Title IX: What Every School Employee Needs to Know

SAU # 23

September 5, 2016

Laurie Melanson, Superintendent

District Title IX Coordinator

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Resources: Drummond and Woodsum Train the Trainer Series

SAU 23 Policy GBAA

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What to expect:

• Overview of the federal law
• Our policy
• Your responsibility
• Recent considerations

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Title IX

• “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance?

Athletics

• Title IX requires that male and female athletes receive the same quality of support and that the program for each gender equally meets the needs of the athletes involved.

Title IX Coordinators

• Ensure broad distribution of the district’s Title IX notice
• Manage the district’s grievance process
• Perform investigations
• Take remedial action, as necessary
• Train all responsible employees in the district
• District coordinator is the Superintendent
• Building coordinators are building administrators and designees

Common Title IX Trouble Spots

• Sexual harassment – conduct of a sexual nature that is unwelcome to the recipient and affects his or her ability to access educational benefits.
• Sexual violence- “physical sexual acts perpetrated against a person’s will or where a person is incapable of giving consent.

Things to keep in mind

According to the OCR, “sexual conduct” and “sexual acts” are broader than you might think.

• In addition to traditional male/female and same sex interactions, harassment based on gender identity or nonconformity with sex stereo-types are prohibited under Title IX.
• In addition to sexual assault, sexual violence includes any physical sexual act perpetrated against a person’s will

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More things to keep in mind

• Studies show that bystander inertia is a major contributor to continuation of harassing conduct including sexual violence. It is important to make sure that adult bystanders act quickly to stop conduct that is potentially harassing.
• Fred Fuller case highlights personal responsibility and liability for knowing about sexual harassment.

Your Obligations – read policy GBAA

• 1. Take every report seriously
• 2. Notify any student who complains about what information will be disclosed any by whom
• 3. Explain student’s confidentiality rights. Never promise to keep the report strictly confidential. Explain who you will be reporting the incident to and the school’s obligation to protect the complainant’s privacy.

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• 4. Report immediately to your building principal or the Superintendent

What you must report

• Name of complainant
• Name of alleged perpetrator
• Brief description of what occurred
• Whether complainant has requested confidentiality.

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• If you don’t have all the information, provide what you do have. A lack of full information is never an excuse not to report.

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• If you witness sexual harassment or sexual violence, intervene to stop the conduct. Report what you have seen to the building principal or superintendent.

Title IX Violations

• Violations of the rules surrounding Title IX can result in stiff penalties:

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• Loss of federal funding or money damages awarded against the school district

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• Failure to comply with your obligations under Title IX constitutes misconduct under state and federal law as well as Board Policy and will result in discipline, up to and including discharge.

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Examples of sexual violence and sexual harassment

• HS female walks up to a male, grabs his private area and says, “Nice junk”.
• Grab – sexual violence No grab – sexual harassment
• HS male patted on bottom by HS female – sexual harassment
• EL girl pats boy on bottom – probably not
• Male pushes girl on shoulder – not sexual in nature, not harassment

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Transgender access – Federal Law

• Transgender students are allowed access to the facilities of the gender they identify with, not their biological gender.
• If you have a transgender student, talk with the student and parent about meeting with the guidance counselor and principal to develop a plan.
• Be sensitive to the fact that transgender and transitioning students may be at a higher risk for being bullied or harassed. Immediately notify your administrator if you become aware of a problem.

How might a school’s Title IX obligations be enforced?

• By the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) through enforcement action and possible removal of federal funding.
• By a civil lawsuit where a successful plaintiff is entitled to money damages, injunctive relief and an award of attorney’s fees.
• Violation of Title IX can be costly!