If you are a college student in the state of Ohio and have been accused of violating your school's code of conduct – especially if that accusation is one of sexual misconduct involving Title IX – you can find the investigation and hearing process to be stacked against you. In some cases, it can seem as if no one cares to hear your side of the story.
Filing a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) can bring a federal agency into your case to provide valuable oversight that ensures your rights get protected. Successfully petitioning them to get involved, though, can take the help and expertise of a lawyer.
The Office for Civil Rights Can Protect Your Rights
One of the agencies in the U.S. Department of Education is the Office for Civil Rights. This agency is tasked with the enforcement of numerous civil rights laws that protect the rights of students in higher education.
If your school in Ohio has violated one of these laws or your rights to due process, then you can file an OCR complaint within 180 days to bring the agency into your case and conduct an investigation that can protect your rights.
The OCR Investigation Process
If the OCR accepts your complaint and decides to conduct its own investigation, its agents will focus on the allegations that are laid out in your complaint. In some cases, this can mean the OCR will need access to private information that you may not want to disclose in order to do a full investigation. Your decision on whether or not to give them access to that information can make a big difference in the outcome of their investigation.
Throughout this process, if your college retaliates against you for implicating the OCR in the situation, it can become a ground for another OCR complaint, which can trigger yet another investigation.
Once the OCR is finished, it will submit a letter of its findings to both you and your college. If it finds that your school violated your rights, the OCR will often push you and your school to mediate the issue. If your school digs in its heels and refuses to talk, the OCR has the power to issue administrative penalties that can cut into a college's federal funding.
Facilitated Resolution in Ohio
Many of the cases that the OCR accepts take a quick turn even before the agency begins its investigation – once the OCR becomes involved, many schools suddenly want to negotiate. When this happens, the OCR will push for the process of Facilitated Resolution Between the Parties to reach a settlement between you and your school. Even though the OCR does not oversee the process or enforce the resulting agreement if your school violates the settlement it can be the grounds for yet another OCR complaint.
Title IX and OCR Complaint Lawyer in Ohio
Filing an OCR complaint is especially important if you have been accused of violating Title IX, which prohibits sexual misconduct. Colleges vigorously enforce these rules and often trample an accused student's rights. Contact student discipline defense attorney Joseph D. Lento online or by phone at 888-535-3686 for help filing an OCR complaint.
Ohio colleges and universities where Joseph D. Lento can help as your 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:
- Allegheny Wesleyan College
- American Institute of Alternative Medicine
- Antonelli College Cincinnati
- Art Academy of Cincinnati
- Ashland University
- ATS Institute of Technology
- Aultman College of Nursing and Health Sciences
- Baldwin Wallace College
- Beckfield College Tri County
- Belmont Technical College
- Bluffton University
- Bowling Green State University Firelands
- Bowling Green State University Main Campus
- Bradford School
- Brown Mackie College Akron
- Brown Mackie College Cincinnati
- Brown Mackie College Findlay
- Brown Mackie College North Canton
- Bryant & Stratton College Cleveland
- Bryant and Stratton College Eastlake
- Bryant and Stratton College Parma
- Capital University
- Case Western Reserve University
- Cedarville University
- Central Ohio Technical College
- Central State University
- Chamberlain College of Nursing Ohio
- Chancellor University
- Chatfield College
- Cincinnati Christian University
- Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science
- Cincinnati State Technical and Community College
- Clark State Community College
- Cleveland Institute of Art
- Cleveland Institute of Music
- Cleveland State University
- College of Mount St. Joseph
- Columbus College of Art and Design
- Columbus State Community College
- Cuyahoga Community College District
- Davis College
- Daymar College Chillicothe
- Daymar College Jackson
- Daymar College Lancaster
- Daymar College New Boston
- Defiance College
- Denison University
- DeVry University Ohio
- Eastern Gateway Community College
- Edison State Community College
- ETI Technical College
- Fortis College Centerville
- Fortis College Cincinnati
- Fortis College Columbus
- Fortis College Cuyahoga Falls
- Fortis College Ravenna
- Franciscan University of Steubenville
- Franklin University
- Gallipolis Career College
- Gods Bible School and College
- Good Samaritan College of Nursing & Health Science
- Harrison College Grove City
- Heidelberg University
- Herzing University Akron Campus
- Herzing University Toledo
- Hiram College
- Hocking College
- Hondros College
- International College of Broadcasting
- ITT Technical Institute Akron
- ITT Technical Institute Columbus
- ITT Technical Institute Dayton
- ITT Technical Institute Hilliard
- ITT Technical Institute Maumee
- ITT Technical Institute Norwood
- ITT Technical Institute Strongsville
- ITT Technical Institute Warrensville Heights
- ITT Technical Institute Youngstown
- James A Rhodes State College
- John Carroll University
- Kent State University at Ashtabula
- Kent State University at East Liverpool
- Kent State University at Geauga
- Kent State University at Kent
- Kent State University at Salem
- Kent State University at Stark
- Kent State University at Trumbull
- Kent State University at Tuscarawas
- Kenyon College
- Kettering College of Medical Arts
- Lake Erie College
- Lakeland Community College
- Lincoln College of Technology Cleveland
- Lincoln College of Technology Columbus
- Lincoln College of Technology Dayton
- Lincoln College of Technology Franklin LCT
- Lincoln College of Technology Toledo
- Lincoln College of Technology Tri County
- Lincoln College of Technology Vine Street
- Lorain County Community College
- Lourdes University
- Malone University
- Marietta College
- Marion Technical College
- Mercy College of Ohio
- Miami University
- Miami University Hamilton
- Miami University Middletown
- Miami Jacobs Career College
- Miami Jacobs Career College Columbus
- Miami Jacobs Career College Dayton
- Miami Jacobs Career College Sharonville
- Miami Jacobs Career College Springboro
- Miami Jacobs Career College Troy
- Mount Carmel College of Nursing
- Mount Vernon Nazarene University
- Muskingum University
- National College Cincinnati
- National College Columbus
- National College Dayton
- National College Stow
- National College Willoughby Hills
- National College Youngstown
- North Central State College
- Northwest State Community College
- Notre Dame College
- Oberlin College
- Ohio Business College Columbus
- Ohio Business College Sandusky
- Ohio Business College Sheffield
- Ohio Christian University
- Ohio College of Massotherapy Inc
- Ohio Dominican University
- Ohio Mid Western College
- Ohio Northern University
- Ohio State University
- Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute
- Ohio State University Lima Campus
- Ohio State University Mansfield Campus
- Ohio State University Marion Campus
- Ohio State University Newark Campus
- Ohio University Chillicothe Campus
- Ohio University Eastern Campus
- Ohio University Lancaster Campus
- Ohio University Main Campus
- Ohio University Southern Campus
- Ohio University Zanesville Campus
- Ohio Valley College of Technology
- Ohio Wesleyan University
- Otterbein University
- Owens Community College
- Pontifical College Josephinum
- Professional Skills Institute
- Rabbinical College Telshe
- Remington College Cleveland Campus
- Remington College Cleveland West Campus
- Rosedale Bible College
- Sanford Brown College Middleburg Heights,
- School of Advertising Art Inc.
- Shawnee State University
- Sinclair Community College
- Southern State Community College
- Stark State College
- Stautzenberger College Brecksville
- Stautzenberger College Maumee
- Terra State Community College
- The Art Institute of Cincinnati
- The Art Institute of Ohio Cincinnati
- The Christ College of Nursing and Health Sciences
- The College of Wooster
- The University of Findlay
- Tiffin University
- Tri State Bible College
- Trumbull Business College
- Union Institute & University
- University of Akron Main Campus
- University of Akron Wayne College
- University of Cincinnati Clermont College
- University of Cincinnati Main Campus
- University of Cincinnati Raymond Walters College
- University of Dayton
- University of Mount Union
- University of Northwestern Ohio
- University of Phoenix Cincinnati Campus
- University of Phoenix Cleveland Campus
- University of Phoenix Columbus Ohio Campus
- University of Rio Grande
- University of Toledo
- Urbana University
- Ursuline College
- Vatterott College Cleveland
- Virginia Marti College of Art and Design
- Walsh University
- Washington State Community College
- Wilberforce University
- Wilmington College
- Wittenberg University
- Wright State University Lake Campus
- Wright State University Main Campus
- Xavier University
- Youngstown State University
- Zane State 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 Ohio 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 Ohio and throughout the nation. Make certain your or your student's interests are protected - Contact National Title IX attorney Joseph D. Lento today.
