Title IX

Reporting

Any individual may make a report of an allegation of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation to the Title IX Coordinator. Upon notice by a third party, the Title IX Coordinator will engage in outreach to the identified Complainant to discuss the availability of supportive measures, consider the Complainant’s wishes with respect to supportive measures, inform the Complainant of the availability of supportive measures with or without the filing of a formal Complaint, and explain to the Complainant the process for filing a formal Complaint.

Mandated Reporters and Formal Notice/Complaints

All College employees (including student employees), with the exception of those who are designated as Confidential Resources, are Mandated Reporters and must promptly share with the Title IX Coordinator all known details of a report of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation made to them in the course of their employment. Employees must also promptly share all details of behaviors under these procedures that they observe or have knowledge of, even if not reported to them by a Complainant or third-party. Complainants may want to carefully consider whether they share personally identifiable details with non-confidential Mandated Reporters, as those details must be shared with the Title IX Coordinator.

Generally, disclosures in climate surveys, classroom writing assignments or discussions, human subjects research, or at events such as “Take Back the Night” marches or speak-outs do not provide notice that must be reported to the Title IX Coordinator by employees, unless the Complainant clearly indicates that they desire a report to be made or seek a specific response from the College. Supportive measures may be offered as the result of such disclosures without further formal action by the College.

Failure of a Mandated Reporter to report an incident of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation of which they become aware is a violation of the College’s policy. A Mandated Reporter can be subject to disciplinary action for failure to comply, per the College’s Administrative Procedures, AP-7322.0, Progressive Discipline for Non-Faculty Employees and AP-7322.1, Progressive Discipline for Faculty Employees. Though this may seem obvious, when a Mandated Reporter is engaged in harassment or other violations, they still have a duty to report their own misconduct, though the College is technically not on notice when a harasser is also a Mandated Reporter unless the harasser does in fact report themselves.

Finally, a Mandated Reporter who is themselves a target of discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation under these procedures is not required to report their own experience, though they are, of course, encouraged to do so. If a student reports an incident to campus authorities, they are NOT automatically required to pursue legal action. Campus Security, as Mandated Reporters, will report the complaint internally. Such complaints may trigger a legal obligation of the College to give notice of potential harm to others on campus. They can also support anyone who wishes to file a criminal complaint through local law enforcement. Internal campus proceedings and external legal processes are conducted independent of each other and the outcome of one does not necessarily influence the other.

Promptness

All allegations are acted upon promptly by the College once it has received notice or a formal Complaint. Complaints can take 60-90 business days to resolve, typically. There are always exceptions and extenuating circumstances that can cause a resolution to take longer, but the College will avoid all undue delays within its control. Any time the general timeframes outlined in these procedures will be delayed, the College will provide written notice to the parties of the delay, the cause of the delay, and an estimate of the anticipated additional time that will be needed as a result of the delay.

Privacy

Every effort is made by the College to preserve the privacy of reports. The College will not share the identity of any individual who has made a report or Complaint of harassment or retaliation; any Complainant, any individual who has been reported to be the perpetrator of sexual harassment or retaliation, any Respondent, or any witness, except as permitted by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. § 1232g; FERPA regulations, 34 C.F.R. Part 99; or as required by law; or to carry out the purposes of 34 C.F.R. Part 106, including the conducting of any investigation, hearing, or grievance proceeding arising under these procedures.

The College reserves the right to determine which College officials have a legitimate educational interest in being informed about incidents that fall within these procedures, pursuant to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Information will be shared as necessary with Investigators, Hearing Panel members/Decision-Maker/Chairs, witnesses, and the parties. The circle of people with this knowledge will be kept as tight as possible to preserve the parties’ rights and privacy. The College may contact parents/guardians to inform them of situations in which there is a significant and articulable health and/or safety risk but will usually consult with the student first before doing so.

Time Limits On Reporting

There is no time limitation on providing notice/complaints to the Title IX Coordinator. However, if the Respondent is no longer subject to the College’s jurisdiction and/or significant time has passed, the ability to investigate, respond, and provide remedies may be more limited or impossible.

Acting on notice/complaints significantly impacted by the passage of time (including, but not limited to, the rescission or revision of policy or procedure) is at the discretion of the Title IX Coordinator, who may document allegations for future reference, offer supportive measures and/or remedies, and/or engage in informal or formal action, as appropriate.

When a notice/complaint is affected by significant time delay, the College will typically apply the policy in place at the time of the alleged misconduct and the procedures in place at the time of notice/complaint.

External Complaints

A person may also file a complaint with the appropriate federal, state, or local agency within the time frame required by law. Depending upon the nature of the complaint, the appropriate agency may be the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Education, the Department of Justice, and/or the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission.

• Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission (NEOC)
  P.O. Box 94934
  Lincoln, NE 68509-4934
  (402) 471-2024
  neoc.nebraska.gov
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
  1222 Spruce St., Room 8.100
  St. Louis, MO 63103
  (800) 669-4000
  info@eeoc.gov
• Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
  Office for Civil Rights, National Headquarters
  U.S. Department of Education
  Lyndon Baines Johnson Dept. of Education Building
  400 Maryland Avenue, SW
  Washington, DC 20202-1100
  Telephone: (800) 421-3481
  Fax: (202) 453-6012; TDD: (800) 877-8339
  Email: OCR@ed.gov

Title IX Team Members

• Title IX Coordinator
  Norfolk Campus
  LLC Suite 100
  801 East Benjamin Ave, Norfolk, NE 68701
  (402) 844-7046
  complianceofficer@northeast.edu

Students may also report incidents of sex discrimination, sexual harassment (including sexual violence) or sexual misconduct to any college administrator, official or staff member, who is then responsible for promptly notifying any of the above Title IX Team Members or Title IX Coordinator of the reported incident.

Students may also contact the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (800) 421-3481 to complain of sex discrimination or sexual harassment including sexual violence.