Does your high school child face Title IX or sexual misconduct charges? If so, you may be scrambling to figure out what happens next. Sexual misconduct is serious. It traumatizes, wounds, and triggers. Your Delaware school needs to treat it seriously to protect its students from harm.
However, if your student faces sexual misconduct charges, your Delaware high school still has to treat your child fairly. After all, if your student stands accused falsely, it would be extremely unfair to saddle your child with unearned consequences. Due to the pressures and incentives your school is under, your student could easily see their rights stripped away during their Title IX investigation.
You need to be proactive about protecting your child's rights. To work towards the most favorable outcome for your child, you should look into hiring a legal advisor as early as possible. They may be able to guide you through your child's Title IX procedures successfully.
Title IX Cases and Your Delaware High School
Title IX is a federal civil rights law enacted by Congress in 1972 as part of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”). See 20 U.S.C. §1681 et seq. Under Title IX, your Delaware high school must investigate all instances of sexual misconduct quickly, or risk losing their funding. Because of recent updates to Title IX, your sexual misconduct case may not specifically fall under its guidance. It will likely follow a very similar pattern, making a Title IX or code of conduct advisor a useful guide in these cases.
Title IX and sexual misconduct cases can be hugely publicized. We tend to see the terms splashed across national media, often in conjunction with high-level university scandals. You may hope that Delaware is too small or your child too young to have to deal with these types of cases.
In Delaware, unlawful sexual contact makes up 26% of all reported high school crimes. The Delaware Department of Education reports that school districts in Delaware reported 185 incidents during one recent school year.
Delaware local news outlets also paint a somewhat startling picture. In one Delaware high school, a teen faced police investigation after an alleged incident involving sexual activity at school. A government survey delving into Delaware high school assault showed that some 10.3% of female students and 4.8% of male students experienced forced sexual contact.
Delaware Sexual Misconduct: Specifically Punishable Actions
As you prepare for your student's sexual misconduct case, you may wonder what specific actions fall under Title IX. Your school should publish a comprehensive list of illicit acts. You should be able to find this guide posted in your student's school handbook.
This Delaware school district's code of conduct states that the following actions may constitute punishable sexual harassment:
- Unwanted or uninvited sexual advances, requests, or favors
- Unwelcome sexual contact (physical, visual, or verbal)
- Any offensive remarks regarding someone else's sex
- Any conduct that is sexual and also interferes with another student's education
- Sexual Violence
- Rape
- Assault
- Attempted rape
- Inappropriate touching
- Aggressive sexual advances
There are many different actions that your school may investigate as sexual misconduct. To best protect your student, you must find and work with an experienced code of conduct or Title IX advisor. Doing so is the best way to pursue a positive outcome for your child.
What's at Stake for Your Delaware High School Student?
If your student faces sexual misconduct charges, there is a wide range of punitive measures your Delaware high school may pursue. This Delaware high school's code of conduct makes it clear that your student could face any of the following consequences:
- A direct hit to your student's reputation among their peers and teachers
- Adherence to a mandatory behavioral contract
- Referral to mandatory counseling on your own time
- A mental health evaluation
- In-school or out-of-school suspension
- Reduced privileges (such as bus, parking, or extracurricular activities)
- Recommendation for alternative learning experiences
- Expulsion from the school or school district
- Referral to external law enforcement
As you can see, there is a wide range of possible punitive measures that your high school student may face. These range from slight inconveniences all the way to consequences that could seriously impact your student's chances of getting into a good college. These unwarranted punishments may be extremely unfair.
To protect your child's rights and future, hire an experienced Title IX or code of conduct advisor. They will be able to best advise you as to how to shield your child from unwarranted consequences.
What an Experienced Title IX and Code of Conduct Attorney-Advisor can Do for You
When you're going through a Title IX investigation, you need experience and expertise on your side. By hiring a code of conduct advisor, you'll be working with someone who knows precisely what your student is going through. More than that, you'll be hiring an advocate that you can trust during your child's case.
Your student has protected rights under Title IX that help ensure them a fair trial. These include:
- A written statement documenting your student's presumed innocence
- Written notification of the allegations against your child
- An unbiased hearing to adjudicate the investigation
- A full copy of the investigative report
- The opportunity to submit questions to any witness or involved party in the investigation
- The right to appeal the decision if necessary
A hard-working Title IX and code of conduct advisor will assist your child in protecting these rights.
Joseph D. Lento: A Hard-Working Attorney-Advisor, Ready to Represent Your Family
Whether you need assistance with a Title IX investigation or a sexual misconduct hearing, Joseph D. Lento is ready to assist. For years, he has fundamentally handled hundreds of sexual misconduct and student discipline cases all across the nation. When you need efficient expertise, be sure to reach out to the Lento Law Firm for more information. Call Joseph D. Lento today at 888-535-3686, or you can fill out our brief online form to get all the information you need.
Delaware high schools where Joseph D. Lento can help as your child's student's Title IX advisor during investigations, hearings and appeals include, but are not limited to, the following school districts:
A
- Appoquinimink School District
- Academy of Dover Charter School
B
- Brandywine School District
C
- Caesar Rodney School District
- Campus Community Charter School
- Cape Henlopen School District
- Capital School District
- Charter School of Wilmington
- Christina School District
- Colonial School District
D
- Delmar School District
E
- East Side Charter School
F
- Family Foundations Academy
G
- Gateway Lab School
I
- Indian River School District
K
- Kuumba Academy Charter School
L
- Lake Forest School District
- Las Americas Aspira Academy
- Laurel School District
M
- Milford School District
- MOT Charter School
- Moyer (Maurice J.) Academy
N
- New Castle County Vocational-Technical School District
- Newark Charter School
O
- Odyssey Charter School
P
- Pencader Business and Finance Charter High School
- POLYTECH School District
- Positive Outcomes Charter School
- Prestige Academy
- Providence Creek Academy Charter School
R
- Reach Academy for Girls
- Red Clay Consolidated School District
S
- Seaford School District
- Smyrna School District
- Sussex Academy Of Arts And Sciences
- Sussex Technical School District
T
- Thomas A. Edison Charter School
W
- Woodbridge School District
It is critical to make certain the Title IX investigation at your child's Delaware high school is handled properly and that the accused student's interests and rights are protected from as early as possible during the sexual misconduct investigative process. One major reason is because even at high schools where a finding of responsibility for sexual misconduct charges is made at a hearing, the investigation will set the stage for what the hearing panel is provided prior to a hearing (and what the hearing panel will in large part rely on at a hearing), and at high schools where the finding of responsibility is made solely through the investigative process, what takes place during the investigation itself will determine whether the accused student is found responsible or not responsible for Title IX charges.
Unfortunately, some parents make the mistake of not taking the necessary precautions as soon as possible when accused of sexual misconduct. Some people will mistakenly believe that if they "just explain what happened," their school will be fair and impartial and will arrive at the truth. In a perfect world this may be the case, but in a perfect world, sexual misconduct allegations and Title IX charges would not exist.
Fighting passionately for the future of his clients at schools throughout the nation for many years, Joseph D. Lento knows how important it is to mount the strongest defense because he understands that an accused high school student's academic future is on the line. 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 attorney advisor to high school students facing sexual misconduct investigations and disciplinary cases in Delaware and throughout the nation. Make certain your or your student's interests are protected - Contact National High School Title IX Attorney Joseph D. Lento today at 888-535-3686.
