Regulation-Code-ACAA-R
Title IX Sex-Based Discrimination Regulation
Section A: Foundation and Basic Commitments
Regulation Title: Title IX Sex-Based Discrimination Regulation
Regulation Code: ACAA-R
Print Version (in PDF)
Title IX Coordinator
The Superintendent shall appoint an employee as the “District Title IX Coordinator.” The District Title IX Coordinator is the primary school contact for receiving reports or complaints of sex-based discrimination, including sexual harassment. If the District Title IX Coordinator is the respondent, the complaint shall be filed with the Superintendent.
Title IX Coordinator:
Maricela Meza
Employee Relations Department
1010 East 10th Street, #7
Tucson, Arizona 85719
E-mail: [email protected]
Telephone: (520) 225-6739
Notice
A link to the Title IX Sexual Harassment policy shall be provided directly off the main page of the Tucson Unified website.
The Title IX Coordinator’s contact information shall be prominently displayed on the school website.
The District shall provide notice of any exceptions to the school community.
The District shall provide written notice to the community of the Title IX Coordinator’s contact information, and upon initial adoption or revision of Policy ACAA Title IX Sexual Harassment.
The District shall incorporate reference to Policy ACAA Title IX Sexual Harassment in handbooks or catalogs provided to:
B. Applicants for employment;
C. Parents or guardians of elementary and secondary students.
Consent
For Title IX purposes, the District defines consent as voluntary and freely given agreement, through mutually understandable words and/or actions, to engage in sexual activity. This includes the following requirements:
Consent must be affirmative, conscious, and voluntary. Silence or a lack of resistance does not constitute consent.
• Consent requires mutually understandable words and/or actions that clearly indicate a willingness to engage in the specific sexual activity.
• Consent must be ongoing and may be withdrawn at any time. Once consent is withdrawn, the sexual activity must cease.
• Consent to one sexual act does not imply consent to other sexual acts.
• Prior relationship or sexual history does not constitute consent for future sexual activity.
• Consent cannot be obtained through coercion, force, threats, or intimidation.
• Incapacitation due to alcohol, drugs, sleep, unconsciousness, or any other mental or physical condition negates the ability to give consent.
• Minors cannot consent to sexual acts, except where the minor is 15, 16, or 17 years old and their sexual partner is no more than 24 months older than the minor.
Response to Sex-Based Discrimination
When the District has knowledge of conduct that reasonably may constitute sex-based discrimination in it's education program or activity, it will respond promptly and effectively.
Conduct that occurs in the District’s education program or activity includes but is not limited to conduct that would be subject to the District’s Student Code of Conduct or its Staff Conduct policies and regulations.
The Title IX Coordinator must monitor the District’s education program or activity for barriers to reporting information about conduct that reasonably may constitute sex discrimination under Title IX or Policy ACAA, and they must take steps reasonably calculated to address such barriers.
Any District employee who is not a confidential employee for Title IX purposes must notify the Title IX Coordinator when the employee has information about conduct that reasonably may constitute sex-based discrimination under Title IX or Policy ACAA.
Equal Treatment
The District’s initial response to any report of sexual harassment must treat complainants and respondents equitably by offering supportive measures to both and must follow the established grievance process before disciplining a respondent.
Even if no formal complaint has been filed, the Title IX Coordinator shall promptly:
A. Contact the complainant to discuss the availability of supportive measures;
B. Consider the complainant’s wishes with respect to supportive measures;
C. Inform the complainant of the availability of supportive measures with or without the filing of a formal complaint; and
D. Explain to the complainant the process for filing a formal complaint.
E. Notify the complainant about the availability of an informal resolution process.
Supportive Measures:
Supportive measures are non-disciplinary, non-punitive individualized services offered as appropriate, as reasonably available, and without fee or charge to the complainant or the respondent before or after the filing of a formal complaint or where no formal complaint has been filed. Such measures are designed to restore or preserve equal access to the District’s education program or activity without unreasonably burdening the other party, including measures designed to protect the safety of all parties or the District’s educational environment, or deter sexual harassment.
Supportive measures may include but are not limited to: counseling; extensions of deadlines and other course-related adjustments; campus escort services; increased security and monitoring of certain areas of the campus; restrictions on contact applied to one or more parties; leaves of absence; changes in class, work, housing, or extracurricular or any other activity, regardless of whether there is or is not a comparable alternative; and training and education programs related to sex-based harassment. The District shall maintain as confidential any supportive measures provided to the complainant or respondent, to the extent that maintaining such confidentiality would not impair the ability of the District to provide the supportive measures..
The Title IX Coordinator is responsible for coordinating the effective implementation of supportive measures.
Within five (5) business days of the provision, denial, modification, or termination of any supportive measures, the party to whom the supportive measures apply may notify the Title IX Coordinator of their request to review the decision. The Title IX Coordinator will assign an impartial employee to consider the request. The impartial employee must be someone other than the employee who made the challenged decision and must have authority to modify or reverse the decision, if the impartial employee determines that the decision to provide, deny, modify, or terminate the supportive measure was inconsistent with the definition of supportive measures in Policy ACAA. Any party may seek additional modification or termination of a supportive measure applicable to them if circumstances change materially, by following the procedure in this paragraph.
Removal of Respondent
The District may remove a respondent from the District’s education program or activity on an emergency basis, provided that the District undertakes an individualized safety and risk analysis, determines that an immediate threat to the health or safety of any student or other individual arising from the allegations of sexual harassment justifies removal, and provides the respondent with notice and an opportunity to challenge the decision immediately following the removal. Where the standard for emergency removal has been met, the District may also exercise its discretion to remove a respondent from only certain classes, teams, clubs, organizations, or activities.
Any emergency removal of a student will comply with applicable legal requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, or the Americans with Disabilities Act. Where a respondent is a student with a disability, the District will conduct a manifestation determination before an emergency removal where the removal would constitute a change of placement.
A student challenging an emergency removal decision must submit their challenge in writing to their school principal within five (5) school days of the notice of removal. The school principal, in consultation with the District Title IX Coordinator, will make the final decision about removal, and will communicate that decision to the respondent within five (5) school days of receiving the written challenge.
The District may place a non-student employee respondent on administrative leave during the pendency of a grievance process in response to a formal complaint.
Filing a Formal Complaint
“Formal complaint” means a document filed by a complainant or signed by the Title IX Coordinator alleging sexual harassment against a respondent and requesting that the District investigate the allegation of sexual harassment. At the time of filing a formal complaint, a complainant must be participating in or attempting to participate in the education program or activity of the District with which the formal complaint is filed. A formal complaint may be filed with the Title IX Coordinator in person, by mail, or by electronic mail, by using the contact information listed above, and by any additional method designated by the District that results in the Title IX Coordinator receiving the complaint.
Where the Title IX Coordinator receives an informal verbal or written request that objectively can be understood as a request to follow the Title IX grievance procedures set forth in Policy ACAA, the Title IX Coordinator will complete a formal complaint document on the complainant’s behalf. Before initiating the investigation of such a complaint, the Title IX Coordinator will provide the complainant a copy of the formal complaint and an opportunity to correct or withdraw the complaint.
In the absence of a complaint, or in the absence of an informal resolution process that preempts a complaint, the District Title IX Coordinator must determine whether to initiate a complaint of sex-based discrimination, including sex-based harassment. In making that determination, the Title IX Coordinator must consider, at a minimum, the following factors:
1. The complainant’s request not to proceed with initiating a complaint;
2. The complainant's reasonable safety concerns regarding initiation of a complaint;
3. The risk that additional acts of sex discrimination would occur if a complaint is not initiated;
4. The severity of the alleged sex discrimination, including whether the discrimination, if established, would require the removal of a respondent from campus or imposition of another disciplinary sanction to end the discrimination and prevent its recurrence;
5. The age and relationship of the parties, including whether the respondent is an employee of the recipient;
6. The scope of the alleged sex discrimination, including information suggesting a pattern, ongoing sex discrimination, or sex discrimination alleged to have impacted multiple individuals;
7. The availability of evidence to assist a decisionmaker in determining whether sex discrimination occurred; and
8. Whether the recipient could end the alleged sex discrimination and prevent its recurrence without initiating Title IX grievance procedures.
If, after considering these and other relevant factors, the Title IX Coordinator determines that the conduct as alleged presents an imminent and serious threat to the health or safety of the complainant or other person, or that the conduct as alleged prevents the District from ensuring equal access on the basis of sex to its education program or activity, the Title IX Coordinator may initiate a complaint.
If the Title IX Coordinator initiates a complaint, they must notify the complainant prior to doing so and ensure that reasonable concerns about the complainant's safety or the safety of others are appropriately addressed,
Dismissal of a Complaint
The District may dismiss a complaint of sex-based discrimination for any of the reasons detailed in Policy ACAA. The District Title IX Coordinator is responsible for deciding whether to dismiss a complaint and for complying with the notice requirements of Policy ACAA. Notice of dismissal, as well as notice of the opportunity to appeal the dismissal, will be sent to all parties as soon as practicable after the decision is made.
Any appeal of the dismissal of a complaint must be submitted to the District Title IX Coordinator within five (5) business days of the notice of dismissal. The appeal must identify at least one of the following as a basis for appeal:
• Procedural irregularity that would change the outcome;
• New evidence that would change the outcome and that was not reasonably available when the dismissal was made; and
• The District Title IX Coordinator, investigator, or decisionmaker had a conflict of interest or bias for or against complainants or respondents generally or the individual complainant or respondent that would change the outcome.
If the dismissal occurred after the respondent was notified of the allegations, then the respondent will be offered an opportunity to submit a written statement regarding the appeal. That statement must be submitted within five (5) business days of notifying the respondent of the appeal.
Upon receipt of a timely appeal, the Title IX Coordinator will assign the matter to a trained decisionmaker who did not participate in either an investigation of the allegations in the complaint or the dismissal of the complaint, and will ensure that the decisionmaker receives copies of the complaint, the notice explaining the reason for the dismissal, and any statements from the parties supporting or challenging the dismissal. The decisionmaker on appeal will provide a written rationale for their decision and the parties will be notified of the decision in writing no later than ten (10) business days after the last day that parties’ statements are due.
Investigative Report
When investigating a formal complaint and throughout the grievance process, the District shall be responsible for gathering all relevant evidence and providing each party an equal opportunity to respond to the relevant evidence, using the following procedures:
- The investigator will provide each party and equal opportunity to present fact witnesses and other inculpatory and exculpatory evidence that are relevant and not otherwise impermissible.
- The investigator may identify additional witnesses and evidence during the course of their investigation;
- The investigator is responsible for determining what evidence obtained during the investigation is relevant and not otherwise permissible;;
- Upon conclusion of their investigation, the investigator will simultaneously provide each party with either (i) a packet of the relevant documents and summaries of the relevant evidence from witness interviews or (ii) an accurate summary of the relevant evidence obtained during the investigation. If the parties are given only a summary of the evidence, either party may request within three (3) business days to access the evidence, in which case both parties will be given prompt and equal opportunity to access the evidence;
- After receiving the evidence obtained during the investigation, or the summary of the evidence, the parties will be permitted to submit a written response to the evidence for the investigator’s consideration. That written response is due five (5) business days from the date the evidence was provided to the parties;
- Within five (5) business days of due date for the parties’ written responses, the investigator will create an investigative report that fairly summarizes the relevant evidence and the parties’ responses to the evidence. This deadline may be extended by approval of the District Title IX Coordinator if the investigator needs time for additional investigation based on information obtained from the written responses.
The decision-maker(s) shall apply a preponderance of the evidence standard of proof and shall issue a written determination regarding responsibility that that includes:
- Identification of the allegations potentially constituting sexual harassment;
- A description of the procedural steps taken from the receipt of the formal complaint through the determination, including any notifications to the parties, interviews with parties and witnesses, site visits, and methods used to gather other evidence;
- Findings of fact supporting the determination;
- Conclusions regarding the application of the Student Code of Conduct or the District’s staff conduct policies to the facts;
- A statement of and rationale for the result as to each allegation, including a determination regarding responsibility, any disciplinary sanctions the District imposes on the respondent, and whether remedies designed to restore or preserve equal access to the District’s education program or activity shall be provided by the District to the complainant; and
- The District’s procedures and permissible bases for the complainant and respondent to appeal.
The District shall provide the written determination to the parties simultaneously. The written determination shall be completed and provided to the parties no later than ten (10) business days after the decision-maker receives the investigation packet (or after completing the investigation, if the investigator is also the decision-maker), or ten (10) business days after completing any additional questioning required to assess the credibility of a party or witness.
Remedies
The Title IX Coordinator is responsible for effective implementation of any remedies, including the imposition of any discipline on the respondent and notification to the complainant of such disciplinary actions.
Appeals
The District shall offer both parties the right to appeal from the decicion-maker's determination regarding responsibility. Any appeal must be submitted to the District Title IX Coordinator within five (5) business days of the notice of the written determination. The appeal must identify at least one of the following as a basis for appeal:
• Procedural irregularity that would change the outcome;
• New evidence that would change the outcome and that was not reasonably available when the dismissal was made; and
• The District Title IX Coordinator, investigator, or decisionmaker had a conflict of interest or bias for or against complainants or respondents generally or the individual complainant or respondent that would change the outcome.
In the absence of any of these appealable issues, the determination is final.
Upon receipt of a timely appeal, the Title IX Coordinator will simultaneously notify both parties of the appeal and of the procedures to be followed. Each party will be invited to submit a written statement supporting or challenging the determination of responsibility. Such statements will be due no later than five (5) business days after the notice of the appeal.
Upon receipt of a timely appeal, the Title IX Coordinator will assign the matter to a trained decision-maker who did not participate in either the investigation of the allegations or the determination regarding responsibility in the complaint or the dismissal of the complaint. The Title IX Coordinator will ensure that the decisionmaker receives copies of all relevant documentation from the investigation and determination of responsibility, and any statements from the parties supporting or challenging the appeal. The decisionmaker on appeal will provide a written rationale for their decision and the parties will be simultaneously notified of the decision in writing no later than ten (10) business days after the last day that parties’ statements are due. The decision on appeal is final.
At any time prior to determining whether sex-based discrimination occurred, the District may offer the parties an informal resolution process. The informal resolution process may be offered whether or not a formal complaint is filed. No informal resolution process is available where there are allegations that an employee engaged in sex-based harassment of a TUSD student or where such a process would conflict with Federal, State or local law.
It is in the District’s discretion whether to offer an informal resolution process, and the District may decline to offer informal resolution despite one or more of the parties' wishes. Circumstances when the District may decline to allow informal resolution include but are not limited to when the District determines that the alleged conduct would present a future risk of harm to others.
The District will not require or pressure the parties to participate in an informal resolution process. The District must obtain the parties’ voluntary consent to the informal resolution process and must not require waiver of the right to an investigation and determination of a complaint as a condition of enrollment or continuing enrollment, or employment or continuing employment, or exercise of any other right.
Before initiating the informal resolution process, the District will provide the parties a written notice disclosing:
1) The allegations;
2) The requirements of the informal resolution process;
3) That, prior to agreeing to a resolution, any party has the right to withdraw from the informal resolution process and to initiate or resume the recipient's grievance procedures;
4) That the parties' agreement to a resolution at the conclusion of the informal resolution process would preclude the parties from initiating or resuming grievance procedures arising from the same allegations;
5) The potential terms that may be requested or offered in an informal resolution agreement, including notice that an informal resolution agreement is binding only on the parties; and
What information the recipient will maintain and whether and how the recipient could disclose such information for use in grievance procedures under Policy ACAA, if grievance procedures are initiated or resumed.
The facilitator for the informal resolution process must not be the same person as the investigator or the decisionmaker, if any have been assigned to the complaint. Any person designated by the District to facilitate an informal resolution process must not have a conflict of interest or bias for or against complainants or respondents generally or an individual complainant or respondent. Any person facilitating informal resolution must receive appropriate training.
Potential terms that may be included in an informal resolution agreement include but are not limited to:
1) Restrictions on contact; and
2) Restrictions on the respondent’s participation in one or more District programs or activities or attendance at specific events, including restrictions the recipient could have imposed as remedies or disciplinary sanctions had the District determined at the conclusion of the recipient's grievance procedures that sex discrimination occurred.
Record Keeping
The District shall maintain for a period of seven (7) years records of:
- Each sexual harassment investigation including:
- Any determination regarding responsibility;
- Any disciplinary sanctions imposed on the respondent; and
- Any remedies provided to the complainant designed to restore or preserve equal access to the District’s education program or activity.
- Any appeal and the result therefrom;
- Any informal resolution and the result therefrom; and
- All materials used to train Title IX Coordinators, investigators, decision-makers, and any person who facilitates an informal resolution process. The District shall make these training materials publicly available on its website.
The District will ensure that all employees with duties under Title IX or Policy ACAA receive appropriate training promptly upon hiring or change of position that alters their duties under Title IX or Policy ACAA, and annually thereafter. This training must not rely on sex stereotypes.
A. All employees. All employees must be trained on:
a. The District’s obligation to address sex discrimination in its education program or activity;
b. The scope of conduct that constitutes sex discrimination under Title IX and Policy ACAA, including the definition of sex-based harassment; and
c. All applicable notification and information requirements under Policy ACAA and Regulation ACAA-R.
B. Investigators, decisionmakers, and other persons who are responsible for implementing the District’s grievance procedures or have the authority to modify or terminate supportive measures. In addition to the training requirements in paragraph A of this section, all investigators, decisionmakers, and other persons who are responsible for implementing the recipient's grievance procedures or have the authority to modify or terminate supportive measures under Policy ACAA and this Regulation must be trained on the following topics to the extent related to their responsibilities:
a. The District’s obligations under Policy ACAA and this Regulation;
b. The District’s grievance procedures under Policy ACAA and this Regulation;
c. How to serve impartially, including by avoiding prejudgment of the facts at issue, conflicts of interest, and bias; and
d. The meaning and application of the term “relevant” in relation to questions and evidence, and the types of evidence that are impermissible regardless of relevance under Policy ACAA.
C. Facilitators of informal resolution process. In addition to the training requirements in paragraph A of this section, all facilitators of an informal resolution process under Policy ACAA and this Regulation must be trained on the rules and practices associated with the District’s informal resolution process and on how to serve impartially, including by avoiding conflicts of interest and bias.D. Title IX Coordinator and designees. In addition to the training requirements in paragraphs A through C of this section, the Title IX Coordinator and any designees must be trained on their specific responsibilities under Title IX and Policy ACAA, the District’s recordkeeping system and the recordkeeping requirements under this Regulation, and any other training necessary to coordinate the District’s compliance with Title IX.
ADOPTED: December 8, 2021 (SLT Review)
REVISED: September 19, 2024
CROSS REF: Policy ACAA – Title IX Sexual Harassment