Going to college is a big deal. As students enroll, move into dorms, and begin classes, they build a new community and exercise their independence in exciting ways. Their enthusiasm touches every aspect of their lives, from friends and roommates to social activities, school traditions, athletic events, and even coursework.
In Greater San Antonio, including New Braunfels, Schertz, Seguin, and Cibolo, students can enroll in diverse and challenging academic programs and enjoy the social aspects of their college experience. Unfortunately, a student's excitement and hope for the future can end abruptly after learning they have been accused of sexual misconduct.
If you are the target of a Title IX sexual misconduct investigation or student disciplinary hearing, the Lento Law Firm can help. It's never too early to contact our Student Defense Team. We have earned a national reputation for protecting our clients by challenging the overreach of universities and their administrators during Title IX investigations and hearings. Across the United States, our experienced attorneys can help you. Contact the Lento Law Firm offices at 888-535-3686 or complete an online consultation form.
Greater San Antonio Colleges and Universities are Leaders in Higher Education
Tens of thousands of students attend classes and are subject to Title IX policies at colleges and universities in the San Antonio area, including:
- Baptist University of the Americas
- Hallmark University
- Northeast Lakeview College
- Palo Alto College
- San Antonio College
- St. Mary's University of San Antonio
- St. Philip's College
- Texas A&M University-San Antonio
- Texas Lutheran University
- Texas State University
- Trinity University
- University of Texas at San Antonio
- University of the Incarnate Word
- Wayland Baptist University
If you are accused of a Title IX sexual misconduct violation at your university, you must build a team of experienced professionals committed to you and your future.
The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team can help any student accused of a Title IX sexual misconduct violation. Our attorneys can serve as the student's advisor throughout the investigation and hearing, working to protect their legal rights. We can develop a comprehensive defense strategy to manage every step, from the initial investigation to the hearing and any necessary appeals.
What is Title IX?
In the 1970s, Congress passed Title IX to mitigate gender discrimination in higher education. Under Title IX, educational institutions that fail to address gender discrimination and comply with Title IX requirements risk losing essential federal funding. Because of the importance of federal financial aid to colleges and universities, schools must comply with Title IX or risk severe financial losses.
The impact of Title IX on higher education is undeniable. From collegiate sports to admissions, financial aid, and faculty hiring and retention, colleges and universities have become increasingly inclusive.
In the 1990s, the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights began to interpret Title IX's definition of gender discrimination to include sexual harassment and assault. This expansion of the meaning of gender discrimination led to the Title IX sexual misconduct investigations and hearings that occur across campus today.
U.S. Supreme Court Upholds School Liability for Student Actions
In Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that a school could be liable under Title IX for one student's sexual harassment of another student if the school knew about and was deliberately indifferent to the improper behavior. Once colleges and universities could be found liable for a student's misconduct, it became essential that these institutions enact robust Title IX compliance programs to demonstrate that they take accusations of sexual misconduct seriously.
Title IX Evolves Under Changing Administrations
Because the intricacies of Title IX depend on the regulatory process, the rules can change as quickly as a presidential administration. The Obama administration outlined schools' responsibilities to prevent and address sexual violence by focusing on proactive measures, supporting the survivors of sexual violence, and strengthening disciplinary procedures. Critics of the Obama era expansion of Title IX charged that the changes failed to protect the due process rights of accused students.
The subsequent Trump administration introduced new rules that increased the standard of proof needed to find a violation, required live disciplinary hearings, and expanded the role that an accused student's attorney could play in the Title IX process.
Later, the Biden administration reinstated earlier Obama standards and further broadened the scope of Title IX to include student behavior and misconduct that occurs off campus.
Future changes in presidential administrations will likely lead to additional alterations to Title IX protections and responsibilities.
Colleges and universities are frequently forced to pivot their Title IX compliance efforts to meet hastily reimagined policies and protocols. The result can be an untested and chaotic Title IX enforcement system intended to prove the university's compliance but not necessarily seek the truth.
The chaos created by frequent regulatory change is particularly problematic for students accused of Title IX misconduct. If a well-funded university struggles to keep up with the regulations, a single student facing a devastating sexual misconduct charge is unlikely to have the time, knowledge, and experience to effectively defend themselves.
With the Lento Law Firm on your side, you don't have to face a Title IX misconduct allegation alone. We know your school's Title IX procedure and can fight to ensure your due process rights are protected.
How do Colleges and Universities Manage Title IX Investigations and Hearings?
Even schools with the best intentions struggle to keep up with the expansion and contraction of the scope of Title IX, due process safeguards, and evidentiary and procedural requirements. Unfortunately, schools often rush to judgment in student disciplinary matters to quickly resolve any sexual misconduct allegation that could jeopardize federal funding. Furthermore, accusations of sexual misconduct can be a public relations nightmare. Too often, schools are willing to rush to judgment to demonstrate how seriously they take sexual misconduct allegations. When speed is more important than accuracy, accused students are at risk of having their due process rights violated and their futures unfairly compromised.
The adverse consequences of a Title IX misconduct investigation or hearing can be great, but universities and colleges often have their own agendas. Your well-being is unlikely to be their priority. Your school will save itself and leave you to navigate your path out from under a Title IX sexual misconduct accusation.
You are the only person who can protect your future and build a team singularly committed to you. You don't have to do it alone. The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team will put your best interests at the center of our advocacy.
Elements of a Title IX Investigation and Hearing
Every college or university establishes its own set of protocols for examining and addressing allegations of Title IX sexual misconduct. Despite the great latitude, most schools share common compliance processes and procedural elements. Across Greater San Antonio, Title IX compliance programs generally include:
Title IX Coordinator
The Title IX Coordinator is responsible for overseeing the school's Title IX program, which generally includes managing the intake of a Title IX complaint, ensuring proper notice is given to the parties, and often selecting the investigator and decision maker (or makers) for the complaint.
Title IX Investigation
The school's investigator will try to identify and interview witnesses and collect evidence relevant to the Title IX allegations.
Title IX Hearing
The school's decision-maker (or makers) will listen to the direct and cross-examination of witnesses and review evidence during a hearing. After reviewing the materials and testimony, the decision maker determines if the accused student is responsible for violating Title IX and, if responsible, assigns a sanction to the student.
Sanctions
If the university finds a student responsible for a Title IX violation, the student can expect to be sanctioned. Possible sanctions may include:
- A warning.
- Suspension or expulsion from residence halls.
- Prohibition on being on campus.
- Suspension from the university for a specific amount of time.
- Permanent expulsion from the university.
A sanctioned student may also experience difficulties finding employment in their chosen field or being admitted to graduate or professional school.
Appeals Process
The decision maker's determination can usually be appealed, on limited and specifically enumerated grounds, by either party.
Regardless of your school's specific policy and process, any student accused of a Title IX violation is vulnerable to long-term adverse consequences. Long before the university adjudicates the Title IX complaint, an accused student may be issued a no-contact order, an interim suspension, or emergency removal from school. Furthermore, the accused may lose their on-campus employment, face restrictions to their class schedule, and be limited to where and when they may be on campus. At the Lento Law Firm, we understand that a Title IX accusation or sanction for Title IX sexual misconduct can derail your education. We are committed to fighting for your future.
The Lento Law Firm Helps Students Accused of Title IX Sexual Misconduct
Any Title IX allegation, investigation, or hearing is a serious student disciplinary matter requiring an immediate and comprehensive defense strategy. If you are accused of sexual misconduct, the stakes could not be higher. It is time to assemble a defense team to protect your due process rights, challenge the case against you, and demonstrate to your university that you will not acquiesce to their assumptions, tactics, and priorities.
The Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team can fight on your behalf if you have been accused of a Title IX violation. We can defend you from the school's allegations and challenge their often-questionable maneuvers by:
- Performing an independent investigation that focuses on identifying exonerating witnesses, and collecting evidence. We will also review and analyze the school's evidence to determine any inconsistent or erroneous information, statements, or conclusions on which the school relies.
- Evaluating the school's notice procedures to ensure your due process rights are protected. We will manage and comply with the timelines, deadlines, and submissions required by the school's Title IX policies.
- Prepare for informal and formal interviews, conferences, and hearings and develop a comprehensive defense strategy aligned with your best interests. We can advocate for the dismissal of charges, present exonerating witnesses and evidence, and cross-examine other witnesses as necessary and allowed. Additionally, we can work with you to prepare your testimony.
If the Title IX hearing ends with an adverse finding, we can review the decisions and take the necessary steps for an appeal.
Depending on the legitimacy of the university's Title IX process and determinations, we may counsel you to pursue a resolution to the Title IX dispute outside of the traditional Title IX investigation and hearing. There are instances when your school's Office of General Counsel may intercede in a Title IX matter if there is evidence that the investigation or hearing has been improperly conducted.
With the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team on your side, you can navigate a Title IX investigation and any subsequent hearing, knowing that our attorneys are committed to you and only to you. Our reputation as resolute advocates for our clients rests upon our commitment to fight for your rights, future, and education.
Let the Lento Law Firm Fight for Your Future
When a student is accused of a Title IX sexual misconduct violation, they often feel overwhelmed, isolated, and unsure of their next steps. After all, they don't know how to defend themselves against the accusations and their own university.
You are not alone, and the Lento Law Firm can help. If you are a student in the Greater San Antonio area who is the target of a Title IX investigation, hearing, or sanction from your university, our Student Defense Team can advocate for you.
The Lento Law Firm is a nationally recognized leader in student defense and is committed to protecting our clients. With the Lento Law Firm working on your defense, you can focus on your education and future. Call the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team at 888-535-3686 or complete an online consultation form.
