Title IX Tips Webinar on Avoiding Title IX Pitfalls

October 27, 2021

in: Basic Skills, Events

Join Thompson & Horton attorneys Jackie Gharapour Wernz, Holly McIntush, and Rebecca Bailey on October 28, 2021, for a free webinar to discuss the pitfalls that can steer your Title IX team off track—and how to avoid them. We will discuss topics such as moving too fast, ignoring off-campus conduct, and being overly deferential to law enforcement. We will help you stop, drop, and Title IX—the right way—to reduce the risk of challenges in OCR and the courts. Register here: conta.cc/3vuLuEJ

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Instas, Snaps, Yik Yaks, and Sex: When Is a Post Title IX Sexual Harassment?

October 27, 2021

in: 2020 Regulations, Basic Skills, First Amendment

The issue comes up all too frequently—a student shows up to an administrator’s office to report that they found something terrible about them online. Sometimes it’s sexually harassing language and bullying. Or it’s a person sharing photos or videos of their ex online after a breakup. Or, on the other end of the spectrum, perhaps it’s an account on which people can anonymously “expose” accused perpetrators of sexual harassment, including sexual violence and assault—and the alleged perpetrators report that it’s just not true. How do educational leaders distinguish between sexual harassment and more benign activity on Instagram, Snapchat, (the newly reemerging) Yik Yak, and the like?

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Hit the Brakes: Stop, Drop, and Title IX When You Hear “Sex”

October 7, 2021

in: 2020 Regulations, Basic Skills, Training

We have been living with the 2020 Title IX regulations for well over a year, but some basics continue to trip us up. One of the biggest for primary and secondary schools is helping building-level administrators remember to hit the brakes when they learn of sex-based misconduct. Rushing to collect statements, impose consequences (even temporary ones), and collect other evidence could lead to a Title IX violation if the conduct ends up being covered by the law. For this reason, in my opinion, if a school system does one thing this fall to address Title IX, training building-level admins and employees to stop, drop, and call the Title IX office as soon as they learn of any conduct based on sex.

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