Today is the day. After almost two years of thinking about whether the proposed Title IX regulations would go into effect at all, starting today we are operating under the new rules at schools, colleges, and universities across the country. In addition to preparing for an unprecedented school year opening, we know you’re also on top of all the training and policy revisions needed for compliance. (You are, right? If not, find more information here.) But don’t forget the requirement to update your website with certain information, including your nondiscrimination statement, Title IX Coordinator information, training materials used to train your Title IX Team, and a provisional grievance procedure if your policies are not yet finalized, by today. In our experience, most higher education institutions already have extensive Title IX presences on their websites, so you may just need to make a few adjustments. But this requirement is just the kind that might slip under the radar for many K-12 schools. Our team at Franczek P.C. has put together website and procedural language to help schools easily comply. Reach out to us at titleIX@franczek.com for more information. The following are the requirements from the regulations as to what an institution must post on its websites by tomorrow to be in compliance.
- All training materials used to train the Title IX Team. An institution must post all materials used to train its Title IX Coordinators, investigators, decision-makers, and any person who facilitates an informal resolution process on its publicly available website, if it has one. Yes, that means all materials, just make sure you keep all the pesky copyright issues in mind. If you completed your training with Franczek P.C. and have not received your materials, contact us at titleIX@franczek.com and we can get you a PDF right away.
- Title IX Coordinator Information. An institution must post the name or title, office address, electronic mail address, and telephone number of the employee or employees designated as the Title IX Coordinator on its website, if it has one.
We have reviewed PRESS’s policy and recommend some changes to the policy language. Contact us at titleIX@franczek.com to obtain a copy of a provisional administrative procedure for your website and a revised policy for Board review and approval.
- Policy language. An institution must post a copy of its nondiscrimination statement on its website, if it has one. The nondiscrimination statement must include a statement that the institution does not discriminate on the basis of sex in the education program or activity that it operates, that it is required by Title IX and the regulations implementing Title IX not to discriminate on the basis of sex, that the requirement not to discriminate extends to admission (for higher education institutions) and employment, and that inquiries about the application of Title IX and the regulations implementing Title IX may be referred to the Title IX Coordinator or to the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, or both.
We recommend, however, that particularly where training materials and provisional procedures must be posted online, institutions create a standalone page addressing nondiscrimination containing this required information.
- Provisional Title IX Sexual Harassment Grievance Process. We know many of you have not yet obtained Board approval for your Title IX Sexual Harassment Grievance policy documents. That’s ok, especially for PRESS subscribers who just received the draft policies on August 7. But we are recommending that you post a provisional policy or administrative procedure on your website today and keep it there (and use it!) until your Board is able to customize, finalize, and approve your final policy, which for PRESS subscribers is policy 2:265. We have reviewed PRESS’s policy and recommend some changes to the policy language. Contact us at titleIX@franczek.com to obtain a copy of a provisional administrative procedure for your website and a revised policy for Board review and approval.
Most schools post their policies online already, which often include Title IX Coordinator and nondiscrimination language. So many likely are technically in compliance with at least some of these requirements. We recommend, however, that particularly where training materials and provisional procedures must be posted online, institutions create a standalone page addressing nondiscrimination containing this required information. As noted previously, Franczek has prepared template language for K-12 institutions seeking a path to compliance. To obtain a copy of the template language we have prepared for compliance with these mandates, contact us at titleIX@franczek.com.