If you are a student in New York and have been accused of a disciplinary violation, your college's investigation and hearing process can seem designed to find you guilty. This is particularly true when the allegation you are facing is for sexual misconduct in violation of Title IX.
The federal Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is there to protect a student's rights, including their rights to due process. Bringing the OCR into your case, though, is not always easy, and often requires the help of an attorney.
The Office for Civil Rights
The OCR is an agency in the U.S. Department of Education. Responsible for enforcing a bunch of federal laws that protect the rights of students, the OCR can become implicated in your case if there are signs that your school violated one of these laws.
However, to get the OCR to review your case, you need to file a complaint within 180 of the alleged violation, outlining exactly what happened and why the OCR should investigate.
The OCR's Investigation
If the OCR does decide to review your case, both you and your school will be notified. The following investigation will aim to determine whether the allegations in your complaint have merit or not. This often involves interviewing pertinent witnesses and reviewing important documents, including some personal documents that might feel like they infringe on your privacy, like your bank records or medical history.
After concluding the investigation, the OCR sends a letter of findings to both you and your school. If it found that your school violated the law, mediation is the next step. If your school refuses to participate, the OCR will pursue administrative sanctions that can impact a school's federal funding.
If your school retaliates against you for filing an OCR complaint at any point in this process, it can be the grounds for another OCR complaint.
Facilitated Resolution: A Common Settlement Process
A lot of OCR complaints do not get very far into the investigation process because your school will take steps to reach a resolution with you, the aggrieved student, in a kind of settlement agreement. This agreement is the culmination of the formal process of Facilitated Resolution Between the Parties.
While the OCR facilitates this process, they do not endorse any agreement that comes from it, nor will they enforce its terms. However, if your school violates one of the terms or conditions of the agreement, it can serve as the basis for a new OCR complaint.
New York's Title IX and OCR Complaint Lawyer Joseph D. Lento
If you have been accused of a disciplinary violation in New York state, your rights can mean little to your school. This is particularly true and common if the allegation is for a violation of Title IX: In those cases, colleges stand to lose their federal funding if they do not come down hard on you.
Joseph D. Lento can help you bring the OCR into your case to defend your rights. Contact him online or by phone 888-535-3686 for the help you need.
New York colleges and universities where Joseph D. Lento can help you or your student file a Title IX complaint with the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights include, but are not limited to, the following schools:
State University of New York (SUNY):
SUNY University Centers
- State University of New York at Buffalo
- Binghamton University
- Stony Brook University
- University at Albany, State University of New York
SUNY Technology College
- Alfred State College
- State University of New York at Canton
- State University of New York at Cobleskill
- State University of New York at Delhi
- State University of New York at Farmingdale
- State University of New York at Morrisville
- State University of New York Polytechnic Institute
- State University of New York Maritime College
SUNY Comprehensive Colleges
- Buffalo State College
- Empire State College, Saratoga Springs
- State University of New York at Brockport
- State University of New York at Cortland
- State University of New York at Fredonia
- State University of New York at Geneseo
- State University of New York at New Paltz
- State University of New York at Old Westbury
- State University of New York at Oswego
- State University of New York at Plattsburgh
- State University of New York at Potsdam
- Crane School of Music
- State University of New York at Purchase
SUNY Specialized Doctoral Granting Units
- State University of New York Downstate Medical Center
- State University of New York Upstate Medical University
- State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
- State University of New York State College of Optometry
SUNY Community Colleges
- Adirondack Community College
- Broome Community College
- Cayuga County Community College
- Clinton Community College
- Columbia-Greene Community College
- Corning Community College
- Dutchess Community College
- Erie Community College
- Fashion Institute of Technology
- Finger Lakes Community College
- Fulton-Montgomery Community College
- Genesee Community College
- Herkimer County Community College
- Hudson Valley Community College
- Jamestown Community College
- Jefferson Community College
- Mohawk Valley Community College
- Monroe Community College
- Nassau Community College
- Niagara County Community College
- North Country Community College
- Onondaga Community College
- Orange County Community College
- Rockland Community College
- Schenectady County Community College
- Suffolk County Community College
- Sullivan County Community College
- Tompkins Cortland Community College
- Ulster County Community College
- Westchester Community College
SUNY State-wide Colleges
- Empire State College
- SUNY Learning Network
CUNY Senior Colleges and Graduate Schools
- Baruch College
- Brooklyn College
- City College
- Sophie Davis - School of Biomedical Education; School of Professional Studies
- College of Staten Island
- CUNY Graduate Center
- CUNY Graduate School of Journalism
- CUNY Law School
- Hunter College
- John Jay College of Criminal Justice
- Lehman College
- Medgar Evers College
- New York City College of Technology at MetroTech
- Queens College
- Aaron Copland School of Music
- York College
CUNY Community Colleges
- Borough of Manhattan Community College
- Bronx Community College, University Heights
- Guttman Community College
- Hostos Community College
- Kingsborough Community College
- LaGuardia Community College
- Queensborough Community College
Federal-Service Academies
- United States Merchant Marine Academy (exempt from Title IX and the Clery Act)
- United States Military Academy (exempt from Title IX and the Clery Act)
Private Colleges and Universities
- Adelphi University
- Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
- Alfred University
- American Museum of Natural History; Richard Gilder Graduate School
- Bank Street College of Education
- Bard College
- Barnard College
- Brooklyn Law School
- Cazenovia College
- Clarkson University
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory; Watson School of Biological Sciences (graduate school)
- Colgate University
- Columbia University
- College of Dental Medicine
- Columbia Business School
- Columbia College
- Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation
- Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
- Columbia Law School
- Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science
- Graduate School of Journalism
- Mailman School of Public Health
- School of the Arts
- School of General Studies
- School of International and Public Affairs
- School of Social Work
- School of Nursing
- College of Physicians and Surgeons
- School of Professional Studies
- Cooper Union
- Cornell University
- Cornell Tech
- Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences
- Weill Cornell Medicine
- Culinary Institute of America
- Daemen College
- Dowling College
- Elmira College
- Hamilton College
- Hartwick College
- Helene Fuld College of Nursing
- Hobart and William Smith Colleges
- Hofstra University
- Frank G. Zarb School of Business
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Ithaca College
- Juilliard School
- Keuka College
- Long Island University
- LIU Brooklyn
- LIU Post (formerly C.W. Post)
- Manhattan School of Music
- Manhattanville College
- Marymount Manhattan College
- Medaille College
- Mercy College
- Metropolitan College of New York
- Monroe College
- Bronx campus
- New Rochelle campus
- The New School
- College of Performing Arts
- Eugene Lang College, School for Liberal Arts
- Parsons School of Design
- School for Social Research
- The Schools of Public Engagement
- New York Chiropractic College
- New York Institute of Technology
- Central Islip campus
- Columbus Circle
- Old Westbury campus
- New York University
- College of Arts & Science
- Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences
- Gallatin School of Individualized Study
- Institute of Fine Arts
- Liberal Studies
- School of Law
- School of Medicine
- Sackler Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences
- Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development
- School of Professional Studies
- School of Social Work
- Stern School of Business
- Tandon School of Engineering
- Tisch School of the Arts
- Pace University
- Manhattan campus
- Pleasantville campus
- White Plains campus
- Paul Smith's College
- Pratt Institute
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- Rochester Institute of Technology
- Sage Colleges
- Russell Sage College
- Sage College of Albany
- Sage Graduate Schools
- Sarah Lawrence College
- Skidmore College
- St. Lawrence University
- St. Thomas Aquinas College
- University of Rochester
- Eastman School of Music
- College of Arts Sciences and Engineering
- Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development
- Simon Business School
- Union College
- Utica College
- Vassar College
- Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology
- Villa Maria College
- Webb Institute
- Wells College
Private Colleges and Academies (For Profit)
- ASA College
- Downtown Brooklyn campus
- Midtown Manhattan campus
- White Plains campus
- Berkeley College
- Brooklyn campus
- Midtown Manhattan campus
- DeVry University
- Five Towns College
- Globe Institute of Technology
- LIM College (Laboratory Institute of Merchandising)
- New York Film Academy
Religious Affiliated/Oriented Private Institutions
- Canisius College
- College of Mount Saint Vincent
- College of New Rochelle
- College of St. Rose
- Concordia College
- Davis College
- Dominican College
- D'Youville College
- Fordham University
- Lincoln Center campus
- Rose Hill campus
- General Theological Seminary
- Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
- The Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music
- Hilbert College
- Houghton College
- Iona College
- Jewish Theological Seminary of America
- King's College
- Le Moyne College
- Manhattan College
- Marist College
- Molloy College
- Montefiore Medical Center and Yeshiva University
- Albert Einstein College of Medicine
- Mount Saint Mary College
- Nazareth College
- New York Theological Seminary at The Interchurch Center
- Niagara University
- Nyack College
- Roberts Wesleyan College
- Siena College
- St. Bonaventure University
- St. Francis College
- St. John's University
- St. Joseph's College
- St. John Fisher College
- Syracuse University
- Touro College
- College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Manhattan
- Lander College for Men
- Lander College for Women – The Anna Ruth and Mark Hasten School
- Lander Institute
- Law Center
- Trocaire College
- Union Theological Seminary
- Wagner College
- Yeshiva University
- Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
- Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
- Stern College for Women
- Sy Syms School of Business
- Yeshiva 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 York and New Jersey, 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 New York and throughout the nation. Make certain your or your student's interests are protected - Contact National Title IX attorney Joseph D. Lento today.
