The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) issued a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) dated April 24, 2015 to superintendents, presidents, and other senior officials of educational institutions reminding them of their obligation to designate a Title IX coordinator as well as support the coordinator fully in efforts to ensure the institution is in compliance with Title IX.
The OCR suggested in the letter that this is a critical first step for institutions of higher learning as well as K-12 schools if they want to stay incompliance with the law
“Some of the most egregious and harmful Title IX violations occur when a recipient fails to designate a Title IX coordinator or when a Title IX coordinator has not been sufficiently trained or given the appropriate level of authority to oversee the recipient’s compliance with Title IX,” wrote Catherine E. Lhamon, assistant secretary for civil rights, in the DCL.
“It essentially says: Ignore the law and you are just waiting to get sued,” Ellen Staurowsky, Ed.D., Professor in the Center of Hospitality and Sports Management at Drexel University, told Sports Litigation Alert. “It puts all the schools on notice.”
Bethany Swaton Wagner of Jackson Lewis also noted that the DCL goes a step further. The OCR also distributed a Resource Guide that outlined considerations for selecting a coordinator, as well as a description of the “coordinator’s duties, responsibilities, and authority.” The Guide also reminded “institutions of the importance of supporting coordinators by ensuring that they are visible in the educational community and receive appropriate training,” Wagner wrote recently.
As a point of emphasis, OCR encouraged colleges and universities “to avoid designating an employee whose other job responsibilities may create a conflict of interest, such as a disciplinary board member or the institution’s general counsel, dean of students, superintendent, principal, or athletics director,” said Wagner. “The DCL states the coordinator’s role should be independent of other roles within the educational community to avoid any potential conflicts of interest.
Rather, the coordinator should have a direct reporting line to the institution’s senior leadership.”
Staurowsky noted that even with this guidance, there are “substantial conflicts of interest. Can anyone designated by the school be independent?”
OCR’s Initiative Is an Imperfect Solution
Barbara Osborne, J.D., Associate Professor in Exercise and Sport Science at the University of North Carolina, told Sports Litigation Alert that this cannot hurt. In effect, it is the OCR’s way of clearing up some spotty compliance.
“Schools have been required to designate a Title IX coordinator since the Regulations were promulgated in 1975,” said Osborne. “But like many parts of the legislation, some schools comply immediately, some schools may have just remained oblivious, and others conveniently ignore it until they are ordered to comply because of an OCR complaint or a lawsuit.
“One criticism of the Title IX coordinator requirement is that some schools treat it like a title without responsibilities, while others have a Title IX coordinator position description that outlines actual duties. This guidance letter provides additional information for schools to remind them that they must designate a Title IX coordinator and that the person with that title actually has meaningful responsibilities.”
Staurowsky wrote the following piece last year, entitled “Title IX Literacy: What College Coaches Don’t Know and Need to Find Out.”
http://www.humankinetics.com/acucustom/sitename/Documents/DocumentItem/03_JIS_1110_0051_Staurowsky_190-209.pdf
