Defending School Sexual Misconduct Charges Under Current Title IX Rules

The first thing to bear in mind when it comes to Title IX, the popular name for a portion of a law that prohibits sexual misconduct and sexual discrimination at publicly-funded schools, is that it can change quickly. What you’re reading now represents the general state of Title IX law as of late 2025 as it applies to the kinds of misconduct charges that students typically face. If and when any significant changes occur to Title IX that you should be aware of, the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team will post an update.

One thing you can be sure of: if you are a student accused of Title IX misconduct of any type by your school, you need a strong defense. These types of allegations can often lead to the accused student being suspended or even expelled from school, so it is important to take them seriously. The LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team is made up of experienced attorneys who regularly represent student clients accused of Title IX and other forms of misconduct by their schools. We know what it takes to protect your rights and defend you in these critical and very stressful situations. Fill out our online contact form or call us at 888.535.3686, and we will schedule a confidential consultation to learn more about your case and to explain how we can help.

Despite Frequent Rule Changes, Title IX Persists

No matter what form the rules implementing Title IX take, unless the underlying law that includes Title IX is significantly changed by Congress, Title IX will almost certainly continue to provide ways for schools across the country to enforce sexual misconduct and sexual discrimination policies on campus. And even if Title IX were to be repealed entirely, it is extremely likely that almost all schools would continue to include some form of sexual misconduct and discrimination policy in their codes of conduct.

So, while it is important to understand what the state of the Title IX rules are at any particular point in time, it is also important to understand that students accused of sexual misconduct or discrimination are likely to face the stressful and grueling process of being investigated and sanctioned anyway. That is because these misconduct investigations are triggered by someone filing a complaint against the student, and almost all schools will take sexual assault, harassment, or discrimination complaints seriously – if not as a Title IX complaint, then as a school code of conduct violation complaint.

That means there will be some kind of an investigation. After that, there may be some kind of a resolution process, where the school either drops the case or charges the student with violating the school’s code of conduct or Title IX, or both. The particular Title IX rules that are in place at the time will likely affect how the investigation is conducted and how misconduct charges are resolved. But from the perspective of a student who is accused of serious misconduct that could result in their suspension or expulsion, the entire process is still very stressful and uncertain. It’s stressful and uncertain no matter what the Title IX rules happen to be at that point in time, or whether the student is facing discipline based on an accused violation of Title IX or the school’s code of conduct.

This is where the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team comes in. Our attorneys stay on top of the changing Title IX rules. We know the policies and procedures that schools have in place for enforcing both Title IX misconduct allegations and other types of misconduct allegations. We can protect your rights during all stages of the disciplinary process, and we will use our experience to defend you against misconduct allegations that could bring your college career to a halt and could threaten your future.

2020 Called, Its Title IX Rules Are Back

The current set of Title IX rules was put in place by the first Trump administration in 2020. The Biden administration attempted to introduce significant changes to those rules in 2024 that would have generally made it easier for schools to find that an accused student had committed prohibited sexual misconduct, harassment, or discrimination. Those rules were contested in court by a number of states and were enjoined by a federal court in early 2025 while President Biden was still in office. In late January 2025, after President Trump took office for his final term, the Department of Education confirmed that it would enforce the 2020 Title IX rules and not the Biden administration’s 2024 version.

Even though they are not in force, understanding the changes that the Biden administration’s Title IX rules tried to implement can help with understanding the 2020 Title IX rules that are now again in place.

Some of the main changes attempted by the Biden administration’s rules included:

• Broadening the definition of sexual discrimination to explicitly include sexual harassment, such as verbal harassment.
• Explicitly protecting students based on their “sexual orientation” and “gender identity”
• Including transgender students within the scope of Title IX’s protection
• Expanding protection for pregnant students and students who are parents
• Extending Title IX’s reach to more off-campus student activity, specifically to international activity
• Lowering the severity level of what the rules defined as misconduct, from “severe and pervasive” to “severe or pervasive”
• Lowering the evidentiary standard to find the student guilty, from “clear and convincing” to a “preponderance of the evidence”
• Allowing schools to have a single person both investigate and decide the Title IX case against a student
• Eliminating the requirement for an in-person hearing involving all parties, and allowing schools to use a series of individual meetings instead of a single live hearing
• Allowing schools to limit the role of the student’s attorney in the hearing process

As a whole, the Biden administration’s proposed Title IX rules broadened the overall scope of Title IX’s protections against discrimination for students, while at the same time narrowing the scope of the rights of students accused of violating Title IX.

The Current State of Title IX Student Protections

The fact that the 2020 Title IX rules are different than the 2024 rules that the Biden administration attempted to put in place does not mean that the 2020 rules do not protect students against many forms of discrimination and harassment. Here are some of the important areas where Title IX protections apply at the college and university level.

Reporting Title IX Misconduct

Schools are deemed to have been put on notice of a student’s allegation that the student has been the victim of sexual misconduct or harassment when a complaint is filed with the school’s designated Title IX coordinator. This idea of being put “on notice” is important because it defines the point at which the school is required to take steps to investigate and address the Title IX misconduct allegation.

Schools can also choose to designate all school employees as “mandatory reporters” – meaning that if any school employee learns that a student has been sexually harassed, that employee must report it to the Title IX coordinator. Alternatively, schools can designate certain employees as “confidential resources” who students can confide in without the reporting requirement being triggered.

Definition of Sexual Harassment

The 2020 rules define sexual harassment broadly to cover any of three different types of misconduct on the basis of sex. These three different types of misconduct can be categorized as follows:

• So-called quid pro quo harassment by a school employee (for example, a professor improves a student’s grade in return for sexual contact with the student)
• Unwelcome conduct that could reasonably be considered to be “so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive” that the target of the conduct is denied their equal access to an education
• Sexual assault, including dating violence, domestic violence, or stalking

Where the allegation of sexual harassment is based on speech, the 2020 rules take the First Amendment into account. They require the school to balance Title IX enforcement with free speech concerns. In particular, the rules require the allegedly offensive speech to be severe and pervasive and offensive before it can be deemed a Title IX violation.

Where Does Title IX Apply?

The Title IX rules apply to all of the school’s educational programs or activities, both on-campus and off-campus, except that they are limited to those programs or activities that occur in the United States. Sexual harassment that occurs outside of the country, for example, on a school-sponsored trip or while students are participating in a “semester abroad” at a foreign campus operated by or affiliated with the school, is not covered by Title IX. (Note that it still may be covered by the school’s code of conduct, with the disciplinary process operating outside of Title IX.)

Schools Must Provide Pathways to Enforcement

Schools need to take affirmative steps so that students know how to file a report of sexual harassment or discrimination with the school.

• The school must specifically designate an official “Title IX Coordinator”
• The Title IX Coordinator’s contact information must be provided not only to students and school employees, but also to prospective students who apply for admission and to individuals who apply for employment with the school
• The school must prominently display the Title IX Coordinator’s contact information on the school’s website
• The school should accept Title IX discrimination reports from any person, even from someone who does not claim to be the victim (for example, one roommate reporting that the other roommate has been the victim of Title IX misconduct)
• Title IX misconduct allegations should be received by the Title IX Coordinator multiple ways: through a website form, by email, by phone, by regular mail, and in person, at any time of the day or night

What Should Happen When Title IX Misconduct is Reported

Once the Title IX Coordinator receives a report of alleged Title IX misconduct, they are required to respond promptly, and in a way that is not “deliberately indifferent.” The school must offer “supportive measures” to the person who filed the complaint. It must offer these supporting measures even if the person who has contacted the Title IX Coordinator has not yet filed a formal complaint – for example, if they call and say they are considering filing a formal complaint but are not sure whether they will do so.

In most cases, schools are required to respect the wishes of someone who contacts the Title IX Coordinator about a potential Title IX violation but then asks the school not to investigate the matter. Only in situations where the Title IX Coordinator determines that filing a formal complaint, signed by the Title IX Coordinator and not the person who claims to be the victim, is “not clearly unreasonable in light of the known circumstances,” can the school disregard the alleged victim’s wishes and move forward with a Title IX investigation.

Supportive Measures Often Fail to Support the Accused Student

“Supportive measures” are defined in the 2020 rules to mean “non-disciplinary, non-punitive individualized services offered as appropriate, as reasonably available, and without fee or charge.” While in theory they are available to both the person making the Title IX complaint and the person alleged of violating Title IX, as a practical matter, the majority of supportive measures are directed at providing the alleged victim with support.

These measures can include:

• Counseling
• Extending class deadlines or making other adjustments to school courses
• Modification of work or class schedules
• Providing the student with a campus escort
• Restricting contact between the parties
• Changes in work or housing locations
• Forced leaves of absence

In many cases, it is the accused student who is required to make the most intrusive changes, even before the school has investigated the complaint against them. It is typically the accused student whom the school says must:

• change their class schedule
• move out of their dorm to another dorm if one is available, or if no space is available in campus housing, to an off-campus apartment
• modify their work schedule at their on-campus job, or leave that job if their schedule cannot be changed to avoid working with the person who filed the complaint against them
• take a leave of absence until the Title IX matter has been resolved

When this happens, it can make the accused student feel as though the school has already decided the Title IX matter against them from the very beginning. This is where the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team can help. It is often possible to push back against these premature attempts to disguise punishment in the form of “supportive measures,” and to find ways to modify the measures so that the accused student’s on-campus life is not turned upside down before any determination has been made whether the student is or is not responsible for the alleged Title IX misconduct.

Title IX Isn’t the Only Route to School Discipline

It is important to keep in mind that colleges and universities have two parallel sets of disciplinary policies and procedures: those that operate under the school’s codes of conduct (which may also describe misconduct prohibited under Title IX), and those that operate under Title IX.

The school’s code of conduct will typically cover a number of types of misconduct (such as cheating, alcohol use, vandalism, and the like) that Title IX does not cover. There are cases where a Title IX complaint is filed by a student, and the Title IX Coordinator determines that it does not allege misconduct covered by Title IX. If, however, the complaint alleges misconduct that is prohibited by the school’s code of conduct, the Title IX Coordinator will likely refer the matter to the school official (such as the Dean of Students) who is responsible for school discipline in cases that do not involve a Title IX allegation.

There are also state laws in some states that may provide students with protections and rights in this area that go beyond what Title IX requires. While violation of these laws is not covered by the Title IX process, schools in these states will typically incorporate the state law requirements as part of their codes of conduct.

The attorneys who are part of the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team regularly help students accused of misconduct under their school’s regular misconduct policies, as well as students accused of Title IX misconduct. We understand the important differences (and similarities) between the two types of disciplinary proceedings, and are ready to protect your rights and defend you against the allegations you face, no matter which type of misconduct you’ve been accused of.

The Current State of Title IX Misconduct Procedures

Title IX requires schools to follow certain procedures when it comes to investigating and resolving Title IX misconduct complaints. Schools may sometimes deviate from these procedures to the extent that the school policies add to the protections that the procedures create. That said, it is important to understand what those basic Title IX procedures are.

Who Can Be a Party to a Title IX Case

A student who files a complaint with the Title IX Coordinator and claims to be a victim of Title IX misconduct is a party to the Title IX case and is called the “Complainant.” The student who has been accused of Title IX misconduct is called the “Respondent.” While parents and guardians of both the Complainant and Respondent students are generally not considered parties to Title IX proceedings, depending on the age of the student, they may have rights to act on their student’s behalf.

The Formal Complaint

There may be a difference between a Title IX misconduct report filed with the Title IX Coordinator by a student and the formal complaint that is eventually made in the case. In many cases, a student may make initial inquiries to the Title IX Coordinator about a situation that the student believes may involve Title IX misconduct. Making an initial inquiry or filing a misconduct report is not the same as filing and signing a formal complaint.

A formal complaint is one that is filed as a formal complaint by the person who alleges they are a victim of Title IX misconduct, which asks the school to investigate. It may be signed by the student or by the Title IX Coordinator. Formal complaints can be filed online, by regular mail, by email, or in person at the Title IX Coordinator’s office.

When the Title IX Coordinator is the one signing the complaint, the coordinator is not considered the Complainant and must follow Title IX’s requirements for remaining free from conflicts or bias in connection with that case.

The Title IX Investigation

When a formal, signed Title IX complaint has been filed with the school’s Title IX Coordinator, the school is required to investigate the allegations. The investigation will include the following steps:

• Written notice must be sent to both the Complainant and the Respondent of the allegations made in the complaint. They must also receive information about the investigation process and about the process used to determine whether the Respondent is responsible for the alleged misconduct. The notice must also state that the accused Respondent is presumed not to be responsible for the alleged misconduct until a formal determination is made otherwise.
• The school has the burden of collecting the evidence in connection with the allegations; it ultimately bears the burden of proof when it comes to deciding whether Title IX misconduct occurred.
• Both the Complainant and the Respondent are entitled to select an advisor of their choice. This advisor may be an outside attorney.
• The school may not restrict either the Complainant or Respondent from discussing the allegations that are under investigation.
• Both the Complainant and the Respondent are free to conduct their own investigations, gather their own evidence, and present that evidence to the school.
• The school must send the parties written notice of any investigative interviews, meetings, or hearings in the case.
• At some point during the investigative process, the school must provide the evidence it has collected to the Complainant and the Respondent, giving them at least 10 days to inspect, review, and respond to the evidence. The evidence can be in either hard copy or electronic format (or both).
• At the close of the investigation, the school must provide the parties with a written investigative report that fairly summarizes the relevant evidence. This can be sent in electronic form or hard copy. The parties must have at least 10 days to respond to the investigative report.
• If at any time during the investigation the Complainant notifies the Title IX Coordinator that they would like to withdraw the formal complaint (or any part of it), the school may dismiss the formal complaint or that part of it that relates to the withdrawn allegations.
• If the investigation does not find evidence to support the allegations that the Respondent was responsible for the alleged Title IX misconduct, the school must dismiss the formal Title IX complaint. The school may still refer the matter to its code of conduct disciplinary process.
• The school must notify both parties if the school dismisses the Title IX case and give them the reasons for the dismissal.

After the Investigation

Once the investigation is complete, the Title IX Coordinator will review the investigative report and make a determination whether the case should proceed against the accused Respondent. If the Title IX Coordinator does not believe that there is sufficient evidence to move forward with disciplinary proceedings against the Respondent, the case will be dismissed. Both parties will be notified in writing, and the Title IX Coordinator must provide their reasons for dismissing the case.

If the Title IX Coordinator believes that there is sufficient evidence to move forward against the Respondent, that will be put in writing as well. The school will state the grounds for moving forward and will typically propose specific sanctions against the Respondent.

Informal Resolution Procedures

If the case is not dismissed by the Title IX Coordinator after the investigation, the school may offer the parties an informal resolution process where the Complainant and Respondent can attempt to resolve the Title IX case through that process before moving forward with a formal hearing.

These informal processes are voluntary – both sides must agree to them – and are administered by the school. An informal resolution does not mean that the Respondent will not be sanctioned by the school. It simply means that the parties agree to attempt to resolve the matter informally. The Respondent ultimately must agree to any sanctions that are imposed as a result of the informal resolution process.

The Formal Hearing

Formal hearings must follow certain procedures and provide both the Complainant and the Respondent student with certain rights. In connection with formal hearings, schools must:

• Provide both the Complainant and the Respondent with an equal opportunity to present fact and expert witnesses and to introduce evidence for their side of the case
• Allow both parties’ attorneys or advisors to question the other party and any witnesses, including cross-examining the other party’s witnesses and attacking their credibility
• At either party’s request, conduct the live hearing so that the parties are in separate rooms with a live video and audio connection
• Create an audio or audiovisual recording of the hearing, or a written transcript
• Limit questioning of the Complainant’s past sexual behavior except where the questioning is offered to prove that someone other than the Respondent committed the alleged misconduct, or is offered to prove that the Respondent consented to the alleged misconduct

The decision-maker at the formal hearing cannot be the Title IX Coordinator or the investigator. Schools can have more than one decision-maker; some schools will use a panel made up of several people who will decide the case.

The Decision After a Formal Hearing

At (or typically some time after) the close of the hearing, the decision-maker must issue a written determination of responsibility and send it to both parties at the same time. That written determination must apply the standard of proof adopted by the school. That standard can either be:

• Preponderance of the evidence (a lower standard, often described as “more likely than not”)
• Clear and convincing evidence (a higher standard than the preponderance standard, but not as high as the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard used in criminal cases)

The evidentiary standard is important. If your school uses the lower preponderance of the evidence standard, it is generally easier to find the accused Respondent responsible for the alleged Title IX misconduct. If your school uses the higher clear and convincing evidence standard, it is generally more difficult.

The written decision must provide certain types of information about how the hearing officer or panel arrived at the decision. In particular, it needs to include:

• The allegations that were made against the Respondent that potentially constitute sexual harassment
• A detailed description of the procedures followed in the case, from when the formal complaint was received through the written decision
• Findings of fact that support the determination
• Conclusions regarding how the school’s code of conduct applies to the facts of the case
• For each allegation, a statement of how the allegations have been resolved
• Disciplinary sanctions to be imposed on the Respondent, if any
• Any remedies offered to the Complainant to help “restore or preserve” their equal access to the school’s education program or activity
• A description of the appeal procedures

The written decision becomes final when any appeal has been resolved by the school or, if no appeal is filed, on the date when any appeal was due.

Appeals

The Title IX rules provide appeal rights to both the Complainant and the Respondent. If the Title IX Coordinator or hearing panel elects to dismiss a formal complaint, the Complainant may appeal that decision. If the hearing panel rules against the Respondent, the Respondent may appeal.

There are limited grounds for appeals. These are:

• There was a “procedural irregularity” that affected the outcome
• New evidence, not previously available, that could affect the outcome
• The Title IX Coordinator, investigator, or hearing panel member had a conflict of interest or bias for or against either the Complainant or the Respondent that affected the outcome

Appeals have their own set of procedural rules that apply. If you are working with one of the experienced attorneys from the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team, we can help you evaluate your case to decide whether there are grounds for an appeal. Where there are, even if we were not involved in the case when it was heard by your school, we can work with you to prepare and aggressively pursue your appeal.

Sanctions

Title IX is silent as to the sanctions that schools are to impose on students found to have committed Title IX misconduct. This often causes schools to err on the side of being strict, so that the federal government cannot argue that the schools are not meeting their obligation to protect students against sexual harassment. One possible consequence – though in fact rarely used by the government – is to restrict the school’s access to federal funding.

That said, schools will keep their options open when it comes to sanctioning students for Title IX misconduct. Sanctions can range from a written warning or censure to a requirement that the student complete educational programming or a course of counseling, to putting the student on probation, to suspending or even expelling the student.

The LLF National Law Firm is Ready to Defend You Against Title IX Misconduct Allegations

All of this means that if you have been notified by your school’s Title IX Coordinator that a Title IX complaint has been filed against you, it is vitally important that you get help from an experienced education law attorney. And the sooner you get this help, the better for you.

The LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team is made up of attorneys who regularly represent student clients in these critical types of disciplinary proceedings. We can help you from the day you learn you’ve been accused of committing Title IX misconduct, through the entire investigation process, and on through whatever path your case takes until it is resolved. We will keep you informed as to what is happening; will protect your rights from day one; will respond to information requests and filings from the Title IX investigator and Title IX Coordinator on your behalf; and will fight to defend you against the allegations you are facing.

Our attorneys do this day in and day out for students all across the country. We know the laws, regulations, rules, and procedures that apply in Title IX and code of conduct cases, and we stay on top of the changing legal landscape so that you have the best and strongest representation possible.

To learn more about how the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team can protect and defend you in your Title IX case, fill out our contact form or call us at 888.535.3686. We will schedule a confidential consultation to review your case in detail and to explain how we can help.