Understanding Title IX and the New Sexual Harassment Regulations for School Boards

response was not clearly unreasonable in light of the known circumstances; and iii. The documentation of certain explanations or measures does not limit the system in the future from providing additional explanations or detailing additional measures taken. b) In connection with each formal complaint of sexual harassment that is filed, a school system must maintain a record of: i. Each sexual harassment investigation including: 1) any determination regarding responsibility; 2) any disciplinary sanctions imposed on the respondent; 3) any remedies provided to the complainant designed to restore or preserve equal access to the school’s education program or activity; and 4) any audio or video recording or transcript from any hearing held as part of the grievance process. (Note: School systems generally will not hold live hearings under their grievance processes and, as a result, will likely not generate such recordings/transcripts.) ii. Any appeal and the result of an appeal; and iii. Any informal resolution and the result therefrom. c) All materials used to train Title IX Coordinators, investigators, decisionmakers and any other appropriate person. A school system must make these training materials publicly available on its website, or if there is no website, the school system must make these materials available upon request for inspection by members of the public.151 CONCLUSION: IMPACT OF THE FINAL RULE ON K-12 SCHOOLS AASB acknowledges that the Final Rule changes the standard for liability under Title IX, and that the Final Rule likely imposes significant challenges for our members. Keeping up with the Final Rule’s extensive training, recordkeeping and documentation requirements will require additional staff time. Also, harmonizing the formal complaint procedures with existing laws, policies and student codes of conduct may also be difficult. For example, under the Final Rule, school systems 39