Students who have been accused of a disciplinary violation in Texas can find that their school cares little for their due process rights, especially if the alleged violation is for sexual misconduct or other violation of Title IX. In these cases, the investigation and hearing process can seem like little more than a rubber stamp.
If you have been mistreated by your school's investigation and hearing process, you can lodge a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), the federal agency that protects students in America. Writing an effective complaint letter, however, often requires an attorney's consultation.
The Office for Civil Rights Defends Students in the U.S.
The OCR is a part of the Department of Education. As an agency, the OCR is responsible for protecting the due process rights of students, as well as their rights under a handful of federal education and civil rights laws.
If your school violated one of these laws that the OCR enforces, you can urge the agency to review your case by filing a complaint within 180 days.
The OCR's Investigation Process
The OCR has the discretion to choose to investigate or ignore a complaint. If they choose to investigate yours, they will notify both you, as the student, and your school. The investigation then scrutinizes the allegations you made in your OCR complaint by interviewing witnesses and reviewing documents. While you have a right to privacy, invoking that right can prevent the OCR from finding the evidence that they need to perform a thorough investigation.
Throughout this investigation, if your school takes against you for bringing the OCR into the situation, it can amount to intimidation or retaliation and serve as the grounds for yet another OCR claim.
Once the investigation is complete, the OCR will send a letter of findings to you and your school. If the investigation determines that your school violated the law, it will seek to create a resolution through mediation. If your school refuses mediation, then the OCR can pursue administrative penalties, which can even affect a school's federal funding.
Facilitated Resolution Between the Parties
Many schools, after being notified that the OCR is getting involved in a case, will try resolving the problem with you, the aggrieved student. If the OCR thinks that this can work, it will oversee the settlement discussions in a process known as Facilitated Resolution Between the Parties. While the OCR will not formally approve or even enforce the terms of any agreement you come to, through Facilitated Resolution, you can have the grounds to file a new OCR complaint if your school violates the agreement.
Title IX and OCR Complaint Lawyer Joseph D. Lento Serves Texas
Joseph D. Lento is a student discipline defense lawyer who can represent you if you want to file a complaint with the OCR over a Title IX issue. With his help, you can bring a powerful federal agency into your case to ensure that your rights are being protected against your school's prosecution. Contact him online or by phone at 888-535-3686 for help.
Texas 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:
- Abilene Christian University
- Alvin Community College
- Amarillo College
- American InterContinental University Houston
- Angelina College
- Angelo State University
- Argosy University Dallas
- Arlington Baptist College
- Austin College
- Austin Community College District
- Baptist Missionary Association Theological Seminary
- Baptist University of the Americas
- Baylor University
- Blinn College
- Brazosport College
- Brookhaven College
- Brown Mackie College San Antonio
- Career Point College
- Cedar Valley College
- Central Texas College
- Chamberlain College of Nursing Texas
- Cisco College
- Clarendon College
- Coastal Bend College
- College of Biblical Studies Houston
- College of the Mainland
- Collin County Community College District
- Commonwealth Institute of Funeral Service
- Concordia University Texas
- Court Reporting Institute Wheeler Institute of Texas
- Culinary Institute Inc.
- Dallas Baptist University
- Dallas Christian College
- Dallas Institute of Funeral Service
- Del Mar College
- DeVry University Texas
- East Texas Baptist University
- Eastfield College
- El Centro College
- El Paso Community College
- Everest College Arlington
- Everest College Dallas
- Everest College Fort Worth
- Everest College Fort Worth South
- Frank Phillips College
- Galveston College
- Grayson County College
- Hardin Simmons University
- Hill College
- Houston Baptist University
- Houston Community College
- Howard College
- Howard Payne University
- Huston Tillotson University
- International Academy of Design and Technology San Antonio
- ITT Technical Institute Arlington
- ITT Technical Institute Austin
- ITT Technical Institute DeSoto
- ITT Technical Institute Houston North
- ITT Technical Institute Houston West
- ITT Technical Institute Richardson
- ITT Technical Institute San Antonio
- ITT Technical Institute Waco
- ITT Technical Institute Webster
- Jacksonville College Main Campus
- Jarvis Christian College
- KD Conservatory College of Film and Dramatic Arts
- Kilgore College
- Lamar Institute of Technology
- Lamar State College Orange
- Lamar State College Port Arthur
- Lamar University
- Laredo Community College
- Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Austin
- Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Dallas
- Lee College
- LeTourneau University
- Lon Morris College
- Lone Star College System
- Lubbock Christian University
- McLennan Community College
- McMurry University
- Midland College
- Midwestern State University
- Mountain View College
- National American University Austin
- Navarro College
- North American College
- North Central Texas College
- North Lake College
- Northeast Texas Community College
- Northwest Vista College
- Northwood University Texas
- Odessa College
- Our Lady of the Lake University San Antonio
- Palo Alto College
- Panola College
- Paris Junior College
- Paul Quinn College
- Prairie View A & M University
- Ranger College
- Remington College Dallas Campus
- Remington College Fort Worth Campus
- Remington College Houston Campus
- Remington College Houston Southeast Campus
- Remington College North Houston Campus
- Rice University
- Richland College
- Saint Edward's University
- Sam Houston State University
- San Antonio College
- San Jacinto Community College
- Sanford Brown College Dallas
- Sanford Brown College Houston
- Sanford Brown College Houston North Loop
- Sanford Brown College San Antonio
- Schreiner University
- South Plains College
- South Texas College
- South University The Art Institute of Dallas
- South University The Art Institute of Fort Worth
- Southern Methodist University
- Southwest Career College
- Southwest Collegiate Institute for the Deaf
- Southwest Texas Junior College
- Southwestern Adventist University
- Southwestern Assemblies of God University
- Southwestern Christian College
- Southwestern University
- St Philip's College
- St. Mary's University
- Stephen F Austin State University
- Sul Ross State University
- Tarleton State University
- Tarrant County College District
- Temple College
- Texarkana College
- Texas A & M International University
- Texas A & M University College Station
- Texas A & M University Commerce
- Texas A & M University Corpus Christi
- Texas A & M University Galveston
- Texas A & M University Kingsville
- Texas A & M University Texarkana
- Texas Christian University
- Texas College
- Texas Lutheran University
- Texas Southern University
- Texas State Technical College Harlingen
- Texas State Technical College Waco
- Texas State Technical College Marshall
- Texas State Technical College West Texas
- Texas State University
- Texas Tech University
- Texas Wesleyan University
- Texas Woman's University
- The Art Institute of Austin
- The Art Institute of Houston
- The Art Institute of San Antonio
- The College of Saint Thomas More
- The University of Texas at Arlington
- The University of Texas at Austin
- The University of Texas at Brownsville
- The University of Texas at Dallas
- The University of Texas at El Paso
- The University of Texas at San Antonio
- The University of Texas at Tyler
- The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
- The University of Texas of the Permian Basin
- The University of Texas Pan American
- Trinity University
- Trinity Valley Community College
- Tyler Junior College
- University of Dallas
- University of Houston
- University of Houston Downtown
- University of Houston Victoria
- University of Mary Hardin Baylor
- University of North Texas
- University of Phoenix Austin Campus
- University of Phoenix Dallas Campus
- University of Phoenix Houston Campus
- University of Phoenix San Antonio Campus
- University of St Thomas
- University of the Incarnate Word
- Vernon College
- Vet Tech Institute of Houston
- Victoria College
- Virginia College Austin
- Wade College
- Wayland Baptist University
- Weatherford College
- West Texas A & M University
- Western Texas College
- Wharton County Junior College
- Wiley 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 Texas 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 Texas and throughout the nation. Make certain your or your student's interests are protected - Contact National Title IX attorney Joseph D. Lento today.
