Title IX

All educational institutions that receive federal financial assistance are affirmatively required to adhere to Title IX regulations. Even if only one of the institution's programs or activities receives federal funding, all of the programs within the institution must comply with Title IX regulations.

Athletic departments are not the only component of college life governed by Title IX. The regulations prohibit sex discrimination in regard to all programs, including:

• Course offerings, classroom access, grading, and other academics
• Student counseling and academic support
• Hiring and retention of employees (staff, faculty, and administration)
• Job related benefits and leave
• Pregnancy

In addition to sex discrimination, Title IX also prohibits sexual misconduct (which includes sexual harassment, gender harassment, and sexual violence). Additional information regarding what behaviors may constitute sexual harassment and other forms of sexual misconduct is available in WVMCCD's Title IX Policy located on its website and in its student, faculty, and employee handbooks. Title IX serves to protect the rights of men and women. Title IX requires that males and females receive fair and equal treatment in all educational and employment areas.

Title IX also protects individuals who report sex discrimination and sexual misconduct from retaliation by individuals or by institutions. The reporting of incidents of discrimination is integral to the effective enforcement of Title IX law. Therefore, the protection of complainants, as well as the accused, is important. Retaliation against any individual who reports or makes a complaint about a Title IX violation will not be tolerated at WVMCCD. The District will impose appropriate corrective action against any individual found to have engaged in acts or threats of retaliation.

Certain employees of the Colleges and District are required to report instances of alleged violations of Title IX. Without exception, if an employee is not sure if a situation warrants reporting, he/she must seek guidance from the Title IX Coordinator. It is essential that institutions receiving federal financial assistance operate in a nondiscriminatory manner. To ensure compliance with the law, adherence to Title IX regulations is everyone's responsibility. The penalty for failure to comply with Title IX, in the extreme circumstances, can include the termination of all or part of an institution's federal funding including grants and student loans. It can also result in the termination of a College or District employee or the dismissal of a student.

Any member of the WVMCCD community, who believes he/she has been the victim of sex discrimination, sexual misconduct, or who has witnessed such conduct, should report such misconduct or file an informal or formal complaint with the College's Title IX Coordinator.

Students who believe they have been or, are victims of sex discrimination or sexual harassment, including sexual assault or sexual violence on or off campus, whether by College employees, contracted services employees, other students or non-community members, are encouraged to request immediate personal support and assistance from any member of the Office of Student Services or the Title IX Coordinator. Student complaints against other students concerning sexual assault, sexual violence or other sexual misconduct may be made on an informal or formal basis with the College's Title IX Coordinator or WVMCCD's Police Department. All complaints filed with or received by the Police Authority will be forwarded to the Title IX Coordinator, who will direct that an appropriate investigation be conducted.

Employees who believe they are being harassed or discriminated against on account of their gender should promptly make a report to the Title IX Coordinator, to his/her supervisor, to the Associate Vice Chancellor of Human Resources and Director, Compliance, Training and Employee Relations; a campus President. All reports made to the employee's supervisor, campus President or the WVMCCD Police Authority must, in turn, be immediately forwarded to the District Associate Vice Chancellor of Human Resources and the Director, Compliance, Training and Employee Relations.

1. WVMCCD will utilize its best efforts to protect all College community members from sex discrimination, gender-based harassment, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual violence.
2. WVMCCD will take affirmative and corrective action whenever it becomes aware of possible sex discrimination, sexual assault, sexual violence or other sexual misconduct within the College community, whether or not a complaint has been made.
3. In order to meet its Title IX obligations and to the extent possible, every effort will be made to keep the details of complaints confidential if requested to do so by a victim of sexual misconduct and to follow the District's procedures for conducting an investigation and recommendations. However, the District's ability to strictly observe confidentiality may be compromised where the safety of members of the community is judged to be at risk.
4. The safety and security of all members of the College community is a priority matter.
5. The internal investigation of a complaint will be conducted, and a decision rendered, no matter the timeline or outcome of case adjudication by external authorities. Expanded information concerning sex discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual violence, and WVMCCD's Title IX Policy and Procedures Governing the Reports and Investigation of Title IX Complaints, can be found in WVMCCD's student, faculty and employee handbooks, as well as on the College's website.

The United States Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is in charge of enforcing Title IX.

West Valley-Mission Community College District encourages everyone to report all forms of gender-based discrimination and sexual misconduct to the College, District and/or the police. Making a report means telling someone in a position of authority what happened - this can be in person, over the phone, or in an email. Contact the Title IX Coordinator or submit an online complaint form Title IX Incident Report.

Please note the Title IX Coordinators deal specifically with gender-based discrimination and harassment. You can report all other forms of unlawful discrimination or harassment by submitting a completed complaint form to the Director of Compliance, Training and Employee Relations.

Anyone (students, faculty, or staff) can report gender-based discrimination or sexual misconduct to the college. It does not matter if you were personally involved in an incident or if you witnessed something happening to someone else.WVMCCD follows a See Something, Say Something, Do Something model. This means we expect community members to look out for each other and report misconduct that affects all members of our campus community.

You should report incidents of gender-based discrimination and sexual misconduct as soon as possible. While it is never too late to report sexual harassment, sexual assault, stalking, or dating or domestic violence, it is much easier to conduct a thorough investigation if a report is made in a timely manner. Reporting instances of sexual misconduct as soon as possible allows the college help you (and other affected parties) connect with valuable support services.

You have the choice to report sexual misconduct to Mission College, West Valley College, District Human Resources, or District Police or local Police. You can file a report with the District and still decline to file a report with local law enforcement agencies. If you are unsure of where to file your report, contact the College's Title IX Coordinator to discuss your reporting options, and help you file a report with the WVMCCD District Police if you so desire. Report all instances of of gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment to the Title IX Coordinator.