Title IX & Sexual Misconduct
Title IX Staff
To maintain safe and nondiscriminatory educational, living and working environments, Olympic College prohibits discrimination based on sex and gender. Title IX staff are responsible for coordinating and administering sexual misconduct prevention, response, and resolution, consistent with federal and state law. The Title IX Coordinator coordinates all Title IX activities, but also maintains primary responsibility for issues related to students. The Deputy Coordinator maintains primary responsibility for issues related to employees.
Learn More About Title IX
Title IX is a federal civil rights law passed as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance. On August 14, 2020, new Title IX regulations became effective.
Title IX states, "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."
Title IX non-discrimination obligations extend to recruitment, admissions, and counseling; financial assistance; athletics; sex-based harassment; treatment of pregnant and parenting students; discipline; single-sex education; and employment. They also apply to retaliation against anyone who brings a complaint of sex- or gender-based discrimination or who participates in the investigation and resolution of said complaint.
New Title IX Regulations
On August 14, 2020 the Title IX regulations were revised. The Final Title IX Regulations incorporate the following changes:
1. Recognition of Sexual Harassment as Sex Discrimination
Sexual harassment under Title IX includes – dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking.
2. Protections for Survivors
- Survivors are in the position of control to decide what happens after an incident of sexual harassment, including sexual assault, occurs.
- Schools must respect a survivor’s decision to file, or not to file, a formal complaint and must offer supportive measures either way.
- Schools must respond promptly in every instance by offering to provide supportive measures like dorm reassignments or class schedule adjustments
- Schools are forbidden from pressuring a survivor into filing or not filing a formal complaint or participating in a grievance process.
- To protect younger students, K-12 schools must respond promptly when any school employee has notice of sexual harassment, including sexual assault.
- The regulation extends to all aspects of a school’s education program or activity and applies to any building owned or controlled by a student organization recognized by a college or university.
- If a survivor chooses to participate in a grievance process, the regulation protects survivors from inappropriately being asked about prior sexual history (also known as "rape shield" protections), and the survivor must not be required to divulge any medical, psychological, or similarly privileged records.
- A survivor never has to come face-to-face with the accused during a hearing, and an accused is never allowed to personally ask questions of a survivor.
- Survivors are protected against retaliation when they choose to report sexual misconduct or not, file a formal complaint or not, participate in a grievance process or not.
- Survivors are protected against bullying or harassment throughout the grievance process.
3. Campus Processes and Procedures
- The regulation provides students with a right to written notice of allegations, the right to an advocate, and the right to submit, examine, and challenge evidence.
- All students have the right to a live hearing where advisors conduct cross-examination.
- All students have the right to an impartial finding based on evidence using a standard of evidence — either the preponderance of evidence standard or the clear and convincing standard — that applies to all members of the school community, including faculty.
- Schools must offer both parties an equal opportunity to appeal the finding.
- The regulation gives schools flexibility to conduct Title IX investigations and hearings remotely.
Read the Final Rule in its entirety.
Posting of Title IX Training Materials
Resources and Other Reporting Options
Confidential Resources at Olympic College
Confidential Resources in the Community
Emergency Resources and Law Enforcement
Pregnant and Parenting Resources for Students
Pregnant or lactating students or employees may be entitled to support, protections, and/or accommodations under Title IX and other federal and state laws.
There are supports in place to help ensure that students who are pregnant and parenting can continue to access their education. Specifically, students are entitled to a medically-necessary absence due to temporary complications of and all other medical conditions related to pregnancy, including doctor’s appointments, childbirth, and/or recovery. In addition, they are entitled to reasonable adjustments, such as permission to make frequent trips to the restroom because of pregnancy or time to breastfeed or pump after childbirth.
Students requesting an adjustment due to pregnancy or lactation should contact the Title IX Coordinator. Bremerton campus has a designated lactation room located in Bldg. 3, Rm. 131. If needed, other lactation room arrangements may be made upon request from the student or employee..
Students requesting an absence or other accommodation or adjustment due to a pregnancy-related condition should contact Student Disability Services. The director will work with the student to obtain the necessary medical documentation and identify an appropriate accommodation or adjustment.
The student receiving such an absence or adjustment should not be penalized as they would for an unexcused absence. If grading is partially based on class attendance or participation, the student should be allowed to earn the credit they missed so that they can be reinstated to the status they had before the leave. This should include giving them a reasonable amount of time to make up any missed work and allowing them to choose how to make up the work. Lactation is a childbirth-related condition, for which a student may request leave from class. While pregnancy-related conditions may sometimes necessitate medically necessary adjustments, it is important never to assume that a pregnant student is unable to participate in a class or class assignment merely because of pregnancy. A pregnant student should not be required to produce a doctor’s note in order to participate in a class or related activities, unless the same requirement applies to all students under a doctor’s care.
Policies and Procedures
