Notice of Nondiscrimination

The school, as an equal opportunity educational provider and employer, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, or any other basis prohibited by law, in educational programs or activities, including vocational and career technology (CTE) programs, and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The School complies with Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), as amended, which incorporates and expands upon the requirements of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended; and any other legally-protected classification or status protected by law.

School Name does not discriminate on the basis of sex and prohibits sex discrimination in any education program or activity that it operates, including in admission and employment. Inquiries about the application of Title IX may be referred to the Title IX Coordinator (see below), to the Office for Civil Rights, or both. More information on the School’s Title IX policy and the School’s Title IX grievance procedure is available at (website or other location where Title IX information is posted). Information on reporting conduct that may constitute sex discrimination under Title IX and how to make a report of sex discrimination is included in the School’s “Freedom from Sex Discrimination (Title IX)” policy as outlined in the Employee Handbook and Student Handbook.

Questions or concerns about compliance with these federal programs should be brought to the attention of the following persons designated as being responsible for coordinating compliance with these requirements:

For concerns regarding discrimination on the basis of sex, including sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and gender-based harassment, contact the Title IX Coordinator, Yvette East, Michelle Schultz, or Beckie Allen, 1301 Waters Ridge, Lewisville, Texas 75057; (972) 316-3663; TitleIX@responsiveed.com. (“Chief” Coordinator name) retains ultimate oversight over the School’s compliance with Title IX. Reports can be made at any time and by any person, including during nonschool hours, by mail, phone, or e-mail. During school business hours, reports may also be made in person. Upon receiving notice or an allegation of sex-based harassment, the Title IX Coordinator will promptly respond in accordance with district policy.

For concerns regarding discrimination on the basis of disability, contact Kendahl Owoh, Executive Director of Special Education, Dyslexia, & Section 504 Services, at 1301 Waters Ridge, Lewisville, Texas 75057; (972)316-3663 ext.368; specialeducation@resposiveed.com

For all other concerns regarding discrimination, contact HR@responsiveed.com.

Freedom from Sexual Harassment (Title IX)

The school does not discriminate on the basis of sex and prohibits sex discrimination in any education program or activity that it operates.

Sex-based harassment is a form of sex discrimination and means sexual harassment and other harassment on the basis of sex, including on the bases of sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity that is:

1. Quid pro quo harassment: An employee, agent, or other person authorized by the School to provide an aid, benefit, or service under the School’s education program or activity explicitly or impliedly conditioning the provision of such an aid, benefit, or service on a person’s participation in unwelcome sexual conduct.

2. Hostile environment harassment. Unwelcome sexual conduct that, based on the totality of the circumstances, is subjectively and objectively offensive and is so severe or pervasive that it limits or denies a person’s ability to participate in or benefit from (School Name)’s education program or activity.

3. Specific offenses, meaning sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, or stalking, as those terms are defined at 34 C.F.R. § 106.2.

General Definitions

A “complainant” means 1) a student or employee who is alleged to have been subjected to conduct that could constitute sex discrimination under Title IX, or (2) a person other than a student or employee who is alleged to have been subjected to conduct that could constitute sex discrimination under Title IX and who was participating or attempting to participate in the School’s education program or activity at the time of the alleged sex discrimination.

A ”respondent” means a person who is alleged to have violated the School’s prohibition on sex discrimination.

A “complaint” means an oral or written request to the School that objectively can be understood as a request for (School Name) to investigate and make a determination about alleged discrimination under Title IX.

“Supportive measures” means individualized measures offered as appropriate, and reasonably available, without unreasonably burdening a complainant or respondent, not for punitive or disciplinary reasons, and without fee or charge to the complainant or respondent to: (1) restore or preserve the party’s access to the School’s education program or activity, including measures that are designed to protect the safety of the parties or the School’s educational environment; or (2) provide support during the School’s Title IX grievance procedures or during the informal resolution process. Examples of supportive measures include, but are not limited to, counseling, extensions of deadlines or other course-related adjustments, campus escort services; increased security and monitoring of certain areas of the campus; restrictions on contact applied to one or more parties; leaves of absence; changes in class, work, or extracurricular or other activity, regardless of whether or not there is or is not a comparable alternative; and training and education programs related to sex-based harassment.

A ”confidential employee” means:

1. A School employee whose communications are privileged or confidential under Federal or State law. The employee’s confidential status is only with respect to information received while the employee is functioning within the scope of their duties to which privilege or confidentiality applies.

2. An employee who has been designated as confidential by the School also has a duty not associated with providing those services, the employee’s confidential status is only with respect to information received about sex discrimination in connection with providing those services.

General Requirements

The School must respond promptly and effectively when it has knowledge of conduct that reasonably may constitute sex discrimination in its education program or activity. The School requires all employees who are not confidential employees to notify the Title IX Coordinator when the employee has information about conduct that reasonably may constitute sex discrimination under Title IX. This requirement does not apply to an employee who has personally been subject to conduct that reasonably may constitute sex discrimination under Title IX.

Any confidential employee must explain to any person who informs the confidential employee of conduct that reasonably may constitute sex discrimination under Title IX:

Of the employee’s status as confidential, including the circumstances in which the employee is not required to notify the Title IX Coordinator about conduct that reasonably may constitute sex discrimination;
How to contact the School’s Title IX Coordinator and how to make a complaint of sex discrimination; and
That the Title IX Coordinator may be able to offer and coordinate supportive measures, as well as initiate an informal resolution process or an investigation under the School’s Title IX grievance procedures.

Reporting Sex Discrimination

The following persons may make a complaint of sex discrimination, including complaints of sex-based harassment, requesting that the School investigate and make a determination about alleged discrimination under Title IX:

A complainant;
A parent, guardian, or other authorized legal representative with the legal right to act on behalf of a complainant;
The Title IX Coordinator, in certain circumstances;
With respect to complaints of sex discrimination other than sex-based harassment, in addition to the individuals identified in items (1) – (3) above, any student or employee or any person other than a student or employee who was participating or attempting to participate in the School’s education program or activity at the time of the alleged sex discrimination.

When notified of conduct that reasonably may constitute sex discrimination under Title IX, the Title IX Coordinator will promptly take the following actions:

Treat the complainant and respondent equitably;
Offer and coordinate supportive measures, as appropriate, for the complainant and/or the respondent.
Notify the complainant, or if the complainant is unknown, the individual who reported the conduct of the School’s Title IX grievance procedures and the informal resolution process, if available and appropriate.
If a complaint is made, notify the respondent of Title IX’s grievance procedures and the informal resolution process, if available and appropriate.

Supportive Measures

Supportive measures must not unreasonably burden either party and must be designed to protect the safety of the parties or the school’s educational environment, or to provide support during the School’s Title IX grievance procedures, or during the informal resolution process. The School shall not impose such measures for punitive or disciplinary reasons.

The School may, as appropriate, modify or terminate supportive measures at the conclusion of the Title IX grievance process or at the conclusion of the informal resolution process, or (School Name) may continue them beyond that point.

The School must provide a complainant or respondent with a timely opportunity to seek, from an appropriate and impartial employee, modification or reversal of the decision to provide, deny, modify, or terminate supportive measures. The impartial employee must be someone other than the employee who made the challenged decision and must have authority to modify or reverse the decision. The School will also provide a party with the opportunity to seek additional modification or termination of a supportive measure applicable to them if circumstances change materially.

The School must not disclose information about any supportive measures to persons other than the person to whom they apply, including informing one party of supportive measures provided to another party, unless necessary to provide the supportive measures or restore or preserve a party’s access to the School’s education program or activity.

If the complainant or respondent is a student with a disability, the Title IX Coordinator must coordinate with one or more members, as appropriate, of the student’s ARD Committee, if any, or one or more members, as appropriate, of the group of persons responsible for the student’s placement decisions, if any, in order to determine how to comply with the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and/or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 in the implementation of supportive measures.

Response to Complaint

If a complaint is received, the Title IX Coordinator will initiate the School’s Title IX grievance process or the informal resolution process, if available and appropriate and requested by all parties.

In the absence of a complaint or the withdrawal of any or all of the allegations in a complaint, and in the absence or termination of an informal resolution process, the Title IX Coordinator will determine whether to initiate a complaint of sex discrimination that complies with the School’s Title IX grievance procedures. This is a fact-specific determination that involves consideration of certain factors identified in the Title IX regulations. If, after considering these and other relevant factors, the Title IX Coordinator determines that the conduct as alleged presents an imminent and serious threat to the health or safety of the complainant or other person, or that the conduct as alleged prevents the School from ensuring equal access on the basis of sex to its education program or activity, the Title IX Coordinator may initiate a complaint.

If initiating a Title IX complaint under this paragraph, the Title IX Coordinator must notify the complainant prior to doing so and appropriately address reasonable concerns about the complainant’s safety or the safety of others, including by providing supportive measures and, regardless of whether a complaint is initiated, take other prompt and effective steps, in addition to steps necessary to effectuate the remedies provided to an individual complainant, if any, to ensure that sex discrimination does not continue or recur within the School’s education program or activity.

Title IX Grievance Process

The School’s Title IX grievance process will incorporate the following:

a) Complainants and respondents will be treated equitably.

b) Any person designated as a Title IX Coordinator, investigator, or decision maker for a complaint will not have a conflict of interest for or against complainants or respondents generally or any individual complainant or respondent. The decision maker may be the same person as the Title IX Coordinator or investigator.

c) There is a presumption that the respondent is not responsible for the alleged sex discrimination until a determination is made at the conclusion of the School’s Title IX grievance process.

d) The School will attempt to complete the evaluation of a Title IX complaint, investigation of a complaint, determination of a complaint, and appeal within (reasonable time frame, e.g., 45 or 60 days) from the date of the complaint. However, the School may reasonably extend this timeframe on a case-by-case basis for good cause with notice to the parties that includes the reason for the delay.

e) The School will take reasonable steps to protect the privacy of the parties and witnesses during the pendency of the Title IX grievance process, provided that the steps do not restrict the ability of the parties to (1) obtain and present evidence, including by speaking to witnesses; (2) consult with their family members, confidential resources, or advisors; or (3) otherwise prepare for or participate in the Title IX grievance procedures

f) The School will objectively evaluate all evidence that is relevant and not otherwise impermissible, including both inculpatory and exculpatory evidence, and credibility determinations will not be based on a person’s status as a complainant, respondent, or witness.

g) The School will exclude the following types of evidence, and questions seeking evidence as impermissible, regardless of whether the evidence is relevant:

Evidence that is protected under a privilege as recognized by Federal or State law or evidence provided to a confidential employee, unless the person to whom the privilege or confidentiality is owed has voluntarily waived the privilege or confidentiality;
A party’s or witness’s records that are made or maintained by a physician, psychologist, or other recognized professional or paraprofessional in connection with the provision of treatment to the party or witness unless the School obtains that party’s or witness’s voluntary, written consent for use in the Title IX grievance process;
Evidence that relates to a complainant’s sexual interests or prior sexual conduct, unless evidence of a complainant’s prior sexual conduct is offered to prove that someone other than the respondent committed the alleged conduct or is evidence about specific incidents of the complaint’s prior sexual conduct with the respondent that is offered to prove consent to the alleged sex-based harassment. The fact of prior consensual sexual conduct between the complainant and respondent does not by itself demonstrate or imply the complainant’s consent to the alleged sex-based harassment or preclude a determination that sex-based harassment occurred.

h) Upon initiation of the School’s Title IX grievance procedures, the School must provide notice of the allegations to the parties whose identities are known. This notice must include:

The School’s grievance procedures and any informal resolution process, if applicable;
Sufficient information available at the time to allow the parties to respond to the allegations, including the identities of the parties involved in the incident(s), the conduct alleged to constitute sex discrimination, and the date(s) and location(s) of the alleged incident(s), to the extent that information is available to the School ;
A statement that retaliation is prohibited; and

4) A statement that the parties are entitled to an equal opportunity to access the relevant and not otherwise impermissible evidence or an accurate description of this evidence, and that if the School provides a description of the evidence, the parties are entitled to an equal opportunity to access the relevant and not otherwise impermissible evidence upon the request of any party.

i) If, during the course of an investigation, the School decides to investigate additional allegations of sex discrimination by the respondent toward the complaint that are not included in the initial complaint notice or that are included in a complaint that is consolidated, the School must provide notice of the additional allegations to the parties whose identities are known.

j) The School may dismiss a complaint of sex discrimination for any of the following reasons:

The School is unable to identify the respondent after taking reasonable steps to do so;
The respondent is not participating in the School’s education program or activity and is not employed by the School;
The complainant voluntarily withdraws any or all of the allegations in the complaint, the Title IX Coordinator declines to initiate a complaint, and the School determines that, without the complainant’s withdrawn allegations, the conduct that remains alleged in the complaint, if any, would not constitute sex discrimination under Title IX even if proven; or
The School determines the conduct alleged in the complaint, even if proven, would not constitute sex discrimination under Title IX. Before dismissing the complaint under this paragraph, the School must make reasonable efforts to clarify the allegations with the complainant.

Upon dismissal, the School must promptly notify the complainant of the basis for dismissal. If the dismissal occurs after the respondent has been notified of the allegations, the School must also notify the respondent of the dismissal and the basis for the dismissal promptly following notification to the complainant, or simultaneously if notification is in writing.

The School must notify the complainant that a dismissal may be appealed for any of the following reasons:

Procedural irregularity that would change the outcome;
New evidence that would change the outcome and that was not reasonably available when the determination whether sex-based harassment occurred or dismissal was made; and
The Title IX Coordinator, investigator, or decision maker had a conflict of interest or bias for or against complainants or respondents generally or the individual complainant or respondent that would change the outcome.

If a dismissal is appealed after the respondent has been notified of the allegations, the School must also notify the respondent that the dismissal may be appealed for the reasons set out above.

If the dismissal is appealed, the School must:

Notify the parties of any appeal, including notice of the allegations if notice was not previously provided to the respondent;
Implement appeal procedures equally for the parties;
Ensure the decision maker for the appeal did not take part in an investigation of the allegations or dismissal of the complaint;
Ensure the decisionmaker has been appropriately trained;
Provide the parties a reasonable and equal opportunity to make a statement in support of, or challenging, the outcome; and
Notify the parties of the result of the appeal and rationale for the result.

If a complaint is dismissed, the School must, at a minimum:

Offer supportive measures to the complainant;
For dismissals following voluntary withdrawal by a complainant or a determination by the School that the alleged conduct, even if proven, would not constitute sex discrimination under Title IX, and when the respondent has been notified of the allegations, offer supportive measures to the respondent as appropriate; and
Require the Title IX Coordinator to take other appropriate prompt and effective steps to ensure that sex discrimination does not continue or recur within the School’s education program or activity.

k) The School 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.

l) To ensure an adequate, reliable, and impartial investigation of complaints, the School will:

Ensure the burden is on (School Name), not on the parties, to conduct an investigation that gathers sufficient evidence to determine whether sex discrimination occurred;
Provide an equal opportunity for the parties to present fact witnesses and other inculpatory and exculpatory evidence that are relevant and not otherwise impermissible;
Review all evidence gathered through the investigation and determine what evidence is relevant and what evidence is impermissible regardless of relevance; and
Provide each party with an equal opportunity to access the evidence that is relevant to the allegations of sex discrimination and not otherwise impermissible in the following manner:

i. The School must provide an equal opportunity to access either the relevant and not otherwise impermissible evidence, or an accurate description of this evidence. If the School provides a description of the evidence, it must further provide the parties with an equal opportunity to access the relevant and not otherwise impermissible evidence upon the request of any party;

ii. The School must provide a reasonable opportunity to respond to the evidence or to the accurate description of the evidence; and

iii. The School must take reasonable steps to prevent and address the parties’ unauthorized disclosure of information and evidence obtained solely through the Title IX grievance process.

m) A decisionmaker has authority to question parties and witnesses to adequately assess a party’s or witness’s credibility to the extent credibility is both in dispute and relevant to evaluating one or more allegations of sex discrimination.

n) Following an investigation and evaluation of all relevant and not otherwise impermissible evidence, the School must:

Use the preponderance of the evidence standard of proof to determine whether sex discrimination occurred. If the decisionmaker is not persuaded under the preponderance of the evidence standard that sex discrimination occurred, whatever the quantity of the evidence is, the decisionmaker must not determine that sex discrimination occurred.
Notify the parties in writing of the determination whether sex discrimination occurred under Title IX including the rationale for such determination, and the procedures and permissible bases for the complainant and respondent to appeal, if applicable;
If there is a determination that sex discrimination occurred, as appropriate, require the Title IX Coordinator to coordinate the provision and implementation of remedies to a complainant and other persons (School Name)identifies as having had equal access to (School Name)’s education program or activity limited or denied by sex discrimination, coordinate the imposition of any disciplinary sanctions on a respondent, including notification to the complainant of any such disciplinary sanctions, and require the Title IX Coordinator to take other appropriate prompt and effective steps to ensure that sex discrimination does not continue or recur within the school’s education program or activity.

i. Possible disciplinary sanctions and remedies if there is a determination that sex discrimination occurred include any sanctions listed for employee misconduct in the Employee Handbook or for student misconduct in the Student Code of Conduct.

ii. The School may not impose discipline on a respondent for sex discrimination prohibited by Title IX unless there is a determination at the conclusion of the School’s Title IX grievance procedures that the respondent engaged in prohibited sex discrimination.

4) Not discipline a party, witness, or others participating in the School’s Title IX grievance procedures for making a false statement or for engaging in consensual sexual conduct based solely on the determination whether sex discrimination occurred.

o) A complainant or respondent may appeal the results of a determination regarding responsibility by following the appeal process relating to other discrimination complaints outside of Title IX.

p) At any time prior to determining whether sex discrimination occurred, the School may offer to a complainant and respondent an informal resolution process, unless the complaint includes allegations that an employee engaged in sex-based harassment of a student or if the informal resolution process would conflict with Federal, State, or local law. Any informal resolution process offered by the School must, to the extent necessary, also require the Title IX Coordinator to take other appropriate prompt and effective steps to ensure that sex discrimination does not continue or recur within the school’s education program or activity.

The School has discretion to determine whether it is appropriate to offer an informal resolution process when it receives information about conduct that reasonably may constitute sex discrimination under Title IX or when a complaint of sex discrimination is made, and may decline to offer informal resolution despite one or more of the parties’ wishes.

The School must not require or pressure the parties to participate in an informal resolution process. The School must obtain the parties’ voluntary consent to the informal resolution process and must not require waiver of the right to an investigation and determination of a complaint as a condition of enrollment or continuing enrollment, or employment or continuing employment, or exercise of any other right.

Before initiation of an informal resolution process, the School must provide to the parties notice that explains:

The allegations;
The requirements of the informal resolution process;
That, prior to agreeing to a resolution, any party has the right to withdraw from the informal resolution process and to initiate or resume the School’s Title IX grievance process;
That the parties’ agreement to a resolution at the conclusion of the informal resolution process would preclude the parties from initiating or resuming grievance procedures from the same allegations;
The potential terms that may be requested or offered in an informal resolution agreement, including notice that an informal resolution agreement is binding only on the parties; and
What information the School will maintain and whether and how the School could disclose such information for use in Title IX grievance procedures if grievance procedures are initiated or resumed.

Potential terms that could be include in an informal resolution agreement include but are not limited to:

Restrictions on contact; and
Restrictions on the respondent’s participation in one or more of the School’s programs or activities or attendance at specific events, including restrictions the School could have imposed as remedies or disciplinary sanctions had the School determined at the conclusion of the Title IX grievance procedures that sex discrimination occurred.

The facilitator for the informal resolution process must not be the same person as the investigator or decisionmaker for the complaint.

Emergency Removal

Nothing in the Title IX grievance process precludes the School from removing a respondent from the school’s education program or activity on an emergency basis, provided that the School undertakes an individualized safety and risk analysis, determines that an imminent and serious threat to the health or safety of a complainant or any students, employees, or other person arising from the allegations of sex discrimination justifies removal, and provides the respondent with notice and an opportunity to challenge the decision immediately following the removal. An emergency removal must not be construed to modify any rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, or the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

The School may place an employee respondent on administrative leave from employment responsibilities during the pendency of the school’s Title IX grievance procedures. Placement on administrative leave must not be construed to modify any rights under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 or the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Retaliation

The School prohibits retaliation, including peer retaliation, in its education program or activity. When the School has information about conduct that reasonably may constitute retaliation under Title IX, the School is obligated to comply with Title IX requirements for responding to retaliation. Upon receiving a complaint alleging retaliation, the School must initiate its Title IX grievance procedures or, as appropriate, an informal resolution process.

Prohibited Disclosure of Personally Identifiable Information

The School must not disclose personally identifiable information obtained in the course of complying with Title IX’s requirements, except in the following circumstances:

When the School has obtained prior written consent from a person with the legal right to consent to the disclosure;
When the information is disclosed to a parent, guardian, or other authorized legal representative with the legal right to receive disclosures on behalf of the person whose personally identifiable information is at issue;
To carry out the purposes of the Title IX regulations, including action taken to address conduct that reasonably may constitute sex discrimination under Title IX in the School’s education program or activity;
As required by Federal Law, Federal regulations, or other terms and conditions of a Federal award, including a grant award or other funding agreement; or
To the extent such disclosures are not otherwise in conflict with Title IX, when required by State or local law, or when permitted under FERPA or its implementing regulations.

Career and Technical Education (CTE) Programs

The district offers a comprehensive program that is designed to prepare students to be successful whether they choose to pursue higher education, technical or trade school, or to enter the workforce after completing their high school education. Course offerings and content are continuously monitored to ensure that programs are current with today’s technology and are relevant to the requirements of today’s employer. Admission to these programs is based on interest and aptitude, age appropriateness, academic achievement, state and local policy, class space available, and any course prerequisites.

It is the policy of the School not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, or handicap in its vocational programs, services, or activities and to provide equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups as required by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.

It is the policy of the School not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, handicap, or age in its employment practices as required by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.

The School will take steps to ensure that lack of English skills will not be a barrier to admission and participation in all educational and vocational programs. For information about your rights or grievance procedures, please contact the Human Resources department at our home office by calling (972) 316-3663, or contact the Title IX Coordinator or the Section 504 Coordinator, whose contact information is set forth in the Notice of Nondiscrimination section above.