Title IX cases are serious business. Your school is actually required by federal law to investigate every accusation of sexual misconduct. In today's political climate, you can bet that they won't just investigate. Without professional help, there is a realistic chance that you can count yourself among the horror stories where schools will turn your life upside down and do absolutely everything they can to find you responsible and expel you. This is the bad news unfortunately.
The good news is Title IX does include some protections for respondents. Perhaps the most important of these is your right to an advisor, someone who can guide you effectively through an investigation and hearing. That advisor can be—and should be—an attorney.
If someone's leveled an accusation against you, don't wait to see what will happen. Call a qualified, experienced Title IX attorney today. Title IX cases are notoriously difficult to navigate, and your very future is at stake. Only a Title IX attorney has the background and knowledge to help you successfully defend yourself.
Just What is Title IX?
Title IX was passed by the US Congress in 1972 and was intended to prohibit sexual discrimination in all federally funded education programs. It quickly became the main tool high schools and universities use to investigate and adjudicate accusations of sexual misconduct.
The law can be tricky, in part because it's still far from settled. In 2020, for instance, the Trump administration, under the direction of education secretary Betsy DeVos, issued brand new enforcement guidelines known as the “Final Rule.” Of course, as might be expected, the Biden administration has promised to roll back most of those guidelines. In fact, in June 2021, the administration served notice that it will include transgender students as a protected group under Title IX, and a committee is already at work looking for ways to undo more of the Final Rule.
Still, for now, there are clear rules about how schools can investigate sexual misconduct allegations:
- First, all official complaints must be made to your school's Title IX Coordinator. Your school may require all faculty and staff to report incidents, but only complainants and the Coordinator themselves can sign such a complaint.
- As soon as a complaint has been signed, the Title IX Coordinator must notify you of the charges. That notice should include the name of the complainant as well as details about the allegation. It should also apprise you of your rights, including the right to be presumed “not responsible” and the right to select an advisor, who can be an attorney.
- The Coordinator appoints an Investigator to look into the case. This person will meet with both parties, gather any physical evidence, and interview witnesses.
- Once the investigation is over, the Investigator is assigned to write a full report of their findings. Both sides then have an opportunity—usually ten days—to review this document and suggest any revisions. Ultimately, the report is submitted to the Title IX Coordinator.
- At the university level, all respondents are entitled to defend themselves at a live hearing. High schools have the option to hold hearings but are not required to do so under Title IX. Rather, the Coordinator can assign a single Decision Maker to review the investigative report and render a verdict. Hearings must be conducted live, though either side may request accommodations such as the use of closed-circuit video. In some cases, a panel of decision-makers decides the case. In others, a single individual may make the decision.
- At the hearing, both sides are represented by their advisors. You have the right to introduce evidence and call witnesses. Title IX also gives you the right to cross-examine the complainant and any other witnesses against you. However, the school can insist that you submit all questions to the hearing panel before they are asked.
- Decision-makers almost always make their decisions based on the “preponderance of evidence” standard. This standard is far less rigorous than other standards, such as “beyond a reasonable doubt.” In fact, “preponderance of evidence” requires only that decision-makers believe it is “more likely than not” that you committed a policy violation.
- Finally, both sides have the opportunity to appeal the decision maker's findings. However, there is a time limit on filing such an appeal, usually ten days. In addition, appeals may only be filed under certain narrow conditions:
- Discovery of new evidence
- Obvious mistakes in Title IX procedures
- Bias on the part of a Title IX official
What's At Stake
Title IX doesn't dictate how your school can punish you. Most schools maintain a list of standard punishments for disciplinary violations. When it comes to Title IX, they will probably say everything is on the table, from verbal reprimands to restitution, removal from housing to probation. However, you can expect that suspension will be the minimum penalty if you are found responsible. In most cases, schools expel students for sexual misconduct violations.
Of course, suspension and expulsion are traumatic in and of themselves. Such punishments can have more lasting effects as well, though.
If you've been expelled from one Texas school, for instance, you may not be eligible to apply to others. Some schools go so far as noting the precise nature of your offense on your transcript and most certainly on your disciplinary records. That could make it hard to enroll anywhere, inside Texas or out.
In fact, even if you aren't actually expelled, a Title IX violation can follow you around for years. Even a "lesser" sanction like probation or suspension can interfere with your financial aid, become a barrier to getting internships or into graduate school, even hinder job applications.
How Can Attorney Joseph D. Lento Help?
The bottom line is a strong Title IX defense requires a knowledge of the law, an understanding of the politics that are in play, the ability to craft a winning strategy, and experience dealing with university faculty and administrators. You can't take all that on alone.
Attorney Joseph D. Lento is here to help. Joseph D. Lento is an attorney who specializes in university misconduct cases and built his career on Title IX cases. He's defended hundreds of students, just like you, from all kinds of Title IX charges across the United States. He knows the law. He knows how campuses and school administrators operate. Whether you're trying to prove your innocence or looking to make a deal that will preserve your academic and professional career, Title IX attorney Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm are on your side.
If you or your child has been accused of Title IX sexual misconduct in Texas, don't wait. Your college or university is already preparing its case. You should be too. Contact the Lento Law Firm at 888-555-3686 or use our automated online form.
Texas colleges and universities where Joseph D. Lento can help as your or your student's Title IX advisor during investigations, hearings, and appeals 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
Title IX violations and Title IX charges can change an accused student's life if not defended against properly and as early as possible during the disciplinary process, and Joseph D. Lento has nearly 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, 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 Texas and throughout the nation. Make certain your or your student's interests are protected - Contact National Title IX attorney Joseph D. Lento today.
