Episode 24: A Clearer Understanding of Title IX in the School System with Megan Farrell

Apr 23, 2020

During this time of so much change and uncertainty, we are so glad to be able to continue to bring you important information regarding Title IX and the future of institutional practices on campuses and beyond! Our guest today is Megan Farrell, Title IX Coordinator for Palo Alto Unified School District, and advisor and consultant to educational and institutional clients with a focus on Title IX compliance. Title IX Compliance for K-12 is complex and looks different than compliance for higher education in many ways.  In our conversation we cover a lot of ground, looking at the unique aspects of K-12 compliance as well as considering the particular situation in which we find ourselves now, with remote learning and homeschooling.

We get into the special considerations and issues in K-12 Title IX compliance including the position of school resource officers, training for coordinators and school administrators, and how to educate students on these issues in appropriate ways. There is guaranteed to be something in here for everyone, so make sure to listen in and catch it all!

 

Key Points from this Episode:

• The applicability of Title IX to school districts.
• Misunderstandings around the Title IX coordinator’s role in the school setting.
• Basic steps for the structuring of these roles; clear naming and responsibilities.
• Lessons learned from an OCR investigation in the school district space; interim measures, data retention and more.
• Support measures after a complaint and dealing with issues in the same home.
• Complications around the involvement of school resource officers.
• Issues of notice and discrepancies in complaints by different parties.
• New guidance by OCR and Megan's thoughts on the latest developments.
• The training side of Title IX; educating students about consent.
• Benefits of early instillation of values of consent with minors.
• Remaining compliant with Title IX under the uncertain and transitional nature of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Preparation and early measures for next year; thoughtful and appropriate use of quarantine.
• Megan's passion for travel and her two favorite destinations!

 

Tweetables:

“The school sites are going to be your first step in conducting an investigation.” — Megan Farrell [0:09:19]

“I think immediacy is very important.” — Megan Farrell [0:23:26]

“Our policy still says that we will complete investigations within 60 days and we really stick to that and we try and get it done even quicker.” — Megan Farrell [0:26:05]

 

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

ICS Lawyer

Megan Farrell

Palo Alto Unified School District

Title IX University

Courtney Bullard on Twitter

Courtney Bullard Email