in a 2016 public statement.

The example of the NSF is an important reminder that the Department of Education is not the only agency with power to hold institutions accountable for sex discrimination and sexual harassment. As the current DoE is backing off of the prior administration's Title IX enforcement efforts around sexual misconduct, the efforts of other agencies will become increasingly significant. Notably, the NSF has more political independence to distance itself from the current administration, since its director was appointed by President Obama in 2014 to serve a six-year term.