Title IX Policy & Reporting

This page contains all aspects of the Title IX policy & reporting information that Franklin Public Schools follows. This page contains information for staff, students, parents and community in regards to the practices we follow whenever an incident related to Title IX is reported.

Title IX: Notice of School District Policies on Sex Discrimination, the District’s Title IX Coordinator(s), and Procedures for Reporting or Filing a Complaint of Sex Discrimination

Title IX Resources

Title IX Nondiscrimination Policy Statement

As mandated by the current provisions of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and under the regulations set forth in Chapter 106 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations

(“the federal Title IX regulations”), the District does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of sex in any education program or activity that the District operates. Title IX’s requirement not to discriminate in any education program or activity extends to cover, but is not limited to, District students, certain admissions processes, and District employment. Inquiries regarding how Title IX and the federal Title IX regulations apply to the District may be referred to a District Title IX Coordinator (as designated below), to the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education, or to both.

The District’s commitment to nondiscrimination under Title IX and under other state and federal laws is further defined in School Board Policy #5010.

District Title IX Coordinators

Reporting Sex Discrimination

Any person (including a person who is not claiming to have been personally harmed/victimized by the alleged discrimination) may report a concern or allegation regarding prohibited sex discrimination (including sexual harassment) to the District. Such reports may be submitted as follows:

1. To a District Title IX Coordinator, either in person, by U.S. mail, by telephone, or by electronic mail, using the contact information listed above. In person reports should be made when the Title IX Coordinator is reasonably available during regular working hours. Reports submitted by telephone, mail, or electronic mail may be made at any time.

2. By any other means that results in a Title IX Coordinator actually receiving the person's verbal or written report.

Filing Formal Complaints of Title IX Sexual Harassment

As required by the federal Title IX regulations, the District has established a formal grievance process for investigating and resolving “formal complaints” of “sexual harassment,” as those terms are defined in the regulations.

An individual who is alleged to be the victim of conduct that could constitute sexual harassment under the federal Title IX regulations (i.e., a Title IX “complainant”), or a parent or guardian who has a legal right to act on behalf of such an individual, may file a formal complaint of sexual harassment. No Title IX complainant is obligated to file a formal complaint, but a qualifying formal complaint is necessary for the District to start an investigation using the District’s formal Title IX grievance process.

Complainants are expected to file formal complaints of sexual harassment with a District Title IX Coordinator by submitting a document or electronic submission in person, by U.S. mail, or by electronic mail, using the contact information specified above.

Additional requirements for formal complaints of Title IX sexual harassment, including a description of the required content for a formal complaint, are set forth in School Board Policy #5010.

District Response To Reports Under Title IX

District Response to Reports and Complaints of Sex Discrimination and to Formal Complaints of Sexual Harassment under Title IX

The District has established grievance procedures through which the District structures its response to reports that allege unlawful discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program or activity of the District. Those procedures are set forth in School Board Policy #5010. The purpose of such procedures is to provide for the prompt and equitable resolution of any report or complaint of alleged sex discrimination, excluding formal complaints of sexual harassment under Title IX (which are subject to a different process).

Any time that the District has actual knowledge of sexual harassment or allegations of sexual harassment that could constitute a violation of Title IX, the District has obligations to respond to such knowledge in a manner that is not deliberately indifferent and in a manner that treats the alleged victim(s) of sexual harassment and the alleged perpetrator(s) of sexual harassment equitably. Such a response includes, but is not limited to, offering supportive measures to a complainant and investigating and resolving any formal complaint that presents allegations of Title IX sexual harassment using the formal grievance process that the District has adopted for such formal complaints. District procedures for responding to alleged sexual harassment under Title IX, including the formal grievance process, are set forth in School Board Policy #5010.