The District does not discriminate on the basis of sex and prohibits sex discrimination in all of its education programs and activities, as required by Title IX and its regulations. Such discrimination includes sex-based harassment. This policy and related procedures apply to all students, employees, and applicants for employment.
Discrimination on the basis of sex includes discrimination on the basis of sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
Under federal regulations implementing Title IX, sexual harassment means conduct on the basis of sex that satisfies one or more of the following:
a District employee conditioning the provision of an aid, benefit, or service of the District on an individual’s participation in unwelcome sexual conduct;
unwelcome conduct determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the District’s education program or activity; or
“sexual assault” as defined in 20 U.S.C. 1092(f)(6)(A)(v), “dating violence” as defined in 34 U.S.C. 12291(a)(10), “domestic violence” as defined in 34 U.S.C. 12291(a)(8), or “stalking” as defined in 34 U.S.C. 12291(a)(30).
Federal Title IX regulations only address complaints of discrimination or harassment occurring against a person in the United States.
Title IX Coordinators
The District’s Title IX Coordinators are the Director of Human Resources and the Director of Pupil Personnel Services. The District’s Title IX Coordinators will receive complaints of sex-based discrimination and harassment and coordinate the District’s efforts to comply with Title IX and its regulations. The District’s Title IX Coordinators can be reached by calling (914) 243-8000; or by mail addressed to them at the District Office, 2725 Crompond Road, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598; or by email.
Students, employees, and applicants may contact the Title IX Coordinator(s) to make complaints about sex discrimination and sexual harassment.
If contacted by a person alleging sexual harassment under Title IX, the Title IX Coordinator will explain the process for filing a formal complaint, which initiates an investigation into the Title IX sexual harassment allegations.
Employee Requirements
All employees (except those designated as “confidential” under Title IX and those who have been personally subjected to conduct which may constitute sex discrimination under Title IX) are required to notify the Title IX Coordinator if they have information about conduct that reasonably may constitute sex discrimination under Title IX and its regulations.
Supportive Measures
Once the District has notice of sexual harassment or allegations of sexual harassment, one of its Title IX Coordinators will promptly contact the complainant to discuss the availability of supportive measures regardless of whether the complainant chooses to file a formal complaint under Title IX or not, to consider the complainant’s wishes with respect to supportive measures, and to explain the process for filing a formal complaint. The District will offer supportive measures to complainants and respondents. Potential supportive measures that may be offered include:
counseling,
extensions of deadlines or other course-related adjustments,
modifications of work or class schedules,
escorts while on school grounds or at school activities,
mutual restrictions on contact between the parties,
changes in work locations,
leaves of absence,
increased security and monitoring of certain areas of the District’s properties.
Formal Complaints
A formal complaint is a document filed by a complainant or signed by the Title IX Coordinator alleging sexual harassment under Title IX against an individual and requesting that the District investigate the allegation of sexual harassment under Title IX. The formal complaint must be a written document but need not be in any specific form. At the time a formal complaint is filed, the complainant must be participating or attempting to participate in the District’s education program or activity.
The formal complaint investigation and grievance process will only be triggered when the complainant files a formal complaint of sexual harassment under Title IX.
Basic Requirements of Title IX Grievance Process
The District will treat complainants and respondents equitably.
The District presumes that the respondent is not responsible for the alleged sexual harassment until a determination is made at the conclusion of its grievance process.
The District will perform an objective evaluation of all available evidence - including both inculpatory and exculpatory evidence. Credibility determinations will not be based on a person’s status as a complainant, respondent or witness.
The District has established the following approximate timeframes for the major stages of the grievance process, unless extended as described below:
Written notice of a formal complaint to known parties will be given within approximately two working days following receipt of the complaint.
Evaluations (whether to dismiss or investigate a complaint) will conclude approximately two working days following receipt of complaint.
Investigations of complaints that have not been dismissed will begin approximately four working days following receipt of complaint.
Determinations will be made approximately thirty working days following receipt of complaint.
For purposes of this policy, working days are the days when the District’s administrative offices are open (e.g., working days do not include holidays, weekend days, emergency closure days, scheduled office closures, etc.).
The District will investigate the complaint and make determinations regarding a complaint's allegations using a preponderance of evidence standard.
The District will not require, allow, rely upon, or otherwise use questions or evidence that constitute, or seek disclosure of:
information protected under a legally recognized privilege, unless the person holding such privilege has voluntarily waived the privilege;
a party's records that are made or maintained by a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, or other recognized professional or paraprofessional acting in the professional's or paraprofessional's capacity, or assisting in that capacity, and which are made and maintained in connection with the provision of treatment to the party, unless the District obtains that party's voluntary, written consent to do so for the grievance process; and
the complainant's sexual predisposition or prior sexual behavior, unless such questions and evidence about the complainant's prior sexual behavior are offered to prove that someone other than the respondent committed the conduct alleged by the complainant, or if the questions and evidence concern specific incidents of the complainant's prior sexual behavior with respect to the respondent and are offered to prove consent.
The District may consolidate complaints of sex discrimination against more than one respondent, or by more than one complainant against one or more respondents, or by one party against another party, when the allegations of sex discrimination arise out of the same facts or circumstances. When more than one complainant or more than one respondent is involved, references in this policy to a party, complainant, or respondent include the plural, as applicable.
The District requires that any Title IX Coordinator, investigator, decision-maker, or facilitator of an informal resolution process, if applicable, not have a conflict of interest or bias for or against complainants or respondents generally or an individual complainant or respondent. All individuals with conflicts of interest or bias must recuse themselves. The decision-maker will not be the same person as the Title IX Coordinator or investigator.
The District has also established the following process that allows for the reasonable extension of the time frames on a case by case basis for good cause with notice to the parties that includes the reason for the delay.
Good cause may include considerations such as the illness or absence of a party, a party’s advisor, or a witness; difficulty locating witnesses or evidence; death or serious illness of an immediate family member of necessary District staff, parties, or relevant witnesses; loss or destruction of pertinent records; difficulty scheduling meetings with parties and witnesses; school holidays and/or emergency closures; concurrent law enforcement activity; or the need for language assistance or accommodation of disabilities.
A Title IX Coordinator will evaluate the request for an extension of timeframes and make a prompt determination to either extend the timeframes or take or recommend other action to be able to meet the timeframes.
If an extension is granted, a Title IX Coordinator will notify the parties in writing of the reason(s) for the delay, and the estimated date the stages in the timeframe will be complete.
Notice
Upon receipt of a formal complaint of sexual harassment under Title IX, a Title IX Coordinator will provide written notice to the complainant and respondent(s) in sufficient time to allow the parties who are known to prepare a response before an initial interview.
The notice to the complainant and respondent will include, among other items:
information regarding the grievance process and the informal resolution process;
the conduct allegedly constituting sexual harassment under Title IX, and, if known, the identities of the parties involved in the incident, as well as the date and location of the alleged incident;
a statement that the respondent is presumed not responsible for the alleged conduct until a determination regarding responsibility is made at the conclusion of the grievance process;
notification that the parties may have an advisor of their choice, who may be, but is not required to be, an attorney;
notification that the parties may inspect and review evidence;
information regarding any provision in the District’s Code of Conduct or policies that prohibits knowingly making false statements or submitting false information during the grievance process;
notification that after commencing an investigation of a formal complaint, the District may decide to also investigate allegations that were not included in the initial notice to the parties. In that case, the District will provide notice of the additional allegations to the parties.
Dismissal
The District must dismiss a formal complaint when the conduct alleged in the formal complaint of sexual harassment under Title IX:
would not constitute sexual harassment under Title IX even if proved;
did not occur in the District’s education program or activity; or
did not occur against a person in the United States.
Such a dismissal does not preclude action under another provision of the District’s Code of Conduct, or another policy adopted pursuant to state law.
The District may dismiss a formal complaint when:
a complainant notifies the Title IX Coordinator in writing that they would like to withdraw the formal complaint or any of its allegations;
the respondent is no longer enrolled or employed by the District; or
specific circumstances prevent the District from gathering enough evidence to reach a determination on the formal complaint or its allegations.
If a complaint is dismissed, the decision-maker will send written notice of the dismissal and reason(s) therefore simultaneously to the parties
Investigations
Upon receipt of a formal complaint of sexual harassment under Title IX, one of the District’s Title IX Coordinators will investigate the complaint or assign an investigator.
The District will provide for adequate, reliable, and impartial investigation of complaints. The burden is on the District – not on the parties – to conduct an investigation that gathers sufficient evidence to determine whether sexual harassment occurred.
The District will provide an equal opportunity for the parties to present fact and expert witnesses and other inculpatory and exculpatory evidence. The District will not restrict the ability of either party to discuss the allegations under investigation or to gather and present relevant evidence. The District will provide both parties an equal opportunity to inspect and review any evidence obtained as part of the investigation that is directly related to the allegations raised in a formal complaint, including the evidence upon which the District does not intend to rely in reaching a determination and inculpatory or exculpatory evidence whether obtained from a party or other sources, so that each party can meaningfully respond to the evidence or to the conclusion of the investigation.
The District will provide the parties with the same opportunities to have others present during any grievance proceeding, including the opportunity to be accompanied to any related meeting or proceeding by the advisor of their choice, who may be, but is not required to be, an attorney. The District may establish restrictions regarding the extent to which the advisor may participate in the proceedings, as long as the restrictions apply equally to both parties.
The District will provide a party whose participation is invited or expected, written notice of the date, time, location, participants, and purpose of all hearings, investigative interviews or other meetings, with sufficient time for the party to prepare to participate.
Prior to completion of the investigative report, the District’s investigator must send to each party and party’s advisor, if any, the evidence subject to inspection and review in an electronic format or a hard copy and the parties must have at least ten (10) days to submit a written response, which the investigator will consider prior to completing the investigative report.
The District’s investigator must prepare an investigative report that fairly summarizes the relevant evidence and, at least 10 days prior to hearing or a determination regarding responsibility, the investigator must send each party and the party’s advisor, if any, the investigative report in an electronic format or hard copy, for their review and written response.
Questions
After sending the investigative report to the parties, prior to issuing a written determination, the decision-maker(s) will afford each party the opportunity to submit written, relevant questions that a party wants asked of any party or witness, provide each party with the answers, and allow for additional, limited follow-up questions from each party. Questions and evidence about the complainant’s sexual predisposition or prior sexual behavior are not relevant, unless such questions and evidence about the complainant’s prior sexual behavior are offered to prove that someone other than the respondent committed the conduct alleged by the complainant, or if the questions and evidence concern specific incidents of the complainant’s prior sexual behavior with respect to the respondent and are offered to prove consent. The decision-maker(s) must explain to the party proposing the questions any decision to exclude a question as not relevant.
Determinations
Following the question-and-answer process and upon receipt of the investigative report, the decision-maker will issue a written determination. The decision-maker’s written determination will:
identify or describe the alleged conduct constituting sexual harassment;
describe the procedural steps taken from the receipt of the formal complaint through the determination, including any notifications to the parties, interviews with parties and witnesses, site visits, methods used to gather other evidence, and hearings held;
include findings of fact supporting the determination;
include conclusions regarding the applicability of the District’s Code of Conduct to the facts;
contain a statement of, and rationale for, the result as to each allegation, including a determination regarding responsibility, any disciplinary sanctions the District imposes on the respondent and whether remedies designed to restore or preserve equal access to the District’s education program or activity will be provided by the District to the complainant; and
include the District’s procedures and permissible bases for the complainant and respondent to appeal.
The District must provide the written determination to the parties simultaneously.
The District’s Title IX Coordinators are responsible for effective implementation of any remedies.
Disciplinary Sanctions and Remedies
Following a determination that sexual harassment occurred that is not appealed, or if the appeal is dismissed, the District will impose disciplinary sanctions, which may include:
Student respondents: consequences may include warning, reprimand, detention, in-school suspension, and suspension from school, to be imposed consistent with the District’s Code of Conduct and applicable law;
Employee respondents: consequences may include warning, reprimand, mandatory counseling, re-assignment, demotion, suspension, and termination, to be imposed consistent with all applicable contractual and statutory rights;
Volunteer respondents: consequences may include warning, reprimand, loss of volunteer assignments, and removal from future volunteer opportunities; and
Vendor respondents: consequences may include warning, removal from school property, denial of future access to school property, and denial of future business with the District;
Other individuals: consequences may include warning, removal from school property, and denial of future access to school property.
The Title IX Coordinator will facilitate the transfer of information and determinations from the Title IX complaint process to the appropriate administrator, to aid in the imposition of disciplinary consequences.
The District may also provide or facilitate remedies, which may include:
training of entire departments, classes, or groups,
peer support groups,
letters of apology,
separation of the parties,
additional supervision or mentoring for the respondent.
Appeals
Either party may appeal (1) the dismissal of a formal complaint or any allegation therein or (2) the written determination that sexual harassment did or did not occur.
An appeal must be submitted in writing to one of the District’s Title IX Coordinators within ten (10) working days of receipt of the determination or dismissal (as applicable) and must state the basis for the appeal and identify and include any material or information that supports the party’s appeal. If the appeal decision-maker determines the grounds for the appeal are allowed by this policy, the Title IX Coordinator will provide the appeal request to the other party, who will have five (5) working days to submit an optional response to the Title IX Coordinator. Appeals will generally not include new hearings or interviews or new investigations, however the appeal decision-maker may do so if deemed necessary. The appeal and any response will be considered by a decision-maker other than the decision-maker who issued the determination or dismissal that is being appealed. The appeal decision-maker may sustain, reverse, or modify the determination or dismissal being appealed and the rationale for such action must be stated. The decision on the appeal will be issued to both parties simultaneously within thirty (30) working days of the receipt of the appeal and is the District’s final decision on the allegations of sexual harassment.
Grounds for an appeal are limited to the following:
procedural irregularity that affected the outcome of the matter; and/or
new evidence that was not reasonably available at the time the determination regarding responsibility or dismissal was made, that could affect the outcome of the matter; and/or
the Title IX Coordinator, investigator(s), or any decision-maker had a conflict of interest or bias for or against complainants or respondents generally or the individual complainant or respondent that affected the outcome of the matter; and/or
the sanction is inappropriate.
Informal Resolution
In lieu of resolving a formal complaint through the District’s Title IX grievance process, at any time prior to reaching a determination of responsibility, the parties may instead elect to participate in a District-facilitated informal resolution process such as mediation, which does not involve a full investigation and determination. The District will obtain the parties’ voluntary written consent to the informal resolution process. Informal resolution is not available to resolve a complaint that includes allegations that an employee engaged in sexual harassment of an elementary school or secondary school student, or when such a process would conflict with Federal, State, or local law.
If the parties elect to participate in an informal resolution process, the District will provide the parties with a written notice of:
the allegations;
the requirements of the informal resolution process;
that at any time prior to agreeing to a resolution, any party has the right to withdraw from the informal resolution process and resume the formal complaint grievance process;
any consequences that may result from participation in the informal resolution process, including the records that will be maintained or could be shared.
Training
The District will ensure that Title IX Coordinators, investigators, decision-makers, and any person who facilitates an informal resolution process, receive training on the definition of sexual harassment, the scope of the recipient's education programs or activities, how to conduct an investigation and grievance process including hearings, appeals, and informal resolution processes, as applicable, and how to serve impartially, including by avoiding prejudgment of the facts at issue, conflicts of interest, and bias. A recipient must ensure that decision-makers receive training on any technology to be used at a live hearing and on issues of relevance of questions and evidence, including when questions and evidence about the complainant's sexual predisposition or prior sexual behavior are not relevant. A recipient also must ensure that investigators receive training on issues of relevance to create an investigative report that fairly summarizes relevant evidence. Any materials used to train Title IX Coordinators, investigators, decision-makers, and any person who facilitates an informal resolution process, must not rely on sex stereotypes and must promote impartial investigations and adjudications of formal complaints of sexual harassment.
Recordkeeping
The District will maintain for at least seven years:
records of each sexual harassment investigation, including any determination, disciplinary sanctions imposed and any remedies provided to restore or preserve equal access to the District’s education programs and activities;
records of any appeal of a dismissal of a sexual harassment complaint or of the determination of such a complaint and the results of the appeal(s);
records of any informal resolution process and the results therefrom;
all materials used to train Title IX Coordinators, investigators, decision-makers and any person who facilitates an informal resolution process (the training materials will be publicly available on the District’s website);
records of any actions taken in response to a report or formal complaint of sexual harassment, including, but not limited to, any supportive measures taken;
all records documenting the actions the District took in response to notifications received by the Title IX Coordinator about conduct that reasonably may constitute sex discrimination; and
all materials used to provide training under Title IX, which must be made available to members of the public upon request.
Marital or Parental Status
The District will not apply any rule concerning a student's actual or potential parental, family, or marital status which treats students differently on the basis of sex.
The District will not discriminate against any student, or exclude any student from its education program or activity, including any class or extracurricular activity, on the basis of such student's pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy or recovery from, unless the student requests voluntarily to participate in a separate portion of the District’s program or activity. The District may require such a student to obtain the certification of a physician that the student is physically and emotionally able to continue participation so long as such a certification is required of all students for other physical or emotional conditions requiring the attention of a physician.
If the District operates a portion of its education program or activity separately for pregnant students, admittance to which is completely voluntary on the part of the students, the District will ensure that the separate portion is comparable to that offered to non-pregnant students.
The District will treat pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy, and recovery therefrom in the same manner and under the same policies as any other temporary disability with respect to any medical or hospital benefit, service, plan or policy which such recipient administers, operates, offers, or participates in with respect to students admitted to the recipient's educational program or activity.
Related Laws and Policies
Sex discrimination and sexual harassment are also prohibited under other District policies cross-referenced below. If the alleged conduct, even if it were true, would not meet the definition or standard of sex-based discrimination or harassment under Title IX, the District will proceed under other applicable policies. Any information gained during a Title IX investigation can be used in the investigation of violations of other policies and subsequent imposition of discipline. The Title IX Coordinators will facilitate the transfer of information to employees designated to address violations of other policies.
Additionally, if the Title IX Coordinators have a reasonable suspicion that the alleged harassment involves criminal activity, they must immediately notify the Superintendent, who will then contact appropriate law enforcement authorities.
Cross-ref: 0100, Non-Discrimination and Equal Opportunity
0115, Student Harassment and Bullying Prevention and Intervention
5300, Code of Conduct
Ref: 20 USC §§1681 et seq.
34 CFR Part 106
Adoption date: April 7, 2025