College students in California are likely to find that the investigation and hearing procedures their school uses to determine allegations of sexual misconduct, disciplinary violations, and Title IX cases are stilted against them if they are ever accused. Many accused students find that their due process rights are brushed aside so their school can find them in violation of its code of conduct.
Implicating the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) can be an excellent way to ensure your due process rights are kept intact. Doing so, though, requires an effective complaint letter. An attorney like Joseph D. Lento can help.
The Federal Office for Civil Rights
The Office for Civil Rights is a part of the U.S. Department of Education and is the agency responsible for enforcing numerous federal laws that apply to the higher education system. College students are the frequent benefactors of these laws, but the OCR cannot monitor all of the pending investigations in California, let alone across the country.
To bring the OCR into your case, then, you need to file a complaint to petition its involvement within 180 days of your school's alleged violation of your rights.
The OCR Investigation Process in California
If the OCR is convinced by your complaint that it needs to take action, it will send agents to investigate the allegations made in your petition. Drafting a wide-reaching petition, therefore, is essential for a full investigation. The OCR's investigation often reviews much of the evidence and personnel implicated in your college's earlier disciplinary or Title IX investigation. However, the OCR's inquiry is independent and unbiased.
Crucially, while the OCR is conducting its investigation, your school cannot intimidate or retaliate against you for implicating the federal agency in your case. If they do, it can be sufficient grounds for another OCR complaint and another investigation into your college.
If the OCR finds that your school violated your rights, it will urge mediation as a resolution process. Failure to attend these mediation sessions can lead to your school losing its federal funding through administrative actions.
Settling Cases After the OCR Investigates
Many colleges suddenly become very interested in settling cases once the OCR says they will investigate. The OCR encourages this by providing the negotiation process of Facilitated Resolution Between the Parties.
Through Facilitated Resolution, you and your school can discuss the repercussions of your case and come to a mutually beneficial agreement about the outcome. While the OCR keeps its hands out of this negotiation, it can be brought back into the case if your school violates the results of Facilitated Resolution through another OCR complaint.
California's Title IX and OCR Complaint Attorney Joseph D. Lento
Joseph D. Lento is a student discipline defense lawyer who represents students accused of sexual misconduct or other Title IX violations. Because schools prosecute these cases so vigorously, implicating the OCR in a case can be the only way to prevent them from trampling on an accused student's rights. Attorney Lento can help you file an effective OCR complaint. Contact him online or by phone at 888-535-3686 for the help you need to protect your rights and future.
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Students and parents at times do not realize until after a finding of responsibility and the imposition of adverse sanctions that sexual misconduct allegations at college can result in severe consequences academically and professionally and in the short and long-term. The earlier the necessary steps are taken to address a Title IX case, the better, because these are cases that can be won at the school-level. There are times, however, that the help of the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (DOE-OCR) is needed and Joseph D. Lento has a decade of experience passionately fighting for the futures of his clients at colleges and universities throughout the nation and has helped many clients seek recourse with the DOE-OCR. He does not settle for the easiest outcome, and instead prioritizes his clients' needs and well-being. Joseph Lento is a licensed attorney in New Jersey and New York, who helps students in California with DOE-OCR Title IX complaints, is admitted as an attorney pro hac vice in state and federal court if needed when representing clients nationwide, and serves as a Title IX advisor to students facing disciplinary cases in California and throughout the nation. Make certain your or your student's interests are protected - Contact National Title IX attorney Joseph D. Lento today.
