Complaint Processing

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It’s an all-too-common scenario these days: Students  report sexual misconduct perpetrated against other, often unnamed students. They post anonymously on Instagram. They hang letters on walls or post complaints on bulletin boards. They hold protests and speak out at board meetings. Often, the allegations are nothing more than vague references to harassment and mishandling of reports by the institution. Our Title IX Decision Tree walks you through various decision steps of the Title IX process, including those related to bystander and anonymous complaints. We also have a free flowchart that addresses responding to bystander and anonymous complaints; email us at titleix@franczek.com to request a copy. For more on how to respond to bystander and anonymous sexual harassment reports under Title IX, keep reading here.
Continue Reading Responding to Bystander and Anonymous Sexual Harassment Complaints

When it issued its final Title IX regulations in May 2020, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights said in the preamble to the rules that it would not enforce the final rules retroactively. It repeated that position in a blog post on August 5, 2020, saying unequivocally that “the Rule governs how schools must respond to sexual harassment that allegedly occurs on or after August 14, 2020.” Schools, colleges, and universities rightfully understood that they should use their old Title IX procedures to address conduct occurring before August 14, 2020.

A recent court decision from the Northern District of New York has called that understanding of the new regulations into serious doubt. The court refused to grant OCR any real deference on whether educational institutions should use new Title IX procedures for pre-August 14 conduct. There are some critical features of the case that schools, colleges, and universities can rely on to support using old Title IX procedures for conduct that occurred before the effective date of the new rules. But there is no question that the decision increases the risk of legal challenges by respondents against their schools for using old procedures in ongoing or new cases. Educational institutions should work with legal counsel to address whether the court’s decision necessitates changes to the processing of existing or future complaints under Title IX.
Continue Reading Are the New Title IX Regulations Retroactive? One Court Says Yes

With guest co-author Erin Walsh

Last week, the U.S. Department of Education issued a Questions and Answers for Postsecondary Institutions Regarding the COVID-19 National Emergency document reminding colleges and universities that responsibilities to accommodate students with disabilities and process Title IX sexual misconduct complaints continue during the coronavirus disease 2019 public health crisis. Although the FAQ is aimed at postsecondary schools, the discussion is equally applicable to K-12 schools. The gist of the FAQ is that, although some disability accommodations may be more likely to be unduly burdensome or a fundamental alteration of a school’s programs or activities because of COVID-19, educational institutions must nonetheless take all steps, “to the maximum extent possible,” to allow students with disabilities to participate in and receive the benefits of or services offered by their schools. With respect to Title IX, the FAQ is a reminder that although delays in the processing of Title IX complaints may be justified by the public health crisis, hearings and investigations should not be delayed simply because in-person interviews or hearings are “cumbersome or not feasible.” Nor should blanket policies putting all investigations or disciplinary proceedings on hold be used. Institutions should still accept harassment complaints even if they are only offering distance learning and should notify community members if there have been changes to the way complaints can be submitted or are processed. The FAQ also reminded schools that no-contact and no-communication agreeme3nts or orders between complainants and respondents should continue to be enforced, although some may require modification because of changed circumstances due to COVID-19.
Continue Reading Lessons from Recent ED Guidance on Civil Rights in Education Under COVID-19