legal help for DC Student-Survivors Under Title IX
Information for DC College Students on Title IX and COVID-19
In response to covid-19, DC’s colleges and universities have been closing their residence halls, sending students home, and moving to remote learning. It is likely that Title IX cases will be affected by these shut downs as schools navigate keeping students, staff, and faculty healthy and safe during these uncertain times.
Nevertheless, schools are still bound by their obligations under federal law to respond to reports of sexual harassment, including sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. In order to meet these obligations, many DC schools will be conducting meetings, interviews, and hearings remotely via video conferencing, and sharing reports and evidence online. Reasonable accommodations needed due to sexual harassment should also be available to you during this time.
If you have questions about how your Title IX case will be affected by covid-19, would like assistance in filing a report remotely, or need help in accessing accommodations, NVRDC staff is available to assist you.
Information for DC College Students on the new Title IX regulations
On May 6, 2020, the Department of Education (DOE) issued new Title IX regulations. In many cases, the rule will require schools to alter their existing sexual harassment policies. Among other things, the regulations mandate that schools institute grievance processes with live hearings and cross examination of both parties and any witnesses conducted by an advisor of the student’s choice.
If you are a DC college student considering filing a Title IX complaint with your school or have started the grievance process and you are wondering how these rules may affect your case, please reach out to NVRDC.
NVRDC’s #IXThingsToKnow fact sheet .
NVRDC’s blog post about the new title ix rules.
If you are a DC college student considering filing a Title IX complaint with your school or have started the grievance process and you are wondering how covid-19 or the new title ix rules may affect your case, please reach out to NVRDC at 202-742-1727 or info@nvrdc.org. NVRDC provides attorney advisors free of charge to student-survivors of sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and stalking who go to a college/university in the District of Columbia.
Are you a DC student-survivor that wants help from a lawyer on a Title IX case?
As part of our Civil Legal Services, NVRDC provides free Title IX (Title 9) & Clery Act legal services to adult survivors of sexual assault, intimate partner and dating violence, and stalking who attend school in DC. We assist students seeking services related to being a victim of sexual assault, intimate partner/dating violence, or stalking in the following ways:
Brief Advice:
An attorney will give an overview of the Title IX process at the student’s DC university. This advice may include:
information about on-campus resources and accommodations;
steps for filing a student conduct complaint on campus;
the process for filing a complaint against the student’s school with the Department of Education; and/or alternative legal options (like filing a police report, or requesting a civil protection order).
An attorney can also discuss with a student-survivor the pros and cons of proceeding with a Title IX action and ask about any additional concerns the survivor might have.
Full-Representation:
Legal representation by a member of our legal team. Representation includes
Assisting the client with requests for reasonable accommodations through the university’s Title IX office (which may include such things as changing the student’s class or moving into a different dorm room);
Assisting the client with filing a Title IX complaint at a DC college or university; and/or
Representing the client as an adviser during the DC school’s student conduct process.
Want NVRDC to come to your campus to talk about the protections for student-survivors under Title IX and the Clery Act? Check-out our Know Your Rights trainings>>