Info for Accused/Respondents

What is a Respondent?

A Respondent refers to a person who is responding to allegations in a Title IX complaint filed against them for an alleged violation of LACCD Title IX policy. You may also see Respondents referred to as the alleged offender, perpetrator, or accused.

Advisors/Advocates

Under District policy and procedures addressing Title IX Complaints, you are entitled to an Advisor or Advocate to support you throughout the complaint process. An Advisor/Advocate can be any person of your choosing such as a parent, friend, trusted faculty or staff member, or even a lawyer. Advisors/Advocates can attend any meeting or proceeding throughout the entire process as long as they are not a relevant witness. That means your Advisor/Advocate cannot speak for you during any meeting to directly provide evidence.

If you do not have someone in mind to serve as your Advisor/Advocate, the District has trained volunteers who can assist you through the process.

If you elect to utilize an attorney as your Advisor, you must provide a written letter of representation from your attorney in order for them to participate in the process.

Confidentiality

The privacy of all parties to a complaint of sexual misconduct must be strictly observed, except where limited information must be shared in order for LACCD to meet its obligation to fully investigate allegations of sexual misconduct. That means where privacy is not strictly kept, it will still be tightly controlled on a need-to-know basis to parties deemed relevant. Sharing of information and/or written materials to LACCD faculty or staff not involved in the complaint procedure is not permitted.

LACCD and the Colleges must statistically report on campus occurrences of major violent crimes, including certain sex offenses, in an annual report of campus crime statistics. This statistical report does not include personally identifiable information.

Under California law, communication with some individuals such as mental health professionals or medical personnel are confidential. This means that any information shared by a Complainant with a specific individual will not be used against the individual in court or shared with others. Students should always confirm whether confidentiality applies to the communication with a specific person. Most LACCD employees are Mandated Reporters are required to share a report of sexual misconduct with the Title IX Coordinator. 

As is the case with any educational institution, LACCD must balance the needs of the individual student with its obligation to protect the safety and well-being of the District or campus community at large. Therefore, depending on the seriousness of the alleged incident, further action may be necessary, including a campus security alert. The alert, however, would never contain any information identifying the student who brought the complaint.

LACCD Title IX Policy & Procedure

The LACCD Prohibited Discrimination and Harassment Policy, which covers sexual harassment and Title IX issues is in Chapter XV of the Board Rules.

To address and respond to Title IX issues, Title IX Coordinator and Deputies follow Administrative Regulations C-14 titled ‘Procedures for Prohibited Discrimination, Unlawful Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct Complaints’ and C-15 titled ‘Responding to Harassment Based on Sex under Title IX​.’

If a Title IX Complaint is filed against you, the Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion may contact you directly.

Supportive Measures

Supportive measures are free, individualized support services available to students during the Title IX process. Supportive measures are meant to restore or preserve equal access to the District’s educational programs or activities, address potential safety concerns, and deter further allegations and/or related retaliation.

Supportive measures may include, but are not limited to academic adjustments, referrals to support services, work schedule modifications for student workers, and directives to eliminate communication between parties while a review or investigation is ongoing. The Deputy Title IX Coordinator in partnership with campus will work with you to determine appropriate supportive measures depending on the specifics of your report.

Prohibited Retaliation

It is a violation of LACCD's policy to retaliate in any way against an individual because of reporting an allegation of sexual harassment or misconduct forward or participating in the investigative process. If you believe you are subjected to retaliation after reporting forward a Title IX concern or participating in an investigation, please notify your College’s Deputy Title IX Coordinator immediately. 

College Specific Resources and Options

Your Deputy Title IX Coordinators have created flyers for each campus with specific contacts and resources available to those impacted by Title IX concerns.