Title IX is the federal civil rights statute that guarantees equal access to higher education for people with different sexual orientations, genders, or gender identities. Further, as a federal law that applies to any college or university that accepts federal funding, including financial aid for students, Title IX reaches nearly every school in the state of Nevada. This means that the statute will be implicated in nearly every instance of on-campus sexual assault and sexual harassment.
While this might seem like a good thing, there are serious consequences. One of them is the pressure that schools feel for reacting to allegations with force and respond to them quickly. For students who have been wrongfully accused of committing sexual assault or harassment, Title IX can feel like a driving force to reach a conviction, even a wrongful one. Being able to appeal such a finding is crucial to your academic and professional future.
Nevada's Right to Appeal Title IX Findings
Students in Nevada have a right to appeal a finding that they violated Title IX's requirements, allowing you to challenge a bad outcome in your case, whether it is the determination, the sanction, or both.
Having this right is critical because the hearing processes that schools and universities use to determine Title IX violations are not designed to deal with such serious allegations. Having the ability to appeal their outcome can protect your future from a serious blemish.
Basis for Title IX Appeals
There are four potential grounds for a Title IX appeal in Nevada, so your appeal has to fall within one of these categories in order to proceed:
- The sanction is too harsh for the violation. If you only want to appeal the sanction, and not the underlying determination that you violated Title IX, then you can claim that the penalty is too high for the violation.
- Due process was violated. Because Title IX allegations are so serious, you have a right to make a meaningful defense. This is your due process right, and if your school tramples on it, you can appeal the outcome of the hearing.
- There were procedural errors. Schools and universities in Nevada state how they will investigate, determine, and penalize Title IX violations. If they vary from these rules and that variance substantially altered the outcome of your case, you can use that error as a basis for your appeal.
- New evidence has come to light. If new evidence has revealed itself, and that evidence could not have been found earlier in the hearing process, then it can be the grounds for an appeal of your Title IX violation.
Joseph D. Lento: Nevada Title IX Appeal Advisor
Joseph D. Lento is an attorney who represents students in matters of student discipline, including Title IX cases. If you have been found in violation of Title IX at your school in Nevada and you are considering an appeal, you need his help and advice. Contact him online or by phone at 888-535-3686 to make sure you are doing everything correctly and maximize your chances of success.
- College of Southern Nevada
- DeVry University Nevada
- Everest College Henderson
- Great Basin College
- International Academy of Design and Technology Henderson
- ITT Technical Institute Henderson
- ITT Technical Institute Las Vegas
- Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Las Vegas
- Morrison University
- Nevada State College
- Sierra Nevada College
- The Art Institute of Las Vegas
- Truckee Meadows Community College
- University of Nevada Las Vegas
- University of Nevada Reno
- University of Phoenix Las Vegas Campus
- University of Phoenix Northern Nevada Campus
- Western Nevada College
A Title IX finding of responsibility can change an accused student's life if not properly addressed and appealed, and Joseph D. Lento has a decade of experience passionately fighting for the futures of his clients at universities and colleges throughout the nation. 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, 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 and educational consultant to students facing disciplinary cases in Nevada and throughout the nation. Make certain your or your student's interests are protected - Contact National Title IX attorney Joseph D. Lento today.
