Helping Clients Respond to Title IX Enforcement Actions
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) protects individuals from being subjected to discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance. Title IX applies to all institutions that receive funding from the U.S. Department of Education, including colleges and universities, school districts and for-profit institutions. Schools that receive financial assistance from the Department of Education are subject to strict Title IX standards and requirements, ranging from recruitment and admissions, to employment and athletics, to the handling of sexual violence and harassment complaints. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights is responsible for enforcing Title IX and works to ensure that recipients of federal funds are operating their institutions in a nondiscriminatory fashion.
OCR Complaints
The attorneys in HMBR’s Education Practice have a first-hand understanding of how the U.S. Department of Education investigates, examines, and resolves potential violations of Title IX. Members of our team have years of experience working within the U.S. Department of Education, including serving in senior level positions at the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Our lawyers know the specific processes and techniques that OCR and other departments use to evaluate and investigate Title IX and other related complaints.
When an educational institution receives notification that the OCR has opened a complaint for investigation, our team guides the institution through every step of the process. We help the client cooperate and respond to OCR requests and work to negotiate a resolution agreement that is in the best interests of our client. If a resolution is not attainable, we help the client challenge the OCR’s findings, from filing an appeal of the OCR’s determination with the Director of the Enforcement Office to appealing the agency’s final decision in federal court.