Regents will address question of sexual assault policies

State Board of Regents leaders next week will address Gov. Terry Branstad's call for the board to revisit sexual assault policies in the wake of the Penn State University scandal.

Regents President Craig Lang or President Pro Tem Bruce Rastetter will give a statement about Branstad's request of the board, regents office officials said, and it's possible there will be board discussion. The regents meeting is set for Thursday in Ames.

Branstad this week said he wants the regents to make sure allegations of sexual misconduct are handled appropriately. The regents set policy for the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, the University of Northern Iowa, and the state's two special schools.

The governor's call for a review comes on the heels of a scandal at Penn State, where former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was charged with molesting young boys at his home and on university grounds.

The regents in 2008 had the universities and special schools review and update procedures for sexual assault responses, after the UI was criticized in an investigation of its handling of a 2007 reported sexual assault involving student athletes.

Regent Bob Downer on Thursday said despite that recent review, it seems appropriate to revisit the policies. The allegations at Penn State "shine a spotlight on it" and show that "nobody can ever assume that everything is being done properly," Downer, an Iowa City attorney, said.

"It's something that we certainly should act on promptly," he said.

The presidents at the UI, ISU and UNI all deferred comment on the issue until after the regents meeting next week.

The 2008 review resulted in more information and training on each campus about the policies and in more streamlined policies that officials said offered clearer guidelines to students who are victims of sexual misconduct, assault or harassment by other students. That overhaul also dumped a controversial "informal" process the UI previously allowed, in favor of formal response processes for students to use and university officials to follow.