Title VI Investigator Training
The last year has brought increasing numbers of complaints of harassment on the basis of race, religion, national origin, and shared ancestry. There is new guidance from the Department of Education and from the EEOC on how to identify and address a hostile environment on campus. In this advanced investigator training, we will use real, campus-based examples to review how to investigate claims of hostile environment harassment and discrimination.
Topics will include determining the scope and breadth of an investigation, weighing evidence, common errors when applying hostile environment definitions, and the differences between investigating what occurred versus investigating the impact. We will also discuss academic freedom and First Amendment considerations, and how those may or may not impact findings.
Agenda
The agenda includes:
- Developing the scope of a Title VI investigation
- Developing witness lists; not too many, not too few
- Gathering and weighing evidence
- First Amendment and academic freedom concerns
- Determining whether a hostile environment exists
- Assessing impact
- Do we still need credibility determinations?
- Tips and best practices
Intended Audience
- Campus administrators
- Equal Opportunity Directors
- Human Resources professionals
- Student Affairs professionals
- Student Conduct officers
- Compliance officers
- Legal counsel
- Bias team members
Meet Our Title VI Facilitators
Jody Shipper
Co-Fouder and Managing Director of Grand River Solutions, Jody Shipper, J.D., is a nationally-recognized subject-matter expert with more than 20 years of experience in Title IX, Title VI, and related fields. She is known for her insight into best-in-class programming, policies, and community outreach aimed at addressing sexual misconduct on campus. She lectures extensively at universities and conferences throughout the U.S. on Title IX, VAWA, harassment, and implementation of best and emerging practices. Jody also co-founded Project IX in 2014, a nonprofit focused on Title IX-related services to schools with a mission to provide effective solutions for preventing and responding to sexual violence.
Samantha Sears
Samantha (“Sam”) Sears is a Quality Assurance and Editorial Specialist at Grand River Solutions. Sam practiced law for 20 years, devoting the majority of her practice to the representation of higher education institutions, including serving as in-house counsel for three large public research institutions. In her role as in-house counsel, Sam provided legal support and guidance on the full range of legal issues affecting higher education institutions, including providing legal review of institutional responses to Title VI, Title VII, Title IX, Section 504, and ADA claims involving faculty, staff, and students. She frequently led training programs on these and related topics for faculty and staff and for her higher education peers at workshops hosted by the National Association of College and University Attorneys and the Association of Student Conduct Administration.
Our Client Engagement Team
Interested in scheduling a training or learning more about creating a custom training or training package that works for your organization? Reach out and we will connect you with the director for your region.
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