FSU NEW FACULTY ORIENTATION:UNDERSTANDING TITLE IX

Jennifer Broomfield, LISW, JDTitle IX Director

Office of the Provost

WHAT IS TITLE IX?

• 37 Words: – “No person in the United States shall, on

the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”• Title IX of the 1972 Educational Amendment

SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?PART I

• Title IX requires:– Gender equity

• Title applies to:– Students– Faculty– Staff– Visitors– University activity on and off campus

SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? PART II

• Title IX prohibits Sexual Misconduct:– Sex discrimination and harassment – Sexual Violence (rape, sexual assault and

sexual battery)– Intimate partner violence (dating &

domestic violence)– Gender based animosity (discrimination,

harassment and violence)– Sexual /gender stereotyping– Stalking

WHAT IS HARASSMENT?

• Sexual Harassment: – is sexual in nature – is unwelcome– denies/limits a student’s ability to

participate in/benefit from a school’s education program.

• U.S. Dept. of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Sexual Harassment: It’s Not Academic, Washington, D.C., 2008

WHAT IS A HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT?

• Subjective and objective standard• A hostile environment exists when

the sexual misconduct:– is severe or pervasive (a single act of

sexual violence may meet the criteria for severe)

– has the effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s educational or employment opportunities

WHAT IS CONSENT?PART I

• kNOw MORE definition:–Asking the question–Of a capable person–With Adequate disclosure–Without coercion

WHAT IS CONSENT?PART II

• Consent to one sexual act is NOT consent to another act.

• Consent can be withdrawn at ANY time, as long as the withdrawal is clearly communicated by the person withdrawing the consent.

• Consent to a sexual act yesterday is NOT consent to that act today.

WHAT IS OUR NON-RETALIATION POLICY?

• Retaliation is prohibited against individuals who:–Make a complaint– Help someone report– Participate in an investigation– Oppose discriminatory conduct

• Retaliation by third parties is also prohibited

WHAT FSU POLICIES APPLY?

• Title IX Statement– https://smr.fsu.edu/documents/TitleIXStatement.pdf

• Student Conduct Code– https://dos.fsu.edu/srr/conduct-codes/

• EOC Non-discrimination policy– http://policies.vpfa.fsu.edu/personnel/3i.html#3

• Sexual harassment policy– http://hr.fsu.edu/?page=eoc/eoc_sexual_harassment

• Sexual battery policy– http://policies.vpfa.fsu.edu/bmanual/battery.html

• Coming soon: Unified Sexual Misconduct policy

WHAT ARE OUR TITLE IX OBLIGATIONS?

• Legal Duties:– Investigate• Regardless of criminal investigation

– Eliminate– Address Effects– Prevent Recurrence

WHEN IS FSU ON NOTICE OF AN INCIDENT?

• When we know or reasonably should know–When a Responsible Employee knew,

or in the exercise of reasonable care, should have known about the sexual misconduct• Responsible Employees must report

incidents of sexual misconduct

WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE EMPLOYEES?

• “Responsible Employees”– Any employee who is NOT a confidential

source.– FSU Confidential sources• Victim Advocates• Mental health counselors (UCC and EAP)• University health center medical staff• Pastoral counselors

WHAT MUST BE REPORTED?

• Names of Reporting Individual and Responding Individual

• Other Parties Involved in the alleged incident

• Date, time and location of alleged incident

• Other relevant information (however, do NOT conduct your own investigation)

HOW IS A REPORT MADE?

• You can make a report of sexual misconduct to:– Title IX Director– Title IX Deputy Coordinators

• Renisha Gibbs: faculty, staff & visitor• Vanessa Fuchs: athletics

– Dean of Students / Students Rights and Responsibilties– Office of Equal Opportunity & Compliance– FSU Police Department– Others:

• Supervisor• FSU’s EthicsPoint (anonymous hotline)

CAN I FILE AN ONLINE REPORT?

• YES!

• FSU Title IX Office– www.titleix.fsu.edu • Click on “File a Report”

WHAT OTHER INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE TITLE IX OFFICE WEBSITE?

• FSU Title IX Statement

• DOE Guidance Documents

• Links to FSU, community, state and local resources

WHO INVESTIGATES?• It depends!

• Non-criminal investigations:– EOC

• Complaints about faculty, staff , visitors and contractors• Procedures:

– http://policies.vpfa.fsu.edu/personnel/3i.html#3– Title IX Office/DOS

• Complaints about students• Procedures:

– https://smr.fsu.edu/documents/TitleIXStatement.pdf– https://dos.fsu.edu/srr/conduct-codes/

• Criminal investigations:– FSU Police Department– Tallahassee police Department– Leon County Sheriff’s Office

WHEN IN DOUBT….

• REPORT!!!– You are responsible for reporting any allegation

of sexual misconduct– You are not responsible for the investigation

the allegation• You should not interview the Responding Party or

other witnesses• You should not take/have the Reporting Party sign a

statement

– The Title IX Director, Deputy Title IX Coordinator or a EOC Investigator will initiate the investigation.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER YOU MAKE A REPORT?

• Title IX Director, Deputy Title IX Coordinator or EOC Investigator will initiate an investigation:– Interview Victim/Reporting Individual – Interview Witnesses– Interview Responding Party(ies)– Review other relevant evidence– Complete Investigation and make recommendations to:

• Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities (if Responding Party is a student

• Appropriate Vice President (if Responding Party is a faculty member, staff person, or visitor)

WHAT OTHER LAWS APPLY?

• Title VII: prohibits discrimination against employees

• Title IV: prohibits discrimination against students in public schools, colleges and universities

• Florida Vulnerable Person’s Act: mandates EVERYONE to report suspected child abuse to Florida Dept. Of Children & Families (for more information: http://hr.fsu.edu/?page=eoc/eoc_protection_of_vulnerable_persons )

DEPT. OF EDUCATION GUIDANCE

• Revised Sexual Harassment Guidance 2001

• DCL April 2011• DCL FAQs April 2014• Title IX Resource Guide April 2015• All are available at: – http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/

ocr/publications.html#TitleIX

FSU RESOURCES

• kNOw MORE• Victim Advocate Program• Employee Assistance Program• University Counseling Center• University Health Services• FSU Police Department

LOCAL AND NATIONAL RESOURCES

• Refuge House– 850-681-2111– refugehouse.com

• 211 Big Bend– 211– 211bigbend.net

• RAINN – national sexual assault hotline– 800-656-4673– Rainn.org

• National Domestic Violence Hotline– 1-800-799-7233– thehotline.org

COMING SOON…

• Unified Sexual Misconduct policy

• April 2016: Creating a Trauma Informed Nole Community – one day training for students, faculty, and staff

WHAT ARE THE KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER?

PART I• Create an inclusive, non-hostile environment• Sexual Misconduct is an umbrella term that

includes: sexual discrimination and harassment, gender based animosity, sexual stereotyping, sexual violence, intimate partner violence and stalking

• Treat all complaints seriously• Report all complaints without delay• Use your resources• When in doubt, REPORT!

WHAT ARE THE KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER?

PART II

• Florida State University does not tolerate sexual

violence. We continue to actively and aggressively provide

institution-wide programs and services to educate our students

and university community on responsible conduct, the meaning

of consent, how to properly report cases of sexual misconduct,

and how to hold individuals accountable for their behavior. The

kNOw MORE sexual violence prevention initiative is about

action, education, and the continuum of care for our students,

faculty, and staff.

QUESTIONS?

• Thank you!

CONTACT INFORMATION

Jennifer Broomfield, LISW, JDTitle IX Director

408-H Westcott Building850-644-6271

jbroomfield@fsu.eduOr

titleix-director@fsu.edu