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Professional Perspective: Vice President of Student Services

Field of Education: Master of Education in Student Development and Leadership in Higher Education

Audience Description: Student Affair Professionals and Administrators

Topic for Legal Guide: Reporting sexual misconduct

Reason for Topic: I chose to focus on the reporting of sexual misconduct. Sexual misconduct/violence is a trending topic in higher education. Also, it is important to understand how to aid victims and report sexual misconduct.

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For this assignment, I interviewed Dr. Jennifer Kent. She is the Vice President of Administration and the Title IX Coordinator, at Ranger College. https://www.rangercollege.edu/administration/

The topic of Sexual misconduct is impacting my field of education because of the different laws associated with reporting sexual misconduct. The reporting practices are important because they can have a negative impact on an institution of higher education and cause a legal dispute, if not appropriately reported.

Best Practices:

Attend Crimes Against Women Conference

Read articles, laws, polices and briefings regarding sexual misconduct

Reach out to local crisis centers for updated laws, pertaining to sexual misconduct

Current Issues:
Title IX is an emerging issue that affects reporting. The current federal government is changing the laws that are currently in place. Therefore, if the laws are amended, this will affect all current reporting policies (J. Kent, personal communication, February 24, 2020).

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In the podcast, Senior Vice President David Baime talks about the current Title IX regulations and how to treat allegations of sexual harassment to comply with Title IX (Baime, 2018). The resource is informative to this legal guide because it discusses what constitutes sexual misconduct and the importance in complying with Title IX and the Clery Act. It also discusses the geographic reporting restrictions regarding sexual misconduct under the Title IX (Baime, 2018).

Weblink:
https://www.aacc.nche.edu/2018/11/20/community-college-voice-podcast-episode-9/

Reference:
Baime, D. (Senior Vice President, Government Relations & Policy Analysis). (2018, November 20). What ED's Title IX proposal means for your college [Audio podcast]. URL. https://www.aacc.nche.edu/2018/11/20/community-college-voice-podcast-episode-9/

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This article states, Betsy DeVous proposed a rule that would allow for individuals who report being sexually assaulted or harassed to submit to cross-examination in a live hearing (Murakami, 2020).

Affects reporting practices

Victims may not want to come forward

Victims cannot remain anonymous

Title IX staff are predominantly female who might be biased

Reporting Concerns:

accused could be denied due process

Victims cannot remain anonymous

Biased decision made by a Title IX staff member

(Murakami, 2020).

Weblink: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/02/18/title-ix-debate-complicates-push-higher-education-act-reauthorization

Reference:
Murakami, K. (2020). Title IX complicates hill negotiations on higher Ed. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/02/18/title-ix-debate-complicates-push-higher-education-act-reauthorization

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The article states, The University of Utah is responsible for Lauren McCluskey death. The college is under fire because they failed to aid the victim when she contacted multiple on-campus employees about her ex-boyfriend (Bauer-Wolf, 2019).

Reported sexual misconduct 20 times

Friends reported concerns about her well being but nothing was investigated

Local Police was contacted but did not help her

Reporting Concerns:

Paper report was never filed when the electronic reporting system down

Title IX Coordinator was never contacted about the sexual misconduct

On-campus security did not follow up

Housing staff did  not enforce the rules pertaining to unauthorized visitors

(Bauer-Wolf, 2019).

Weblink:
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/01/22/slain-university-utah-student-asked-campus-police-help-multiple-times-no-results

Reference:
Bauer-Wolf, J. (2019). Multiple warnings, no action. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/01/22/slain-university-utah-student-asked-campus-police-help-multiple-times-no-results

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Title IX
Title IX is a federal law that requires all federally funded institutions of higher education to report all sexual misconducts. Under the Title IX law, all students, regardless of gender, are protected from sexual discrimination (20 U.S.C. §§ 1681-1688).

"Federal Statutory Law"

Weblink: https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:20%20section:1681%20edition:prelim)%20OR%20(granuleid:USC-prelim-title20-section1681)&f=treesort&edition=prelim&num=0&jumpTo=true

Reference:
Title IX of the Education Amendments Act, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1681-1688 (1972).

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The Clery Act
The Clery Act requires all federally funded institutions of higher education to statistically report all allegations of sexual misconduct involving staff, faculty, students and/or visitors. These incidents must be reported even if criminal charges are not filled (34 C.F.R. 668.46). Examples of sexual misconduct are listed below:

Sexual Assault

Stalking

Fondling

Incest

Dating Violence

(34. C.F.R. 668.46).

"Federal Administrative Law"

Weblink:
https://gov.ecfr.io/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=fedf38a163301ba1402352536e2571ff&mc=true&node=se34.3.668_146&rgn=div8

Reference:
The Clery Act, 34 C.F.R. 668.46

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Texas Education Code 51.252
The law identifies all employees, within an educational institution, as responsible employees. This means, employees who witness or receive information regarding sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, or stalking is required to report immediately to the Title IX Coordinator. This law also requires all educational institutions to terminate employees who violate the policy, by failing to report these sexual misconducts (Tex. Educ. Code § 51.252).

"State Judicial Law"

Weblink:
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ED/htm/ED.51.htm#51.252

Reference:
Reporting Required For Certain Incidents, Tex. Educ. Code § 51.252

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Texas Education Code 51.9363
The law requires all institutions of higher education to establish a policy on campus sexual assault. The policy must include the following information:

Definitions of prohibited behavior

Sanctions for violations

Protocol for reporting and responding to reports of campus sexual assault

The policy must be included in the institution's student handbook and personnel handbook. It should also be available on the institution's web page. The law also requires institutions of higher education to provide all entering freshman or undergraduate transfer students with an orientation on the institution's campus sexual assault policy (Tex. Educ. Code § 51.9363).

"State Statutory Law"

Weblink:
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ED/htm/ED.51.HTM.OLD-2018-10-12.htm#51.9363

Reference:
Campus Sexual Assault Policy, Tex. Educ. Code  § 51.9363

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Ranger College prohibits and will not tolerate, any form of sexual misconduct. To address incidences regarding sexual misconduct, Ranger College created a Title IX Policy manual. The manual provides information regarding policies and procedures, to ensure employees provide legal and ethical assistance to aid victims of sexual misconduct. For instance, students who have experienced a sexual misconduct incident and are unsure about reporting the assault, are encouraged to preserve information and materials related to the assault. They are encouraged to write the incident down, save any emails, voice mails and etc. This will help aid the student, when they are ready to report the assault, by helping them remember details about the incident
(Ranger College Title IX Policy Manual, 2019).

Weblink:
https://www.rangercollege.edu/title9.pdf

Reference:
Ranger College. (2019). Title IX Policy Manual, Reporting Policies and Procedures, Part II, § P.8.e. Retrieved from https://www.rangercollege.edu/title9.pdf

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In the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) (2006), under Professional Responsibility and Competence 2.6 reads, "Inform students of the nature and/or limits of confidentiality. They will share information about the students online in accordance with institutional policies and applicable laws. When given their permission, or when required to prevent personal harm to themselves or others" (p. 3). As the Vice President of Student Services, it is my duty to aid the victim of sexual assault. However, I must inform them about the limits of confidentiality, if they decide to follow up with the Title IX Coordinator.

Weblink:
https://www.myacpa.org/sites/default/files/Ethical_Principles_Standards.pdf

Reference: American College Personnel Association. (2006). Statement of ethical principles and standards. Retrieved from https://www.myacpa.org/sites/default/files/Ethical_Principles_Standards.pdf

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The website, Know Your IX was founded in 2013 by an American political advocacy group. The resource is utilized to inform students of their rights regarding sexual misconduct and gender based discrimination. On the website under, "College Resources", is information that educates institutions of higher education on who is protected under Title IX.  It also provides information pertaining to current legal trends and guidelines on reporting sexual misconduct ("Know Your IX", 2013).

Weblink:
https://www.knowyourix.org/

Reference:
Know Your IX. (2013). Retrieved from https://www.knowyourix.org/

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Best Practices and Recommendations:

Provide academic advisors and all student affair professionals with intensive training in communication regarding sexual misconduct, because they are not trained counselors (J. Kent, personal communication, February 24, 2020).

Extend a sexual misconduct training to local citizens and all students to bring awareness regarding sexual misconduct crimes and how to report (J. Kent, personal communication, February 24, 2020).

Educate all employees within an educational institution regarding policies and procedures about reporting sexual misconduct (J. Kent, personal communication, February 24, 2020).

Mandate academic advisors and student affair professionals to join a professional organization to stay current with laws regarding sexual misconduct and reporting practices (J.Kent, personal communication, February 24, 2020).

Provide free self defense classes to all students, regardless of gender that incorporates prevention and reporting practices (J. Kent, personal communication, February 24, 2020).

Provide online support to help educate all students about student support services and resources regarding campus safety and how to report sexual misconduct (Demchak, 2016).

References:
Demchak, J. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.marsh.com/us/insights/risk-in-context/5-best-practices-to-help-reduce-sexual-assaults-on-college-campuses.html