“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 education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” (Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972)
This law reaches far beyond the sports programs, which is what many initially thought of when Title IX was enacted. It places an obligation on any educational institution receiving federal financial assistance to ensure, not only its students, but also its staff, are free from any sort of discrimination based on sex.
According to the April 4, 2011 Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR), Dear Colleague Letter, “discrimination on the basis of sex includes sexual harassment and sexual violence. Sexual violence refers to rape, sexual assault, sexual battery and sexual coercion. All such acts of sexual violence are forms of sexual harassment covered under Title IX.”
In order to do that, those educational institutions must investigate claims of sexual discrimination, sexual harassment and sexual assault in a manner, which protects both the complainant and the accused. OCR requires that the Title IX investigation be “adequate, reliable, impartial and prompt and include the opportunity for both parties to present witnesses and other evidence.”
While many education institutions have the resources and ability to conduct investigations in-house, there may be situations where doing so is not feasible. OCR’s requirement for a “prompt” investigation may necessitate an outside investigator with specific knowledge of Title IX to conduct the investigation.
Kathy has extensive knowledge and training in conducting Title IX investigations and has the ability to approach all investigations in an unbiased manner. Her reports are detailed and provide a thorough fact-finding analysis.