If you go to college in Virginia and are being accused of a Title IX violation or a different code of conduct issue, you could find your school's investigatory process to be overly aggressive. If it seems like your rights are being trampled so the school can decide that you violated its code of conduct, you might be right: Colleges enforce Title IX rules so aggressively that accused students feel victimized by a sham process.
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) can help protect your federal rights as a student, including your rights to a fair process. Bringing them into your case, however, often takes the help of an OCR complaint and Title IX lawyer.
How the Office for Civil Rights Helps Students
There are a handful of federal laws that protect students in higher education. The OCR is tasked with enforcing them. An agency in the U.S. Department of Education, the OCR can be drawn into cases across the country, though, not just in Virginia. Filing a complaint with the OCR to notify them of your case and convince them that they should intervene is not an easy task. Worse, it has to be done quickly – within 180 days of the incident that violated your rights.
The OCR Investigation in Virginia
If your complaint to the OCR is successful, the OCR will conduct its own independent investigation of the incident and the allegations you included in your complaint. Importantly, the OCR will focus its scrutiny on how your school has treated you during its Title IX or disciplinary investigation, interviewing pertinent people and reviewing important documents to see if your college violated your rights.
If your school intimidates you or retaliates against you for implicating the OCR in your case, you can file another OCR complaint and urge the agency to look into that incident, as well.
When the OCR wraps up its investigation, it will send you and your school a letter of its findings. If a violation was found, the agency will recommend you and your school mediate the issue to find a resolution you can both live with. Schools that refuse mediation can face harsh sanctions that can implicate their federal funding.
Facilitated Resolution Between the Parties
Many OCR cases do not get very far before a college decides it wants to settle the case. The OCR has a process for this, called Facilitated Resolution Between the Parties. While the OCR does not oversee this process or enforce any agreement that comes from it, a violation of the agreement that you and your school strike can be the grounds for another OCR complaint in the future.
Title IX and OCR Complaint Advisor in Virginia
Joseph D. Lento is a student discipline defense lawyer can advise students in Virginia during Title IX cases. He can also help you craft an effective OCR complaint if you think that your rights are being violated during a disciplinary proceeding or a Title IX case for sexual misconduct. Contact him online or by phone at 888-535-3686 for the legal assistance you need to protect your future.
Virginia 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:
- Advanced Technology Institute
- Argosy University Washington D.C.
- Averett University
- Averett University Non Traditional Programs
- Aviation Institute of Maintenance Chesapeake
- Aviation Institute of Maintenance Manassas
- Bethel College
- Blue Ridge Community College
- Bluefield College
- Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing
- Bridgewater College
- Bryant & Stratton College Hampton
- Bryant and Stratton College Richmond
- Bryant and Stratton College Virginia Beach
- Central Virginia Community College
- Centura College Chesapeake
- Centura College Newport News
- Centura College Norfolk
- Centura College Richmond Main
- Centura College Richmond Westend
- Centura College Virginia Beach
- Chamberlain College of Nursing
- Christopher Newport University
- College of William and Mary
- Dabney S Lancaster Community College
- Danville Community College
- DeVry University Virginia
- Eastern Mennonite University
- Eastern Shore Community College
- ECPI University
- Emory and Henry College
- Everest College Arlington
- Everest College Chesapeake
- Everest College McLean
- Everest College Newport News
- Ferrum College
- Fortis College Norfolk
- Fortis College Richmond
- George Mason University
- Germanna Community College
- Hampden Sydney College
- Hampton University
- Hollins University
- ITT Technical Institute Chantilly
- ITT Technical Institute Norfolk
- ITT Technical Institute Richmond
- ITT Technical Institute Salem
- ITT Technical Institute Springfield
- J Sargeant Reynolds Community College
- James Madison University
- Jefferson College of Health Sciences
- John Tyler Community College
- Liberty University
- Longwood University
- Lord Fairfax Community College
- Lynchburg College
- Mary Baldwin College
- Marymount University
- Miller Motte Technical College Lynchburg
- Mountain Empire Community College
- National College Salem
- New River Community College
- Norfolk State University
- Northern Virginia Community College
- Old Dominion University
- Patrick Henry Community College
- Paul D Camp Community College
- Piedmont Virginia Community College
- Potomac College Herndon
- Radford University
- Randolph College
- Randolph Macon College
- Rappahannock Community College
- Regent University
- Richard Bland College of the College of William and Mary
- Roanoke College
- Saint Pauls College
- Sanford Brown College Tysons Corner
- Shenandoah University
- Skyline College Roanoke
- South University Richmond
- South University Virginia Beach
- Southeast Culinary & Hospitality College
- Southern Virginia University
- Southside Virginia Community College
- Southwest Virginia Community College
- Stratford University
- Sweet Briar College
- The Art Institute of Virginia Beach
- The Art Institute of Washington
- The Art Institute of Washington Northern Virginia
- The University of Virginia's College at Wise
- Thomas Nelson Community College
- Tidewater Community College
- University of Management and Technology (The)
- University of Mary Washington
- University of Phoenix Northern Virginia Campus
- University of Phoenix Richmond Campus
- University of Richmond
- University of Virginia Main Campus
- Virginia College
- Virginia Commonwealth University
- Virginia Highlands Community College
- Virginia Intermont College
- Virginia Military Institute
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
- Virginia State University
- Virginia Union University
- Virginia University of Lynchburg
- Virginia Wesleyan College
- Virginia Western Community College
- Washington and Lee University
- Westwood College Annandale
- Westwood College Arlington Ballston
- Wytheville Community 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 Virginia 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 Virginia and throughout the nation. Make certain your or your student's interests are protected - Contact National Title IX attorney Joseph D. Lento today.
