For Tennis Parents by a Tennis Parent

Welcome to Season 10, Episode 8, of the ParentingAces Podcast. This is a Bonus Episode offered as a follow-up to the episode with David Lewis published earlier this week. Our intent is to give you further information on how to keep your children safe not only on college campuses but also throughout elementary, middle, and high school. To that end, we have attorney Karen Truszkowski and activist Katherine Redmond explaining the laws put in place to protect all children and students throughout their education journey.

For the video version of this Bonus Episode, click below:

For the audio version, click below:

Both Title IX and the Clery Act, as well as the Violence Against Women Act, were created to ensure equal access to education regardless of gender and to provide reporting requirements for educational institutions when that access has been threatened in any way. In August 2020, Title IX was amended to eliminate the reporting requirement for faculty and staff at colleges and universities – it shifted the onus to the victim. However, in K-12 schools, faculty and staff are still required to report any suspected or actual threats to their Title IX officer. Please note that Title IX applies to ALL students on college campuses regardless of their country of origin and citizenship status.

We urge you to watch/listen to the conversation with Karen and Kathy then to investigate the additional resources below. The best way to prevent your child from becoming a victim – or a perpetrator or bystander – of violence is to get informed and keep talking to your kids about these very important issues. It may not be comfortable but it is necessary.

To reach Karen, email her at Karen@temperancelegalgroup.com.

To reach Kathy, follow her on Twitter @kathyredmond and @WeLEADProject.

Reporting Responsibilities

Under both Title IX and the Clery Act, certain individuals have specific responsibilities when dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking is reported to them.

• Under the Clery Act, a group of individuals called campus security authorities (including campus policy/security, individuals with a security function, individuals written into campus security policy as someone to whom members of the community should make crime reports, and officials with significant responsibility for student and campus activities) are required to report Clery Act crimes to the designated crime collection body at the institution. Reports from CSAs inform institutional response, such as providing a victim of dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking with a written explanation of rights and options, analyzing whether there is a serious or ongoing threat that would warrant a timely warning, and determining whether a Clery Act crime occurred that must be reported in the institution’s statistics.
• Under Title IX, an institution has actual knowledge of an incident when information is reported to the Title IX coordinator or to officials with the authority to institute corrective measures. Such information results in specific actions by the institution, including outreach from the Title IX coordinator to explain what supportive measures are available and how someone can file a formal complaint with the institution. However, Title IX was amended in 2020 as follows:
  • Narrowing the definition of sexual assault under Title IX
  • Limiting the obligation to investigate complaints only to conduct that occurred in the school’s program or activity (and not to unrelated off campus conduct)
  • Mandatory response obligations of schools (i.e., providing supportive measures)
  • A change to the standard for school liability
  • More detailed grievance procedures that will alter the way schools process and respond to complaints
  • Hearings are optional, written questions required (for K-12 Schools)
  • Schools may choose what standard of evidence to use (e.g. preponderance of evidence v. clear and convincing)
  • Schools must offer both parties an appeal from a determination regarding responsibility

Providing Support to Reporting Parties Victims

• Under the Clery Act, institutions must provide victims of dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking  with information in writing about options for, available assistance in, and how to request changes to academic, living, transportation, and working accommodations, as well as other protective measures. These options must be provided if requested and reasonably available, regardless of whether or not the person chooses to report to campus police or local law enforcement. The institution’s policy also must describe the range of protective measures available during the disciplinary process.
• Under Title IX, when an institution has actual knowledge of an incident, the Title IX coordinator provides the reporting party with information on supportive measures, which are non-disciplinary, non-punitive, individualized services offered as appropriate, as reasonably available, and without fee or charge. Supportive measures may be provided before or after the filing of a formal complaint or where no formal complaint has been filed. These services are also provided to the respondent during a disciplinary process.

Disciplinary/Grievance Procedures

Both the Clery Act and Title IX guide disciplinary procedures for incidents involving dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.  While not a complete list, here are some examples of where and how the Clery Act and Title IX intersect in relation to the implementation of disciplinary procedures:

• The Clery Act requires institutions to explain the types of proceedings, steps involved, and timelines for such procedures within their policies.
• Title IX provides specific steps that must take place as part of an institution’s disciplinary process or, as Title IX describes it, grievance procedures.
• Under the Clery Act, institutions must describe what standard of evidence they use for such proceedings, while Title IX specifies that the policies addressing Title IX requirements must state whether the institution uses the preponderance of the evidence or clear and convincing standard.
• Title IX requires institutions to describe the range of sanctions imposed for incidents of dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking, whereas the Clery Act requires that the policy must list all possible sanctions.
• Both laws require training for individuals involved in disciplinary proceedings.
• The Clery Act requires that complainants and respondents each have the same opportunity to have others present at disciplinary proceedings (which includes formal and nonformal meetings), including an advisor of choice. Similarly, Title IX affords an advisor of choice. Title IX requires the grievance process to provide for a live hearing and makes the advisor of choice responsible for conducting cross-examination during the live hearing.
• Both the Clery Act and Title IX require simultaneous notification in writing to complainants and respondents of the results of disciplinary proceedings.

Kristin’s Krusade