By Ally Lanasa, Staff Writer
(Sept. 24, 2020) A change in the Title IX federal rule prohibiting schools and colleges from discriminating on the basis of sex has added a new means of providing due process for students accused of sexual assault.
The rule changes went into effect on Aug. 14 after two years of debate.
“Today marks a new era in the storied history of Title IX in which the right to equal access to education required by law is truly protected for all students,” wrote Betsy DeVos, former U.S. Secretary of Education, in a press release on Aug. 14. “Every student should know that their school will be held accountable for responding to incidents of sexual misconduct and that it must treat all students fairly. This rule, as courts have recently noted, restores balance to the scales of justice in our schools, ending one of the most infamous and damaging overreaches of the previous administration.”
The new rule narrows the definition of sexual harassment and provides that a person accused of sexual misconduct is entitled to a hearing before a panel, and the right to cross-examine accusers.
But the Department of Education’s rule, which replaces an Obama Administration rule that afforded more protection for alleged victims, also offers survivors supportive measures, to select one of two standards of evidence and to provide “rape shield” protections and ensure survivors are not required to reveal any medical, psychological or similar privileged records.
In addition, the regulation defines sexual harassment to include sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking as unlawful discrimination on the basis of sex.
The Worcester County Board of Education adopted the policy called “Title IX Sexual Harassment” to the Equity and Opportunity section of the Organization of the Worcester County School System.
Dr. Dwayne Abt
Dr. Dwayne Abt, the chief of safety & human relations officer at Worcester County Public Schools, said lawyers at the Maryland Association of Boards of Education helped lead the local school system through the new provisions.
Prior to the most recent Title IX rule, Abt said the county school system had regulations in effect to protect its employees and students.
“Specifically dealing with Title IX, we had a policy already in place for Title IX grievance procedures,” Abt said. “We have a policy in place for harassment of employees, which includes sexual harassment and other types of harassment. And then, we also have a policy in place for students, for student bullying, harassment and intimidation. That policy encompasses sexual harassment, dealing at the student level.”
As part of the new rule, the board designated Abt as the school system’s Title IX coordinator during its meeting on Sept. 15.
“As the Title IX coordinator, the primary responsibility that I have there is to coordinate the school district’s compliance with Title IX, and that includes the district’s grievance procedures and resolution in complaint.”
In the case of a school system, Abt added that he must report incidents of child abuse or neglect. For alleged reports of adults, he is not required to report incidents that do not necessarily meet the threshold of a criminal act.
“That’s what this new policy and administrative procedure guides school officials on —how to receive formal complaints, how to investigate those complaints, timelines associated with those complaints, resolutions, processes, appeals and record keeping,” Abt said.
Worcester County Public Schools’ new policy states that the district “does not discriminate on the basis of sex in any education program or activity that it operates, including admission and employment.”
The local school system is required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the regulations enforced by the U.S. Department of Education not to discriminate in such a manner.
Questions about the application of the Title IX rule to Worcester County Public Schools can be addressed to Abt, Catherine E. Lhamon, the assistant secretary for civil rights of the Department of Education, or both.
According to the county school system’s policy, any person can report incidents of sex discrimination, including sexual harassment in person, by mail, by telephone or by e-mail at any time using the following contact information:
Office address: 6270 Worcester Highway Newark, Maryland 21841; Email: TitleIX@worcesterk12.org; Phone number: 410-632-5000.
If the alleged harassment or discrimination on the basis of sex does not meet the definition of sexual harassment, Abt will direct the person through the appropriate sex discrimination process for investigation.
“I would actually receive the complaint as the Title IX coordinator, and I would facilitate all paperwork and any resolution process. In addition to me just receiving the complaint, someone that we designate at the school system would have to investigate those allegations,” Abt said.
“Now, I cannot receive the complaint and do the investigation,” Abt said, noting one change in the new rule, which had allowed one person to handle and investigate an accusation.
“It has to be a separate person, so we try to take the bias out of it. And then, there’s a third person that we call the decision-maker that would look at the investigation and make a final decision of was it sexual harassment, was it not sexual harassment, what consequences might be levied against the employee.”
“Of course, we would work with authorities if it met a criminal threshold,” Abt said. “But if it’s, say, if it’s a report within our school system that doesn’t meet those thresholds, we have guidance on how to conduct those investigations. The new investigation and process is basically like a court hearing.”
Abt, who is entering his third year at Worcester County Public Schools, added that he has received no complaints.
The policy also states that Worcester County Public Schools prohibits any form of retaliation against a person because he or she “made a report or complaint, testified, assisted, or participated or refused to participate in any manner in an investigation proceeding or hearing, if applicable.”