College students in Kentucky who have been accused of violating Title IX with an act of sexual misconduct are likely to find that their school's method of determining a case is designed to protect the school, often at the expense of their own due process rights.
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) can be an accused student's best option. With the OCR watching over a case of alleged misconduct, a college is less likely to break the rules. Implicating the OCR, however, can take a well-drafted and persuasive complaint. Hiring an OCR complaint lawyer to help with this can make a huge difference.
How the Office for Civil Rights Works
A part of the U.S. Department of Education, the Office for Civil Rights is a federal agency whose responsibility it is to enforce several federal laws in higher education. Among these laws are important protections for students, including a right to due process during disciplinary violations. The OCR does not act on its own, though. It needs to be brought into a situation through a complaint process within 180 days of the alleged violation.
OCR Investigations
After receiving a complaint from an aggrieved student in Kentucky, if the OCR determines that further investigation is necessary, it will open an inquiry. This investigation will look into each of the allegations made in your complaint, highlighting the need for a well-crafted filing. While this mirrors the investigation that your school conducted, it will be independent and unbiased and will remain focused on how your school dealt with your rights.
Importantly, you have rights while this investigation is ongoing. If your school intimidates or retaliates against you for complaining to the OCR, it can lead to another OCR investigation.
Once the OCR finishes, it will send a letter of its finding to you and to your school that detail whether your college violated your rights. If it did, the OCR will recommend mediation to settle the dispute. If your college refuses to participate in mediation, it can face administrative sanctions that implicate its federal funding.
The Settlement Process for OCR Cases
Once the OCR becomes involved in a case, though, most schools in Kentucky will want to settle the issue as quickly as possible. This is such a common outcome that the OCR provides a process for it to happen: Facilitated Resolution Between the Parties. During Facilitated Resolution, you and your school will try to reach a mutually beneficial outcome. While the OCR stays out of the negotiation room, if your school violates one of the agreements you made during Facilitated Resolution, it can be the grounds for another OCR complaint and another investigation.
Kentucky's OCR Complaint Lawyer Joseph D. Lento
As a student discipline defense attorney, Joseph D. Lento helps to protect students in Kentucky who have been accused of sexual misconduct or other Title IX violation. This often involves petitioning the OCR to oversee the case. You can tap into attorney Lento's ability to push the OCR into action by contacting him online or by phone at 888-535-3686.
- Alice Lloyd College
- Asbury University
- Ashland Community and Technical College
- ATA College
- Beckfield College Florence
- Bellarmine University
- Big Sandy Community and Technical College
- Bluegrass Community and Technical College
- Brescia University
- Brown Mackie College Hopkinsville
- Brown Mackie College Louisville
- Brown Mackie College Northern Kentucky
- Campbellsville University
- Centre College
- Clear Creek Baptist Bible College
- Daymar College Bellevue
- Daymar College Bowling Green
- Daymar College Louisville
- Daymar College Louisville
- Daymar College Madisonville
- Daymar College Online
- Daymar College Owensboro
- Daymar College Paducah Main
- Daymar College Scottsville
- DeVry University Kentucky
- Eastern Kentucky University
- Elizabethtown Community and Technical College
- Gateway Community and Technical College
- Georgetown College Georgetown, Kentucky
- Hazard Community and Technical College
- Henderson Community College
- Hopkinsville Community College
- ITT Technical Institute Lexington
- ITT Technical Institute Louisville
- Jefferson Community and Technical College
- Kentucky Christian University
- Kentucky Mountain Bible College
- Kentucky State University
- Kentucky Wesleyan College
- Lincoln College of Technology Florence
- Lindsey Wilson College
- Madisonville Community College
- Maysville Community and Technical College
- MedTech College Lexington Campus
- Mid Continent University
- Midway College
- Morehead State University
- Murray State University
- National College Lexington
- Northern Kentucky University
- Owensboro Community and Technical College
- Saint Catharine College
- Simmons College of Kentucky
- Somerset Community College
- Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College
- Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College
- Spalding University
- Spencerian College
- Spencerian College Lexington
- Sullivan College of Technology and Design
- Sullivan University
- Thomas More College
- Transylvania University
- Union College
- University of Kentucky
- University of Louisville
- University of Phoenix Louisville Campus
- University of Pikeville
- University of the Cumberlands
- West Kentucky Community and Technical College
- Western Kentucky University
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 Kentucky 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 Kentucky and throughout the nation. Make certain your or your student's interests are protected - Contact National Title IX attorney Joseph D. Lento today.
