Title IX Reporting Process Your Rights & How to File a Complaint

Today we’re going to discuss the Title IX reporting process, an essential tool for addressing discrimination and harassment in educational settings. Understanding this process is crucial for anyone who has experienced or witnessed conduct that violates Title IX, so you can understand the reporting process, how a Title IX investigation works, your protections if you choose to report, and what you can do if you believe your school is mishandling your report. Title IX is a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity. This includes sexual harassment, sexual assault, stalking, and any form of gender-based violence or discrimination. If you’ve experienced or witnessed any of these behaviors, whether by another student, a professor, or teacher, or other faculty member. You have the right to file a Title IX complaint with your school. Under Title IX, an individual who reports is protected from retaliation for filing a complaint or participating in the investigation process.

This means the school cannot take adverse actions against you, such as suspending you or excluding you from activities. Additionally, schools are required to provide supportive measures to ensure that you can continue your education free from harassment or discrimination from the accused faculty members or other students. These measures might include providing counseling services, academic accommodations, or changes to housing or class schedule. Now let’s talk about the actual Title IX reporting and investigation process. The first step in the Title IX process is filing a complaint with your school’s Title IX coordinator. You can usually find out who this is by searching your school’s website for Title IX office or Title IX coordinator. If you’re still unsure, you can reach out to the Student Affairs Office and they should be able to assist. When filing the initial complaint, you have a right to have your guardian or parents there and or a trusted advisor, which can be a lawyer or trained independent advocate.

The report will ask for your contact information and the contact information of any trusted individuals such as your parents or guardian or the advisor you bring with you. It will then have a space for describing the incidents in your own words, and then we’ll ask specific questions related to the time and place the harm happens, who was involved and how the harm has impacted you. You will then list any available evidence alongside the information of the person who caused harm and what remedies you are seeking. You may find it helpful to search online for a sample Title IX complaints and fill it out to help you process your experience, what the report will ask, and prepare answers so you can be more informed and empowered going into the reporting process. Once you’ve filed a complaint, your school’s Title IX coordinator will initiate an investigation. This process typically involves notifying both parties, interviewing you, interviewing the accused individual or individuals, and any witnesses, as well as reviewing relevant evidence such as camera, footage, or communications that document the incident.

There will then be a hearing where both students are present and both sides present their statements. The Title IX coordinator or another decision maker will review the facts and determine responsibility and sanctions. They will then notify both parties of their decision during this entire process. Both parties have the right to review and respond to evidence and collected during the investigation and be accompanied by someone of their choice. All parts of this process, including the hearing, which can be a lawyer or independent expert advocate. While we recommend contacting a lawyer prior to filing a Title IX report, if you are already in the middle of the process or you believe that your school is mishandling your Title IX reports, you can still get help. First, ensure that you have clear documentation of the incidents and what’s happened in the reporting process Thus far. The more organized and easy to understand, the better.If you haven’t already, you may want to consider submitting a complaint or sending written notice to a higher authority beyond the Title IX coordinator to express your concerns, and a lawyer can help you draft this if necessary. If the issue persists, you should immediately reach out to a law firm who has experience with Title IX cases. Organizations like Helping Survivors can assist you in finding a law that can discuss your specific situation and help you take the right next step, including potentially filing a civil lawsuit against the perpetrator and or the university itself to help ensure you get justice. Survivors of sexual abuse or harassment within a university system deserve to feel safe. They also deserve to be informed of the Title IX process and not be retaliated against or re-Traumatized by universities who fail to uphold their legal requirements related to Title IX. If you’ve experienced or witnessed any form of behavior that you believe violates Title IX, know that you have rights and options and we are here to help.