Title IX & Civil Rights

A thorough risk assessment remains the most effective tool for pinpointing areas that require compliance efforts. The components of a robust compliance program can undergo rapid changes due to shifts in laws, regulations, and emerging case decisions and guidance.

Civil rights laws, regulations, case decisions, and guidance can evolve rapidly, potentially outpacing updates to policy language and procedures. Are you confident that your policy is compliant, and that all components of your institution consistently follow procedures aligning with your policy?

Incompliance consultants, well-versed in requirements and best practices, can assist you in assessing the alignment of your policies and procedures. We help identify existing practices, recommend necessary adjustments, and guide you toward compliance. Our services encompass policy reviews, "on the ground" procedural assessments, tabletop exercises, and template reviews. Additionally, we offer support in planning or refining your organization's response to allegations of discrimination and harassment of all types.

Title IX and civil rights investigators and adjudicators benefit from annual training to stay informed and proficient. INCompliance offers highly interactive training, covering trauma-informed investigations, effective interview techniques for evidence collection, and considerations for consent and incapacitation. Our training incorporates experiential exercises, allowing teams to apply theory to real-world scenarios.

Our virtual and in-person training programs include hands-on exercises, fostering debate among participants. However, all of our training programs are fully customizable, covering:

• Confidentiality and privacy requirements
• Consent
• Group-based misconduct, such as hazing
• Harassment and discrimination in the employment setting
• Incapacitation
• Keeping parties safe during an investigation – supportive measures and interim measures of protection
• Key laws, regulations, and guidance
• Making responsibility determinations
• Myths and realities of sexual violence and intimate partner violence
• Overview of the investigative process
• Prohibited conduct
• Recent case law
• Reporting obligations
• Resolving credibility disputes and weighing evidence
• Sanctioning
• The impact of trauma, including neurobiological changes
• The role of culture in investigations
• Trauma-informed investigative practices
• Writing clear and thorough reports

When allegations of misconduct are made, an investigation is critical to resolving the situation and moving forward. Incompliance offers prompt, impartial and comprehensive investigations regarding serious allegations in areas including:

• Booster groups and foundations
• Child abuse
• Disability discrimination and harassment
• Discrimination and harassment on the basis of age, religion, nationality, or other protected traits
• Ethics concerns
• Staff/Teacher/Administrator misconduct
• Group-based misconduct (e.g., athletics, marching band, fraternities and sororities, etc.)
• Hazing
• Racial discrimination and harassment
• Sexual misconduct and harassment under Title IX and Title VII
• Student misconduct

Our investigators possess specialized experience and sensitivity in addressing the distinct challenges associated with investigating school-based sexual misconduct, sexual violence, and hazing allegations. Trained in trauma-informed approaches, we uniquely comprehend the potential intersections involving sexual misconduct, safety concerns, sensitive employment issues, media involvement, public records laws, and the imperative for swift, impartial, and effective resolution of these matters.