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Chesterfield County School District

Excellence in Academics, Arts & Athletics

Title IX | Non-Discrimination | Sexual Violence

Title IX | Non-Discrimination, and Sexual Violence

Policy AC      Policy AC-R

Chesterfield County School District (CCSD) is committed to a policy of equal opportunity and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, admissions, and financial aid. CCSD is also committed to maintaining an educational and work environment free from sex discrimination and sexual harassment in accordance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and other applicable laws. Any individual who believes they have experienced discrimination or harassment on the basis of sex, or who has questions regarding Title IX, is encouraged to contact the Title IX Coordinator below.  Retaliation against any person for filing a complaint or participating in an investigation is prohibited.

What is Title IX?

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any educational program or activity that receives federal funding. This means that no person can be excluded from participation, denied benefits, or subjected to discrimination based on sex in federally-funded schools, colleges, or other entities like vocational programs. Federal agencies, including the Department of Education (ED), are required to enforce this mandate. Discrimination covered under Title IX includes, but isn't limited to, sexual harassment, sexual violence, pregnancy discrimination, unequal athletic opportunities, sex-based discrimination in STEM, discriminatory dress codes, and retaliation.

Title IX Prohibits:


• Gender Discrimination
• Pregnancy Discrimination
• Sexual Harassment
• Sexual Assault
• Stalking
• Intimate Partner/Relationship Violence
• Bullying and Cyberbullying
• Retaliation

What is Sexual Harassment?

The definition of Sexual Harassment under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is specific and broad, encompassing three main types of conduct based on sex that occurs in an educational program or activity receiving federal funds.

For a school to be required to address it under Title IX regulations, the conduct must fit one of the following three categories:

1. Quid Pro Quo Harassment

This Latin term means "this for that." It occurs when an employee of the school (such as a teacher, professor, or coach) conditions the provision of an aid, benefit, or service of the school on an individual's participation in unwelcome sexual conduct.

  • Example: A professor offers a student a better grade, a scholarship, or a job in exchange for sexual favors.

2. Hostile Environment Harassment

This refers to unwelcome conduct that is determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the school's education program or activity.

  • Key Criteria: The conduct must meet all three standards (severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive) to deny equal access to education. It is not enough for the conduct to simply be offensive.

  • Examples: Repeated, graphic, and humiliating sexual comments, or the widespread circulation of explicit materials in a way that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive learning environment for a reasonable person.

3. Specific Federal Offenses

Title IX also explicitly includes the following offenses as forms of sexual harassment:

  • Sexual Assault

  • Dating Violence

  • Domestic Violence

  • Stalking

These offenses are defined according to federal laws, specifically the Clery Act and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

The school's obligation to respond to Title IX sexual harassment is triggered when it has actual knowledge of conduct that meets this definition and occurred in the school's education program or activity against a person in the United States.

 

TITLE IX Informal Resolution Process

A linear diagram with icons and text representing a process.

Role of an Advisor

An Advisor may:

  • Assist a complainant or respondent in understanding and navigating the investigation process

  • Accompany a complainant or respondent to any administrative meeting or conversation related to an investigation including interviews and seek clarification regarding the investigation process

  • Ask procedural or process questions

  • Provide support to the complainant or respondent throughout the process

  • Alert the Title IX Investigator or Coordinator to acts of retaliation

  • Attend the decision meeting

  • Confer privately with the complainant or respondent upon request

An Advisor May not:

  • Speak or act on behalf of a complainant or respondent, including answering questions for or on behalf of a complainant or respondent

  • Stand in for, or represent a complainant or respondent

  • Distribute information shared or learned throughout the investigation process with anyone other than the complainant or respondent for whom they serve as an advisor, the Title IX Investigator or Coordinator

  • Act as or represent themselves or another as an investigator for the Title IX process during the investigation

  • Contact a witness or other party participating in the investigation process,

  • Impede the investigation process or act in a manner that obstructs the investigator or disrupts the investigation process

To ensure compliance with Title IX, the School District has a Title IX Coordinator as the primary contact responsible for developing, adopting and/or assuring the dissemination of the District’s non-discrimination policy and for making the policy available to the community.

Please Contact:

Dr. Angela Vaughan

Title IX Coordinator

401 West Boulevard

Chesterfield, SC  29709

843-623-5508

Email