There are a lot of colleges in the state of Massachusetts. If you go to one of them and have been accused of a disciplinary violation – particularly if that accusation is one for sexual misconduct in violation of Title IX – you can find that your school's hearing process is not designed to hear your side of the case. In some cases, this can be so extreme that it violates your federal or due process rights.
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) can step into the situation and ensure that your rights are being protected. However, they do not do this on their own accord: You have to file a complaint with the agency and urge them to take action. An attorney can help you craft an effective OCR complaint letter to make sure this happens.
The Office for Civil Rights
The Office for Civil Rights is a federal agency and a part of the U.S. Department of Education. Responsible for enforcing numerous federal laws that protect students in higher education, the OCR can help students under investigation for Title IX violations or other allegations of misconduct. However, aggrieved students who want the OCR to oversee their case have to file a complaint with the OCR within 180 days of the violation.
How OCR Investigations Work
If the OCR is convinced by your complaint and decides to oversee your case, it will run its own investigation into the allegations you make in your complaint. This often implicates many of the same people and documents that the underlying disciplinary investigation examined.
Importantly, while the OCR investigates whether your school violated your rights or not, your school is not allowed to intimidate or retaliate against you. If it does in any way, it can be the grounds for another OCR complaint and subsequent investigation.
A letter of findings will be sent to you and to your school once the OCR's investigation has wrapped up. If the OCR determined that your school violated your rights, mediation is the next step. If your school refuses to take part, it can lead to administrative penalties that can impact your college's federal funding.
The Settlement Process in Massachusetts
As soon as the OCR announces that they will investigate a case, though, colleges often want to settle as quickly as possible. This is why the OCR has the process of Facilitated Resolution Between the Parties. While the settlement process is provided by the OCR, though, the agency will not enforce or endorse a given outcome. However, if your school signs an agreement through Facilitated Resolution and then violates it, you can file another OCR complaint.
Title IX and OCR Complaint Advisor in Massachusetts
Joseph D. Lento is a Title IX attorney who can help aggrieved students file an OCR complaint and bring the federal agency into your case to protect your rights. Contact him online for the legal advice and help that you need to bring a powerful federal agency to your defense and show your college that you mean to defend your rights.
- American International College
- Amherst College
- Anna Maria College
- Assumption College
- Babson College
- Bard College at Simon's Rock
- Bay Path College
- Bay State College
- Becker College
- Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology
- Bentley University
- Berklee College of Music
- Berkshire Community College
- Boston Architectural College
- Boston Baptist College
- Boston College
- Boston University
- Brandeis University
- Bridgewater State University
- Bristol Community College
- Bunker Hill Community College
- Cambridge College
- Cape Cod Community College
- Clark University
- College of Our Lady of the Elms
- College of the Holy Cross
- Curry College
- Dean College
- Eastern Nazarene College
- Emerson College
- Emmanuel College
- Endicott College
- Fisher College
- Fitchburg State University
- Framingham State University
- Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering
- Gordon College
- Greenfield Community College
- Hampshire College
- Harvard University
- Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology
- Holyoke Community College
- ITT Technical Institute Norwood
- ITT Technical Institute Wilmington
- Laboure College
- Lasell College
- Lawrence Memorial Hospital School of Nursing
- Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts
- Lesley University
- Longy School of Music
- Marian Court College
- Massachusetts Bay Community College
- Massachusetts College of Art and Design
- Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
- Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Massachusetts Maritime Academy
- Massasoit Community College
- Merrimack College
- Middlesex Community College
- Montserrat College of Art
- Mount Holyoke College
- Mount Ida College
- Mount Wachusett Community College
- New England College of Business
- Newbury College Brookline
- Nichols College
- North Shore Community College
- Northeastern University
- Northern Essex Community College
- Pine Manor College
- Quincy College
- Quinsigamond Community College
- Regis College
- Roxbury Community College
- Saint John's Seminary
- Salem State University
- Sanford Brown College Boston
- School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston
- Simmons College
- Smith College
- Springfield College
- Springfield Technical Community College
- Stonehill College
- Suffolk University
- The Boston Conservatory
- The New England Conservatory of Music
- The New England Institute of Art
- Tufts University
- University of Massachusetts - Amherst
- University of Massachusetts - Boston
- University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth
- University of Massachusetts - Lowell
- University of Phoenix - Boston Campus
- Urban College of Boston
- Wellesley College
- Wentworth Institute of Technology
- Western New England University
- Westfield State University
- Wheaton College
- Wheelock College
- Williams College
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute
- Worcester State University
- Zion Bible College
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 Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts and throughout the nation. Make certain your or your student's interests are protected - Contact National Title IX attorney Joseph D. Lento today.
