The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) reached a Title IX agreement with Wesley College after the office determined school officials’ violated the rights of students accused of sexual misconduct.
The Title IX violation occurred during Wesley’s investigation into a report of sexual misconduct, which the accused student claimed was incomplete and unfair.
The OCR became involved when a student filed a complaint against the Dover, Delaware institution after he was expelled in April 2015.
The ensuing investigation found that Wesley failed to provide students accused of sexual misconduct with “essential procedural protections and also by not adhering to its safeguards provided for in its own disciplinary policies and procedures.” The OCR also found the accused student “was not provided a full opportunity to respond to the charges, rebut the allegations, or defend himself at his hearing.”
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Other mistakes the OCR identified included the school’s decision to suspend the student the same day officials received the complaint without conducting any interviews. The student was also not allowed to provide witnesses during the hearing and did not receive an incident report.
As part of their investigation, OCR officials also reviewed sexual misconduct cases at the school between 2013 and 2015. Similar violations were found in the handling of those cases as well.
In the agreement, Wesley College agreed to take the following actions to correct its Title IX procedures:
- Provide remedial action for the students that were suspended prior to school officials completing “a sufficient level of inquiry.”
- Restart its investigations of three students that were accused of sexual assault.
- Provide copies of incident files of alleged sexual harassment or sexual assault to the OCR during the 2017-2018 school year.
- Revise its Title IX procedures and ensure the responsibilities of the Title IX coordinator and deputy coordinators comply with Title IX.
- Provide training on issues related to sexual violence to students, faculty, administrators and other staff members.
- Conduct climate surveys as part of an effort to enhance outreach to and feedback from students.
- Convene a Title IX committee, composed of staff and students, to develop a plan for educating students and employees about sexual harassment and assault.
Read the complete agreement here.
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