ATIXA Regional Events
Title IX Coordinator & Administrator Training & Certification
APRIL 10-13, 2012
ATLANTA, GA
8:30am to 4:30pm Tuesday, April 10th
8:30am to 6:00pm Wednesday, April 11th
8:30am to 4:30pm Thursday, April 12th
8:30am to 2pm Friday, April 13th
Registration for this event has been closed.
Scroll down for more details.
The use of this seal is not an endorsement by the HR Certification Institute of the quality of the program. It means that this program has met the HR Certification Institute’s criteria to be pre-approved for recertification credit.
EVENT DESCRIPTION
Every college and university in the country is required by the Department of Education to have a campus Title IX Coordinator, and to designate that individual to the department and the campus community as a contact point for a Title IX communications and grievances.
Do you know who your campus Title IX Coordinator is?
Maybe it is you?
Has your institution designated someone, as required by law?
What are the responsibilities of the coordinator supposed to be on every campus? It’s not just about sexual harassment. It’s broader than athletics. This administrator is responsible for coordination of all your institution’s compliance efforts on gender discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, sexual assault, athletics equity and related
civil rights investigations.
Title IX Coordinators all over the country have reported to ATIXA a lack of clarity on the role, responsibilities and the expectations the Department of Education has for their position. Campus administrators report confusion over whether there is more to the Coordinator role than being a designee for Office for Civil Rights (OCR) communications, who their campus Title IX Coordinator is, and what that person is supposed to do.
To address these questions and the confusion about the responsibilities of a campus Title IX Coordinator, ATIXA has created this four-day training program. After attending this program, Coordinators and other responsible administrators will know chapter and verse on their role and responsibilities, and will receive a Title IX Coordinator Certification from ATIXA.
INTENDED AUDIENCE
- Campus Title IX Coordinators
- Deputy Coordinators
- Training and Prevention personnel
- Investigators
- Human Resources personnel
- Student Conduct personnel
- Student Affairs administrators
- General Counsel and outside attorneys
- Athletics administrators, Senior Women’s Administrators and compliance administrators
- Campus law enforcement
HOW IS THIS EVENT DIFFERENT FROM OTHER TITLE IX OR SEXUAL MISCONDUCT TRAININGS YOU MIGHT ATTEND?
- ATIXA’s training is the ONLY one that touches on ALL areas of Title IX compliance. This 4-day comprehensive course is focused broadly on the role of Title IX Coordinators, Title IX compliance, investigations, athletics equity, and 504 disability compliance.
- Participants who successfully complete the course will receive Title IX Coordinator Certification from ATIXA.
- All participants receive a set of 250 PowerPoint slides and 250 pages of supporting materials, including the ATIXA Model Title IX Compliance Policy and Grievance Procedure.
- This event features a multi-disciplinary, engaging faculty with unmatched expertise, who have been writing, researching, litigating, enforcing, training and working in depth on Title IX for many years.
- As the leading source for Title IX expertise, ATIXA has now trained and certified more than 500 campus Title IX Coordinators across the country.
WHAT DOES CERTIFICATION MEAN?
Attendees will follow a comprehensive curriculum conveying what every campus Title IX Coordinator needs to know to do that job and do it well. The four days will be intense, practical, and full of case studies and opportunities to apply the skills imparted in the training. You will not only spend four days with trainers who are some of the most knowledgeable experts on the topics, but also who are engaging and dynamic enough to hold your interest, keep you entertained, and take you from theory to practice with compelling case studies and relevant activities that take the content off the page and onto the campus.
You can attend for less than all four days, but to obtain a Title IX Coordinator Certification, you need to attend the whole event. What does this certificate mean? It means that you have tapped into the unparalleled expertise of ATIXA and the other carefully selected experts in the field.
Your trainers are not just topic experts, but practitioners. Members of the faculty for this event have negotiated with OCR on behalf of colleges and universities, conducted investigations, run athletics programs, litigated Title IX cases, served as experts and submitted amici in Title IX cases, trained investigators, and have published extensively on this topic. We know it inside out, and after four days, so will you. This course will place you in the best possible position to respond to and defend institutional competence on discrimination grievances. As this is the only event of its kind, you can’t get this training anywhere else.
PROGRAM
8:30am to 4:30pm Tuesday, April 10th
8:30am to 6:00pm Wednesday, April 11th
8:30am to 4:30pm Thursday, April 12th
8:30am to 2pm Friday, April 13th
TUESDAY, APRIL 10TH
The first part of Day One will offer a review of a host of OCR investigations and case law that must inform our Title IX compliance practices. Liability concepts of actual notice, deliberate indifference, off-campus jurisdiction, and victim’s rights will be explored with a wide-angle lens. Participants will learn how to provide an equitable process with equitable results. Participants will learn about new enforcement initiatives, Dear Colleague Letters, potential upcoming new Title IX Guidance, and the investigations of Notre Dame College and Eastern Michigan University, which have resulted in OCR-labeled “model programs.”
Day One of this course also will offer a comprehensive exploration of the topic of gender discrimination in overview, and the role of the Title IX Coordinator as:
- Contact for government inquiries
- Point person for campus complaints
- Creator and implementer of appropriate policy
- Assurance of 1st Amendment protections
- Prevention and remediation of gender discrimination
- Prevention and remediation of sexual harassment
- Prevention and remediation of sexual assault
- Prevention and remediation of stalking
- Prevention and remediation of intimate partner and relationship violence
- Prevention and remediation of bullying and cyberbullying
- Oversight and coordination of prompt and equitable grievance procedures
Did you know that you were legally required to be and do all of these things as Coordinator? How many of you feel well-prepared to deal with all of these issues? There’s more…and Day One will give you the comprehensive perspective.
Is this beginning to sound like a full-time job? For many Coordinators who often have other primary responsibilities, Title IX is just an “add-on responsibility.” This course will give you the knowledge and skills to adequately and thoroughly manage the responsibilities you have been given.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11TH
On Day Two we will continue discussing the role of the Title IX Coordinator….
- Supervisor of the interaction of Title IX and VII coordinator and inter-relation
- Supervisor of investigations
- Compliance auditor
- Trainer or convener of broad training requirements for employees, boards, investigators and appeals officers
- Coordinator of the interaction of multiple student and employee grievance processes
- Section 504 Disabilities Compliance Oversight
- Oversight of athletics gender equity
- Assurance of equitable remedies for discrimination
- Prevention and remediation of retaliation
- Prevention of recurrence and assurance of compliance with sanctions
- Interaction with OCR investigations and compliance with consent decrees…
Wednesday will also see the faculty drill down on the topics of:
- stalking
- relationship violence
- bullying
- sexual harassment
- and sexual assault
And, will cover everything from rights to remedies, including:
- policy
- definitions of misconduct
- retaliation
- prompt timeframes for resolution
- evidentiary standards
- and appeals
Wednesday afternoon is Investigations, Part One. When Investigations Training is over, participants will have a clear understanding of how to train investigators, supervise investigations and structure a proficient gender discrimination/civil rights investigation model. The first half of Investigations will focus on how to structure an appropriate civil rights investigation model from a process perspective, answering questions such as:
- Who should investigate?
- Should there be more than one investigator?
- Should the investigator interview witnesses, gather evidence, or do more?
- What kind of notes should be kept?
- How is a decision rendered?
- What happens after the decision?
- How is notice given to the accused individual?
- What is the gatekeeping function, and why is it essential?
- How is investigation different in HR contexts than in student conduct contexts?
- What is the role of campus law enforcement in civil rights investigations?
- What is the appropriate standard of proof?
- Is a hearing necessary?
- What role does the investigator play in an eventual hearing?
- How important is the creation of an investigation report?
- How does this model alter the current student conduct model used
to address sexual assaults, stalking, intimate partner violence, etc.? - How does this model meet due process and/or collective bargaining requirements of procedural fairness?
- Why does this model work better than other models of resolution?
THURSDAY, APRIL 12TH
After an afternoon spent on process, the second half of the Investigation Training focuses on practice. The goal is not to train those present to be investigators, but to fulfill your Title IX Coordinator duties of knowing how to oversee investigations, select investigators, and train investigators in a trainer-training modality. Topics will include:
- Strategizing when to interview parties and witnesses
- Timeline and timeliness (promptness)
- Sequestering witnesses
- Interview skills
- Evidence collection, custody and issues of concurrent criminal action
- Evaluation of evidence
- Note-taking, recordkeeping and report writing
- How to make a finding
- Witness lists and flowcharts
- Keeping policy and procedure copies
- Confidentiality (privacy) of process
- Due process for all parties
- Appeals
- Equity by and through the process
- Focus on remedies
- Assessing relevance and credibility
- Investigation records as smoking guns in litigation
- Deliberate indifference
- Actual v. constructive notice
- Preponderance standard
- Informal and formal resolution options
- Retaliation
Ample questioning opportunities will be provided. An investigation case study in the late afternoon will give participants hands-on questioning and finding skill challenges. This case study will carry over into the morning of the final day. Comprehensive investigation training materials and a written model civil rights investigation process will be shared with all participants.
Day Three will also address compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (while campuses can designate more than one Coordinator, Title IX and Section 504 Coordinator roles are expected to be — and are — combined on most campuses).
FRIDAY, APRIL 13TH
Day Four. After wrapping up any needed case study discussion left over from Thursday, the final day will allow participants to explore the remaining area of Coordinator skills, athletics equity and the morning will focus on the compliance role, and various legal and associational expectations for equity in athletic programs.
While actual day-to-day compliance is usually delegated to the athletics department, we have seen repeatedly that oversight, preventive training and education are essential for those programs that appear to value winning over compliance. The afternoon will be spent updating participants on a number of recent cases on phasing in and out of men’s and women’s teams, cheerleading as a sport holdings, cases involving athletics-based discrimination and retaliation.
The seminar will conclude with a working lunch to address any unresolved questions.
FACULTY
Susan M. Davis, J.D. is an Associate Vice President of Student Affairs at the University of Virginia, where she has held various legal and policy roles since 1999. She was engaged in the private practice of law for five years before joining the University of Virginia as an Associate General Counsel and Special Assistant Attorney General. From 1999 to 2004, she defended the University in numerous federal and state court actions involving student claims of discrimination and deprivation of constitutional rights. Since 2004, Davis has advised the Division of Student Affairs on various topics including freedom of speech, student disciplinary matters, hazing, sexual assault, and education and health records privacy. She has authored numerous university policies in these areas and has contributed to several pieces of state legislation impacting Virginia institutions of higher education. She serves as the University’s lead investigator in student sexual misconduct complaints. She is a frequent guest lecturer in university law and higher education courses and is the primary advisor to the University’s student-run Judiciary Committee. She holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College and a J.D. from Temple University.
Bernice Sandler, Ed.D. is a Senior Scholar at the Women’s Research and Education Institute in Washington, DC where she consults with institutions and others about achieving equity for women and girls. She is one of the few people who train institutional personnel about Title IX and other issues, as well as being an expert witness for plaintiffs and thus is familiar with different aspects of these issues. She has given over 2500 speeches and presentations, has written over 100 articles and coauthored three books about equity for women and girls. She was the first director of the Project on the Status and Education of Women at the Association for American Colleges and Universities for twenty years, which under her direction published (and in many cases she wrote) the first national reports on campus sexual harassment by faculty and staff, peer sexual harassment, campus gang rape, the “chilly climate” for women on campus, the first set of papers on women of color in academe, the first chart comparing the various laws covering sex discrimination in education, and the first comprehensive report sex discrimination in intercollegiate athletics. She also wrote the original version of the Thompson “Educators’ Guide to Controlling Sexual Harassment.” In 1969, when there were no laws that prohibited sex discrimination against female students, faculty, or administrators, she used a little known Executive Order to file the first sex discrimination charges against more than 250 institutions which laid the groundwork for Title IX. Her work in the development, passage and implementation Title IX led to the NY Times dubbing her “the godmother of Title IX.” Additionally, it was her suggestion (along with others) that the Title IX regulation include the requirement for educational institutions to have a Title IX coordinator and a grievance procedure.
Nancy Hogshead-Makar, J.D. is one of the foremost exponents of gender equity in education, including sports participation, sexual harassment, employment, pregnancy and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. She has testified in Congress numerous times, is a frequent guest on national news programs, serves as an expert witness in Title IX cases and has written amicus briefs in precedent-setting litigation. She authored Equal Play, Title IX and Social Change, from Temple University Press, and Pregnant and Parenting Student-Athletes; Resources and Model Policies, published by the NCAA. In 2007, Sports Illustrated Magazine listed her as one of the most influential people in the 35 year history of Title IX. At the 1984 Games, she became a three-time Olympic Champion in swimming.
W. Scott Lewis, J.D. is a partner with the National Center for Higher Education Risk Management and Associate General Counsel for Saint Mary’s College in Indiana. He recently served as the Assistant Vice Provost at the University of South Carolina. Scott brings over fifteen years of experience as a student affairs administrator, faculty member, and consultant in higher education. He is a frequent keynote and plenary speaker, nationally recognized for his work on behavioral intervention for students in crisis and distress. He is noted as well for his work in the area of classroom management and dealing with disruptive students. He presents regularly throughout the country, assisting colleges and universities with legal, judicial, and risk management issues, as well as policy development and implementation. He serves as an author and editor in a number of areas including legal issues in higher education, campus safety and student development, campus conduct board training, and other higher education issues. He is a member of NASPA, ACPA, CAI, SCCPA, and serves on the Board of Directors for ASCA as its Past-President. He did his undergraduate work in Psychology and his graduate work in Higher Education Administration at Texas A&M University and received his Law degree and mediation training from the University of Houston.
Saundra K. Schuster, J.D. is a partner with the National Center for Higher Education Risk Management. She was formerly General Counsel for Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio, and Senior Assistant Attorney General for the State of Ohio in the Higher Education Section. Saunie is a recognized expert in preventive law for education, notably in the fields of Sexual Misconduct, First Amendment, Risk Management, Student Discipline, Campus Conduct, Intellectual Property and Employment Issues. Prior to practicing law, Saunie served as the Associate Dean of Students at The Ohio State University. Saunie has more than twenty-five years of experience in college administration and teaching. She frequently presents nationally on legal issues in higher education. Saunie holds Masters degrees in counseling and higher education administration from Miami University, completed her coursework for her Ph.D. at Ohio State University, and was awarded her juris doctorate degree from the Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University. She is the current president of the National Behavioral Intervention Team Association (www.nabita.org).
Brett A. Sokolow, J.D. is a higher education attorney who specializes in high-risk campus health and safety issues. He is recognized as a national leader on campus sexual violence prevention, response and remediation. He is legal counsel to nineteen colleges, and is the founder and managing partner of the National Center for Higher Education Risk Management AND Executive Director of ATIXA. Brett frequently serves as an expert witness on sexual assault and harassment cases, and he has authored ten books and more than 50 articles on campus safety and sexual assault. He has consulted with more than 1,500 college campuses. He has provided strategic prevention programs to students at more than 1,900 college and university campuses on sexual misconduct and alcohol. He has authored the conduct codes of more than seventy colleges and universities. The NCHERM Model Sexual Misconduct policy serves as the basis for policies at hundreds of colleges and universities across the country. NCHERM has trained the members of more than 600 conduct hearing boards at colleges and universities in North America. He serves as the Executive Director of NaBITA, the National Behavioral Intervention Team Association (www.nabita.org), and is a Directorate Body member of the ACPA Commission on Student Conduct and Legal Issues. He is a graduate of the College of William and Mary and the Villanova University School of Law.
REGISTRATION COSTS
$2500.00 per person registration fee includes attendance for four days, extensive training materials, and certification. Continental breakfast each morning and afternoon snacks each afternoon will be provided. All other meals, lodging and transportation costs will be paid by the participants.
Combo registration and new ATIXA individual charter membership costs $2625.00.
ATIXA MEMBERSHIP
ATIXA members receive 15% off all events, bringing the training registration cost to $2125.00 per person. More details on ATIXA membership can be found here.
CONTINUING EDUCATION
This training has been pre-approved for 20 hours of recertification credit through the Human Resources Certification Institute.
LOGISTICS
Conference Site Location and Lodging
The seminar will be held at the Hilton Atlanta Airport Hotel (1031 Virginia Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia 30354). ATIXA has blocked off guest rooms at a rate of $129.00 per night, plus taxes and fees.
To make reservations by phone, please call 1-800-HILTONS and reference the “Hilton Atlanta Airport Hotel,” April 10-13 and spell out group code “CTI.” Click here for online reservation portal. Click here to visit the Hilton Atlanta Airport Hotel website.
The group rate will be available until April 4, 2012 so please make your hotel reservations early.
Transportation
The Hilton Atlanta Airport Hotel is immediately next to the Hartsfield-Jackson Airport (ATL). Airport shuttles to the hotel are complimentary. For more information on ground transportation from ATL, please click here.
Click here for a map and driving directions to the Hilton.
Complimentary self-parking is available.
Meals
ATIXA will provide continental breakfast and an afternoon snack break during each day. Other meals are on your own.
REGISTRATION
Registration for this event has been closed.
ATIXA’s previous Title IX trainings in St. Louis and Philadelphia sold out three weeks before the registration deadline. You are not considered registered until ATIXA staff confirm receipt of your registration and payment. Staff will not be able to hold spaces. Please register early! Space is limited.
Registration fees apply to all attendees, including retainer clients.
Please contact Kate Halligan at kate@atixa.org or 610-579-3725 with questions.
REFUND POLICY
ATIXA understands that circumstances change and events may arise that prohibit your ability to attend an event after you have registered. ATIXA will allow another individual from your institution to attend in your place OR you may attend a future event with an equivalent registration rate. If you do not wish to send someone in your place or attend a future training event, your registration will only be refunded based on the schedule below.
Registration cancellation by February 10, 2012= 50% refund
Registration cancellation by February 24, 2012= 25% refund
Registration cancellation after February 24, 2012= no refunds
