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# Office for Civil Rights Reaches Agreement to Resolve Sexual Harassment Investigation of Montgomery College in Maryland 

# Office for Civil Rights Reaches Agreement to Resolve Sexual Harassment Investigation of Montgomery College in Maryland 

June 28, 2023

**Contact:  **press@ed.gov

                                    -        
Today, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for  Civil Rights (OCR) resolved a sexual harassment investigation of the  Takoma/Silver Spring Campus of Montgomery College in Maryland.

  OCR determined that the college complied with the  applicable requirements of Title IX by conducting a prompt and equitable  investigation of harassment allegations against a professor. However, OCR’s  investigation identified a Title IX compliance concern based on the college not  having provided all affected students with notification that the college had  completed the investigation, that the college’s investigation confirmed the  existence of a hostile environment based on sex, and that the college had taken  steps designed to end that hostile environment for students impacted by the  professor’s harassing conduct.

  OCR’s investigation established that a college professor  engaged in sexual harassment of female students during a class he taught by  requiring the students to remove their shirts and wear only their bras – and  then commenting on their bodies – ostensibly to demonstrate a medical  assessment, despite the fact that the assessment did not require the clothing  removal, or the bodily commentary.

  In response to student reports of the harassment they  experienced, including targeted harassment after class from the professor, the  college immediately placed the professor on paid administrative leave and  notified him of the allegations. Consistent with Title IX obligations, the  college’s Title IX Coordinator emailed all students in the professor’s class to  advise them that the college would be conducting a formal investigation, and  that he was available to assist any student in reporting the incident to the  police.

  He also offered to interview all students in the class,  or, alternatively, to accept written statements. In addition, he provided all  students in the class with a copy of the college’s Title IX Policy and  information about available college and community resources, services and  interim remedies.

  The college interviewed students from the professor’s  class, students from another section of the class taught by the professor, the  department chair, and other student witnesses. Within approximately three  months of the initial report of the professor’s harassment, the college’s  investigation confirmed that the professor’s conduct created a hostile  environment on the basis of sex.

  The college terminated the professor’s employment and the  college provided written notice of the outcome of its investigation to the  student in the class who initially reported experiencing sexual harassment. The  college also offered supportive services to affected students and coordinated  counseling within days of the incident for at least one student in the class  and provided academic assistance and tuition reimbursement for several other  students in the class.

  Despite these effective Title IX steps, the college did  not notify all affected students regarding the conclusion of its investigation.  This lack of notification raises a concern that the college may not have taken  necessary steps to ensure that a hostile environment did not persist for  affected students. The resolution agreement requires the college to notify in  writing all students in the professor’s class that the college completed its  investigation of the sexual harassment complaint against the professor.

  The agreement also requires the college to provide OCR  with the results of its 2022 Title IX climate survey and provide for OCR’s  review a narrative summary of the steps it has taken in response to any  concerns raised by that survey in order for OCR to determine whether the  college needs to take any additional steps to ensure college students are able  to access their education free from discrimination.

  “The shameful underlying facts in this investigation – of  a college professor subjecting his entire class to sexual harassment as a  condition of instruction – are galling and categorically unacceptable under  Title IX,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon. “I am  deeply grateful to Montgomery College for swiftly responding with a thorough  investigation and action to address the effects of the hostile environment  created by the professor on the students in his class, and I appreciate the  additional commitment Montgomery College made  to fulfill its remaining  obligation under Title IX to ensure that the discriminatory effects end for all  its students.”

  The letter to Montgomery College is available here and the resolution agreement is  available here.
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