Guide to Understanding the Title 9 Investigation Process

The Title 9 has protected the employees and students of federally-funded learning institutions from sexual harassment and discrimination based on sex for over half a century. This law requires these learning institutions to respond to sexual harassment and sexual assault promptly and effectively. This investigation determines whether the involved parties have violated the college policies. These investigations rarely end in the incarceration of a guilty party, but they result in disciplinary actions being taken by the school.

How to Conduct Title 9 Investigations

The investigation process followed by every learning institution varies depending on their resources and size. Most schools have anonymous reporting systems where people can submit their complaints without worrying about any form of retaliation. Once the complaint is received, the school’s Title IX coordinator can hire a firm offering Title 9 investigation services to help with the investigations. Here are the steps that most institutions follow:

Issue Formal Notification

The school’s Title 9 coordinator’s office will issue a formal notification to the involved parties informing them that the complaint exists and that the investigation process has started. The notification should include details of the allegations and the parties’ rights.

The notification will also include the policy violation and the investigator’s contact details. This is a great time to schedule meetings to discuss the allegation’s details and the next step of the investigation. The initial notification should reassure everyone that learning institutions will adhere to their internal policies and federal regulations.

Gather Evidence

Once everyone agrees to proceed with the investigation, the investigators will gather evidence. This includes mobile phone records, social media posts, video and audio recordings, and documents. They’ll interview the respondent and complainant and ask for their story. The investigators will also ask for contact details of the possible witnesses.

Analyze the Collected Facts

After collecting as much evidence as possible, the investigators will give the involved parties a few days to review the evidence. This process will help trigger their memories while giving them time to address discrepancies. The investigators will finally review the collected evidence and determine if they have enough details to prove the violation occurred.

Determine the Violation

A separate team of decision-makers will determine if the violation occurred. They can use preponderance of evidence standard-of-proof, which stipulates that over half of the collected evidence is more likely to be true. This method requires more convincing evidence than probable cause. The other option is the convincing and clear evidence standard-of-proof, which determines that the collected information points to the complaint being more probable to be true.

Notify the Involved Parties of the Outcome of the Investigation

After the decision-makers have decided, they’ll create an investigative report. This report will feature the violated policy, initial allegations, involved parties, interviews, and collected evidence. The institution must send a copy of the report to the involved parties a few days before finalizing the outcome. This will give them time to respond to the investigation’s outcome.

Once they finalize the outcome, they will send a notice of the determination of the outcome to the involved parties. This will include details about the outcome and the evidence supporting their decision. Depending on the decision, it will also stipulate the next step of the process.

Endnote

After the notification is sent, the involved parties can appeal and even request a review. If this happens, the institution’s higher management level will review the evidence, conclusion, and investigation process and issue a written notification stipulating the result of their review. But if there is no appeal, the decision makers will determine the penalty for the allegations.