TITLE IX Gender Equity Non Discrimination Information

Title IX is a federal law that was passed in 1972 to ensure that male and female students and employees in the educational settings are treated equally and fairly.  It protects against discrimination based on sex including sexual harassment, as well as protects transgender students and students who do not conform to sex stereotypes.  State law also prohibits discrimination based on gender, gender expression, gender identity, and sexual orientation (California Department of Education, 2017). “No person in the United States shall on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” (California Department of Education, 2017).

San Jacinto Unified School District receives federal funds, therefore SJUSD is subject to the requirements of Title IX information as outlined in California Education Code 221.6.

Additional information regarding Gender Equity/Title IX is available on this CDE webpage

Your rights as a student include:

• You have the right to fair and equitable treatment and you shall not be discriminated against based on your sex.
• You have the right to be provided with an equitable opportunity to participate in all academic extracurricular activities, including athletics.
• You have the right to inquire of the athletic director of your school as to the athletic opportunities offered by the school.  You have the right to apply for athletic scholarships.
• You have the right to receive equitable treatment and benefits in the provision of all of the following:
• Equipment and supplies
• Scheduling of games and practices
• Transportation and daily allowances
• Access to tutoring
• Coaching
• Locker rooms
• Practice and competitive facilities
• Publicity
• You have the right to have access to a gender equity coordinator to answer questions regarding gender equity laws.  You have the right to contact the State Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation to access information on gender equity laws.
• You have the right to file a confidential discrimination complaint with the United States Office of Civil Rights or the State Department of Education if you believe you have been discriminated against or you believe you have received unequal treatment on the basis of your sex.
• You have the right to pursue civil remedies if you have been discriminated against.
• You have the right to be protected against retaliation if you file a discrimination complaint.

Definition of Sex-Based Discrimination and Harassment (Cal Ed Code § 230.)

How do you report a Title IX complaint?

Acts of verbal, non verbal, or physical aggression, intimidation, or hostility that are based on sex, gender identity, or gender expression, regardless of whether they are sexual in nature, where the act has the purpose or effect of having a negative impact on the student’s academic performance or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive educational environment are prohibited under state and federal law.

If you are a student, parent/guardian, or interested third party (a complainant filing on behalf of or pertaining to another person is responsible for securing any necessary written consent for that  individual, including when a parent/guardian files for a student over the age of 18.) and you want to report an instance of discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying, a complaint must be filed no later than 6 months from the date that the incident occurred or the date you first had knowledge that the incident occurred.  It is recommended that you make a copy of the complaint for your records (www.cde.ca.gov).

SJUSD BP/AR 5145.3 and 5145.7 outline the process for initiating and responding to complaints based on Title IX rights.  Any student who feels that they have been subjected to unlawful discrimination described above or in district policy is strongly encouraged to immediately report the incident to the Athletic Director (see below).

A report can also be told to any other staff member.  We strongly urge any student who observes any such incident to report the incident to the principal, whether or not the alleged victim files a complaint.

Any school employee who observes an incident of unlawful discrimination, including discriminatory harassment, intimidation, retaliation, or bullying or to whom such an incident is reported shall report immediately to the compliance office or principal within one school day, whether or not the alleged victim files a complaint.

Any school employee who witnesses an incident of unlawful discrimination, including discriminatory harassment, intimidation, retaliation, or bully, shall immediately intervene to stop the incident when it is safe to do so (Ed. Code 234.1).  If you feel that the school was not able to resolve your complaint, please contact Courtney Hall (see below).

Uniform Complaint Form

San Jacinto Unified School District’s Title IX Coordinator:

Courtney Hall

Director of Community, Student, and Personnel Support

[email protected]

(951) 929-7700 Ext. 4288

San Jacinto Unified School District’s Title IX Investigators, Decision Maker, Appeal Officer and Informal Resolution Process Facilitator:

Dr. Sharon Raffiee

Dawn Lawrence

Juan Penaloza

The district shall conduct and complete an investigation of the complaint within 60 days or the receipt of the complaint and prepare a written decision.  During the investigation, the person responsible for filing the complaint shall also be given the opportunity to provide evidence that he/she believes supports  the allegations. The district's decision shall be in writing and sent to the complainant. The district's decision shall be written in English and in the language of the complainant.  The decision shall include:

1. The findings of fact based on the evidence gathered (5 CCR 4631)
2. The conclusion(s) of the complaint (5 CCR 463)
3. The disposition of the complaint (5 CCR 4631)
4. Rationale for such disposition (5 CCR 4631)
5. Corrective actions, if any are warranted (5 CCR 4631)
6. Notice of the complainant’s right to appeal the district’s decision within 15 days to the CDE and procedures to be followed for initiating such an appeal (5 CCR 4631).  For discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying complaints notice that the complainant must wait until 60 days have elapsed from the filling of an appeal with the CDE before pursuing civil law remedies (Education Code 262.3)

If a student or employee is disciplined as a result of the complaint, the decision shall simply state that effective action was taken and that the student or employee was informed of district expectations.  The report shall not give any further information as to the nature of the disciplinary action.

Any decisions provided by the district may be appealed to the California Department of Education within 15 days.  For more information regarding California Department of Education appeals, please contact Education Equity UCP Appeals Office at [email protected] or 951-319-8239.

For Federal Complaints Regarding Title IX Discrimination

The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) responds to Title IX discrimination complaints.  A complaint must be filed within 180 days of the last act of discrimination. If your complaint involves matters that occurred longer ago than this and you are requesting a waiver, you will be asked to show good cause why you did not file your complaint within the 180-day period.  Prior to filing a complaint with OCR against an institution, a potential complainant may want to find out about the institution's grievance process and use that process to have the complaint resolved. However, a complainant is not required by law to use the institutional grievance process before filing a complaint with OCR.  If a complainant uses an institutional grievance process and also chooses to file the complaint with OCR, the complaint must be filed with OCR within 60 days after completion of the institutional grievance process.

Title IX SB 1349 Report SJUSD 2021-2022 Data