POWER-BASED VIOLENCE/SEXUAL MISCONDUCT
INVESTIGATION AND DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS (UNIVERSITY)
INVESTIGATION
NOTICE
Upon receipt of a Formal Complaint, the institution must provide written notice of
the following to known parties:
The investigation and adjudication process, including any informal processes;
- Allegations of sexual harassment, including sufficient details known at the time. Sufficient
details include the identities of the parties involved in the incident, if known,
the conduct allegedly constituting sexual harassment, and the date and location of
the alleged incident, if known;
- A statement that the Respondent is presumed not responsible for the alleged conduct
and that a determination regarding responsibility is made at the conclusion of the
grievance process;
- The parties may have an advisor of their choice, who may be, but is not required to
be, an attorney;
- The parties may inspect and review evidence;
- The parties are prohibited from knowingly making false statements or knowingly submitting false
information during the investigation and adjudication process; and
- If the institution decides to investigate additional allegations not included in the
original notice, it must provide notice of the additional allegations to the parties
whose identities are known.
INVESTIGATION PROCEDURE
The Title IX Coordinator shall appoint an Investigator to investigate the allegations
documented in the Formal Complaint. The investigation may include, among other steps,
interviewing the Complainant, the Respondent, and any witnesses; reviewing law enforcement
investigation documents if applicable; reviewing relevant student or employment files;
and gathering and examining other relevant documents, social media posts, and other
evidence.
The Investigator will attempt to collect all relevant information and evidence. Following
the investigation, the Investigator will draft an investigation report succinctly describing
all collected information. The Investigator will not make any determination as to
whether a policy violation has occurred or recommend potential sanctions.
While investigating the allegations of any Formal Complaint of sexual harassment,
the Investigator will conduct an objective evaluation of all relevant evidence. Relevant
evidence is any evidence that may tend to make the allegations at issue more or less
likely to be true. (See §106.45(b)(1)(ii).)
In assessing allegations of sexual harassment, institution’s policies must state whether
the standard of evidence to be used to determine responsibility is the preponderance of
the evidence standard or the clear and convincing evidence standard, apply the same
standard of evidence for Formal Complaints against students as for Formal Complaints
against employees, including faculty, and apply the same standard of evidence to all
Formal Complaints of sexual harassment.
When investigating a Formal Complaint and throughout the investigation and adjudication process,
the university must:
- Ensure that the burden of proof and the burden of gathering evidence sufficient to
reach a determination regarding responsibility rest on the institution and not on
the parties;
- Provide an equal opportunity for the parties to present witnesses, including fact
and expert witnesses, and other inculpatory and exculpatory evidence;
- Not restrict the ability of either party to discuss the allegations under investigation
or to gather and present relevant evidence;
- Provide the parties with the same opportunities to have others present during any
investigation or adjudication proceeding, including the opportunity to be accompanied
to any related meeting or proceeding by the advisor of their choice, who may be, but
is not required to be, an attorney, and not limit the choice or presence of advisor
for either the Complainant or Respondent in any meeting or grievance proceeding; however,
the institution may establish restrictions regarding the extent to which an advisor
may participate in the proceedings, as long as the restrictions apply equally to both
parties’ advisors;
- Provide written notice to each party of the date, time, location, participants, and
purposes of each Formal Grievance Process meeting in which they are invited to participate, with
sufficient time for the party to prepare to participate;
- Provide both parties an equal opportunity to inspect and review any evidence obtained
as part of the investigation that is directly related to the allegations raised in
a Formal Complaint, including the evidence upon which the institution does not intend
to rely in reaching a determination regarding responsibility and inculpatory or exculpatory
evidence whether obtained from a party or other source, so that each party can meaningfully
respond to the evidence prior to the conclusion of the investigation.
- Prior to completion of the investigative report, the institution must send the report to
each party and the party’s advisor, if any, the evidence subject to inspection and review
in an electronic format or a hard copy, and the parties must have at least 10 days to submit a
written response, which the investigator will consider prior to completion of the
investigative report.
- The institution must make available at any hearing all such evidence subject to the parties’
inspection and review, to give each party equal opportunity to refer to such evidence
during the hearing, including for purposes of cross-examination; and
- Create an investigative report that fairly summarizes relevant evidence and, at least 10
days prior to the hearing, send to each party and each party’s advisor, if any, the
investigative report in an electronic format or a hard copy, for their review and
written response.
HEARINGS
The university must provide for a live hearing. An Adjudicator will consider all the
evidence presented and determine whether a Respondent is responsible for a violation
of this protocol. The Adjudicator will not be the same person as the Title IX Coordinator
or the investigator. Cases will be adjudicated by a trained third-party Adjudicator.
At the request of either party, an institution must provide for the live hearing to
occur with the parties located in separate rooms, with technology enabling the Adjudicator
and parties to simultaneously see and hear the party or the witness answering questions. The
university will create a transcript or recording (audio or audiovisual) of any adjudicative
hearing to be made available to the parties for inspection and review pursuant to FERPA
(Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act).
At the live hearing, the Adjudicator must permit each party's advisor to ask the other
party and any witnesses all relevant questions and follow-up questions, including
those challenging credibility. Cross-examination at the live hearing must be conducted
directly, orally, and in real time by the party’s advisor of choice and never by a
party personally. (106.45(b)(6)(i).) Only relevant cross-examination and other questions
may be asked of a party or witness. Advisors may be present solely to advise or support
the party and are prohibited from speaking directly to the Investigator, Adjudicator,
other parties, or witnesses during the hearing, except for conducting cross examination.
Before a Complainant, Respondent, or witness answers a cross-examination or other
question, the decision maker(s) must first determine whether the question is relevant
and explain any decision to exclude a question as not relevant. If a party does not
have an advisor present at the live hearing, the institution must provide, without
fee or charge to that party, an advisor of the institution’s choice, who may be, but
is not required to be, an attorney, to conduct cross-examination on behalf of that
party.
Questions and evidence about the Complainant’s sexual predisposition or prior sexual
behavior are not relevant, unless such questions and evidence about the Complainant’s
prior sexual behavior are offered to prove that someone other than the Respondent
committed the conduct alleged by the Complainant, or if the questions and evidence
concern specific incidents of the Complainant’s prior sexual behavior with respect
to the Respondent and are offered to prove consent.
If a party or witness does not submit to cross-examination at the live hearing, the
decision maker(s) must not rely on any statement of that party or witness in reaching
a determination regarding responsibility provided, however, that the decision-maker(s)
cannot draw an inference about the determination regarding responsibility based solely
on a party's or witness's absence from the live hearing or refusal to answer cross-examination
or other questions.
Live hearings may be conducted with all parties physically present in the same geographic
location or, at the institution’s discretion, any or all parties, witnesses, and other
participants appearing at the live hearing virtually, with technology enabling participants
simultaneously to see and hear each other.
The university must create an audio or audiovisual recording, or transcript, of any
live hearing and make it available to the parties for inspection and review.
DETERMINATION REGARDING RESPONSIBILITY
The Adjudicator, must issue, simultaneously to both parties, a written determination regarding responsibility,
which must include:
- Identification of the allegations potentially constituting sexual harassment;
- A description of the procedural steps taken from receipt of the Formal Complaint through
the determination, including any notifications to the parties, interviews with parties
and witnesses, site visits, methods used to gather other evidence, and hearings held;
- Findings of fact supporting the determination;
- Conclusions regarding the application of the institution’s policy to the facts;
- A statement of, and rationale for, the result as to each allegation, including a determination regarding responsibility,
any sanctions the institution will impose on the Respondent, and whether remedies
designed to restore or preserve equal access to the education program or activity
will be provided to the Complainant; and
- Procedures and permissible bases for parties to appeal.
The determination regarding responsibility becomes final either on the date that the
recipient provides the parties with the written determination of the result of the
appeal, if an appeal is filed or, if an appeal is not filed, the date on which an
appeal would no longer be considered timely.
SANCTIONS
Description in range of sanctions for employees and students.
Factors considered when determining a sanction/responsive action may include, but
are not limited to:
- The nature, severity of, and circumstances surrounding the violation(s)
- The Respondent’s disciplinary history
- Previous allegations or allegations involving similar conduct
- The need for sanctions/responsive actions to bring an end to the discrimination, harassment,
and/or retaliation
- The need for sanctions/responsive actions to prevent the future recurrence of discrimination,
harassment, and/or retaliation
- The need to remedy the effects of discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation on
the Complainant and the community
- The impact on the parties
- Any other information deemed relevant by the Decision Makers
Sanctions will be implemented as soon as is possible, either upon the outcome of any
appeal or the expiration of the window to appeal without an appeal being requested.
The sanctions described in these procedures are not exclusive of, and may be in addition
to, other actions taken, or sanctions imposed by external authorities.
Student Sanctions
The following are the usual sanctions that may be imposed upon students singly or
in combination: See the Grambling State University (GSU) Student Handbook for a complete
listing and more detailed description of all possible sanctions.
- Reprimand: A written letter/expression or oral expression statement that the conduct
was unacceptable and a warning that further violation of any University policy, procedure,
or directive will result in more severe sanctions/responsive actions.
- Discretionary Censures: Censures that may include but are not limited to parental
notification, letter of apology, conflict resolution sessions, and university programming.
- Required Education Counseling: A mandate to meet with and engage in either University-sponsored
or external counseling to better comprehend the misconduct and its effects.
- Suspension: This suspension is for a specified period of time, and the student or
the student organization may apply for readmission to the University after expiration of
the specified period. During this period of suspension, the student is banned from
the University. A notation will be placed on the student’s transcript “Student is
eligible to return (semester) (year)” when a student is suspended for disciplinary
reasons for a specified period of time. The transcript indicates which semester the
student will be eligible to return.
- Permanent Dismissal from the University and Banned from the University. A notation
will be placed on a student’s transcript “Student is ineligible to enroll,” when the
student is permanently dismissed from the university for disciplinary reasons.
Employee Sanctions
- Responsive actions for an employee who has engaged in harassment, discrimination,
and/or retaliation include:
- Warning – Verbal or Written
- Performance Improvement/Management Process
- Required Counseling
- Required Training or Education
- Probation
- Loss of Annual Pay Increase
- Loss of Oversight or Supervisory Responsibility
- Demotion
- Suspension with Pay
- Suspension Without Pay
- Termination
- Other Actions: In addition to or in place of the above sanctions, the University may
assign any other sanctions as deemed appropriate.
