
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.