Misconduct

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This week, the United States Department of Education (DOE) announced a new Title IX enforcement initiative led by the DOE’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to combat the rise of sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual misconduct, and sexual violence incidents occurring in elementary and secondary (K-12) public schools involving both student-on-student and staff-on-student incidents.

OCR is an enforcement arm of the United States Department of Education which enforces a number of civil rights laws in programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance. “Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX), 20 U.S.C §§ 1681 et seq., prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs and activities operated by recipients of federal financial assistance. Title IX’s prohibition of discrimination includes sexual harassment and assault, which interferes with students’ rights to receive an education free from discrimination on the basis of sex.” [1]

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Continue Reading New Title IX Enforcement Initiative to Address Sexual Misconduct in K-12 Public Schools

Capitol Building

In November 2018, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) proposed new Title IX regulations concerning sexual harassment, including sexual assault, and received over 100,000 comments during the public comment period. As of today, the regulations have not been finalized. However, four congresspersons recently introduced legislation in the House of Representatives that would prohibit implementation of the proposed Title IX regulations.

The bill, H.R. 5388, introduced by Representative Elissa Slotkin and co-sponsored by Representatives Ayanna Pressley, Jackie Speier, and Annie Kuster, provides that “the Secretary of Education may not issue or enforce certain rules that weaken the enforcement of the prohibition of sex discrimination applicable under Title IX.” Specifically, the bill states that the Secretary of Education may not (1) take any action to implement, enforce, and/or give effect to the proposed regulations, or (2) propose or issue any rule or guidance that is substantially the same as the proposed regulations. Rep. Slotkin’s press release states that the new regulations “could have a chilling effect on students’ willingness to come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct and would be a detriment to survivors and to students in general and the academic institutions they attend.”

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Continue Reading House Reps Introduce Last-Minute Bill That Would Block Proposed Title IX Regulations Before Their Imminent Release

Top Ten Pitfalls of Title IX Investigations and How to Avoid Them

Fall is here and in full swing! Many of us thought that as we sipped hot apple cider and watched the leaves on the trees change color, we would also be mulling over the new regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Education. Betsy DeVos’ timetable is clearly not ours. While we wait for the regulations to be issued, let us look at our current Title IX investigations and what we can do to improve them. Here they are—the top ten pitfalls of Title IX investigations and how to avoid them:
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Continue Reading Top Ten Pitfalls of Title IX Investigations and How to Avoid Them

This article originally appeared in Corporate Counsel

Part One: The Changing Corporate Counsel Landscape

Gavel with Check List ClipboardIn this renewed era of individual responsibility for corporate malfeasance, corporate counsel would be well advised to help protect themselves from personal liability by taking six steps of their own when notified of allegations of wrongdoing within the company.

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Continue Reading Part 2: Six Steps Corporate Counsel Must Take to Protect Themselves During Government Investigations