Title IX
Pursuant to Federal Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”), implemented at 34 C.F.R. § 106.31, subd. (a), each MPCSD student and employee has a right to learn and work in an environment that is safe free from unlawful discrimination and are treated equally and fairly. Menlo Park City School District (MPCSD) is committed to provide a workplace and educational environment free of sexual harassment and considers such harassment to be a major offense, which may result in disciplinary action. This policy is inclusive of instances that occur while the following: on any school campus; at school-sponsored events and activities, regardless of location; through school-owned technology; and through other electronic means. In May of 2020, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) issued new Title IX regulations. The new regulations describe what constitutes sexual harassment under Title IX, what triggers a school's legal obligation to respond, and how a school must respond.
The new regulations include:
(1) a specific definition of sexual harassment,
(2) specific items that must be included in the notice of a grievance process once a complaint is filed, and
(3) delineated steps and considerations that must be included in any investigation.
Further, in order to maintain compliance with Title IX, schools are required to respond to a sexual harassment complaint “without deliberate indifference”. A school is deliberately indifferent only if its response to sexual harassment is clearly unreasonable in light of the known circumstances.
Sexual harassment is now officially defined as behavior on the
basis of sex that is one or more of the following types of
behavior:
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A school employee conditioning provision of an aid, benefit or service upon a person’s participation in unwelcome sexual conduct, a.k.a. quid pro quo; or
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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 school’s educational program or activity; or
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Sexual assault, (an offense classified as a forcible or nonforcible sex offense under the uniform crime reporting system of the FBI), dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking
New Procedures:
Here is a summary of the new Title IX procedures.
Title IX Compliance Training Manual
Lozano Smith Title IX Tool Kit
Title IX Board Policies
Please note that each link takes you to Board Docs. Please click on the upper right corner that indicates policies. You may then search for all of the district's nondiscrimination and sexual harassment policies.
Nondiscrimination in Employment Administrative Regulation
Nondiscrimination in Employment Board Policy
Sexual Harassment Administrative Regulation
Sexual Harassment Board Policy
Sexual Harassment For District Employees Board Policy
Title IX Coordinator
Every school or school district that receives federal funding (which includes almost all colleges and universities, as well as public elementary, middle, and secondary schools) is required to designate and/or adequately train at least one employee to coordinate the recipients Title IX responsibilities. Title IX regulations also require that the name(s) and contact information of each Title IX coordinator be made public by the educational institution.
Audra Romero, Director of Human Resources
Stephanie Sheridan, Assistant Superintendent of Student Services
District Title IX Coordinators
181 Encinal Ave.
Atherton, CA 94027
(650) 321-1740 ext. 5602
aromero@mpcsd.org / ssheridan@mpcsd.org