Washington Administrative Code › Title 132I - Highline College › Chapter 132I-300 - Grievance procedures-Title IX-Handicapped › Section 132I-300-020 - Discrimination and sexual harassments complaints-Procedure

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
Purpose.
Highline College recognizes its responsibility to investigate,
				resolve, implement corrective measures, and monitor the educational environment
				and workplace to stop, remediate, and prevent discrimination on the basis of
				sex, as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, Title VII
				of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization
				Act, and Washington state's law against discrimination, and their implementing
				regulations. To this end, Highline College has enacted the Highline College
				Policy XXXX - Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation and adopted the
				following Title IX grievance procedure for receiving and investigating sexual
				harassment allegations arising during educational programs and activities. Any
				individual found responsible for violating the college's Title IX policy is
				subject to disciplinary action up to and including dismissal from the college's
				educational programs and activities and/or termination of employment.
Application of this Title IX grievance procedure is restricted
				to allegations of "sexual harassment," as that term is defined in  34 C.F.R.
				Part 106.30 . Nothing in this procedure limits or otherwise restricts the
				college's ability to investigate and pursue discipline based on alleged
				violations of other federal, state and local laws, their implementing
				regulations, and other college policies prohibiting gender discrimination
				through processes set forth in the college's code of student conduct,
				employment contracts, discrimination, harassment and retaliation policy, and
				collective bargaining agreements.
(2)
Definitions.
For purposes of this Title IX grievance procedure, the
				following terms are defined as follows:
(a)
Consent
means knowing,
			 voluntary, and clear permission by word or action, to engage in mutually agreed
			 upon sexual activity. Each party has the responsibility to make certain that
			 the other has consented before engaging in the activity. For consent to be
			 valid, there must be at the time of the act of sexual intercourse or sexual
			 contact actual words or conduct indicating freely given agreement to have
			 sexual intercourse or sexual contact.
A person cannot consent if they are unable to understand what
				is happening or are disoriented, helpless, asleep or unconscious for any
				reason, including due to alcohol or other drugs. An individual who engages in
				sexual activity when the individual knows, or should know, that the other
				person is physically or mentally incapacitated has engaged in noncon-sensual
				conduct.
Intoxication is not a defense against allegations that an
				individual has engaged in nonconsensual sexual conduct.
(b)
Complainant
- An individual
			 who is alleged to be the victim of conduct that could constitute sexual
			 harassment.
(c)
Respondent
- An individual who has been reported to be the
			 perpetrator of conduct that could constitute sexual harassment.
(d)
Formal complaint
- A writing
			 submitted by the complainant or signed by the Title IX coordinator alleging
			 sexual harassment against a respondent and requesting that the college conduct
			 an investigation.
(e)
Educational program or activity
includes locations, events, or
			 circumstances over which the college exercised substantial control over both
			 the respondent and the context in which the alleged sexual harassment occurred.
			 It also includes any building owned or controlled by a student organization
			 officially recognized by the college.
(f)
Grievance procedure
- The
			 process the college uses to initiate, informally resolve, and/or investigate
			 allegations that an employee or student has violated Title IX provisions
			 prohibiting sexual harassment.
(g)
Supportive measures
are nondisciplinary, nonpunitive
			 individualized services offered as appropriate, as reasonably available, and
			 without fee or charge to the complainant or the respondent regardless of
			 whether the complainant or the Title IX coordinator has filed a formal
			 complaint. Supportive measures restore or preserve a party's access to the
			 college's educational programs and activities without unreasonably burdening
			 the other party, as determined through an interactive process between the Title
			 IX coordinator and the party. Supportive measures include measures designed to
			 protect the safety of all parties and/or the college's educational environment
			 and/or to deter sexual harassment or retaliation. Supportive measures may
			 include, but are not limited to:
(i)
			 Counseling and other medical assistance;
(ii) extensions of deadlines or other
			 course-related adjustments;
(iii)
			 modifications of work or class schedules;
(iv) leaves of absence;
(v) increased security or monitoring of
			 certain areas of campus; and
(vi)
			 imposition of orders prohibiting the parties from initiating contact with one
			 another in housing or work situations at Highline College as well as at
			 college-sponsored events or activities. Determinations about whether to impose
			 a one-way no contact order must be made on a case-by-case basis. If supportive
			 measures are not provided, the Title IX coordinator must document in writing
			 why this was clearly reasonable under the circumstances.
(h)
Summary suspension
means an
			 emergency suspension of a student respondent pending investigation and
			 resolution of disciplinary proceedings pursuant to the procedure and standards
			 set forth in WAC
			 132I-125-350.
(i)
Sexual harassment
- For
			 purposes of these Title IX grievance procedures, sexual harassment occurs when
			 a respondent engages in the following discriminatory conduct on the basis of
			 sex:
(i) Quid pro quo harassment. A college
			 employee conditioning the provision of an aid, benefit, or service of the
			 college on an individual's participation in unwelcome sexual conduct.
(ii) Hostile environment. Unwelcome conduct
			 that a reasonable person would find to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively
			 offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the college's
			 educational programs or activities or college employment.
(iii) Sexual assault. Sexual assault includes
			 the following conduct:
(A) Nonconsensual
			 sexual intercourse. Any actual or attempted sexual intercourse (anal, oral, or
			 vaginal), however slight, with any object or body part, by a person upon
			 another person, that is without consent and/or by force. Sexual intercourse
			 includes anal or vaginal penetration by a penis, tongue, finger, or object, or
			 oral copulation by mouth to genital contact or genital to mouth
			 contact.
(B) Nonconsensual sexual
			 contact. Any actual or attempted sexual touching, however slight, with any body
			 part or object, by a person upon another person that is without consent and/or
			 by force. Sexual touching includes any bodily contact with the breasts, groin,
			 mouth, or other bodily orifice of another individual, or any other bodily
			 contact in a sexual manner.
(C)
			 Incest. Sexual intercourse or sexual contact with a person known to be related
			 to them, either legitimately or illegitimately, as an ancestor, descendant,
			 brother, or sister of either wholly or half related. Descendant includes
			 stepchildren and adopted children under the age of eighteen.
(D) Statutory rape. Consensual intercourse
			 between a person who is eighteen years of age or older, and a person who is
			 under the age of sixteen.
(E)
			 Domestic violence. Physical violence, bodily injury, assault, the infliction of
			 fear of imminent physical harm, sexual assault, or stalking committed by a
			 person with whom the victim shares a child in common, by a person who is
			 cohabitating with or has cohabitated with the victim as a spouse, by a person
			 similarly situated to a spouse of the victim under the domestic or family
			 violence laws of the state of Washington, or by any other person against an
			 adult or youth victim who is protected from that person's acts under the
			 domestic or family violence laws of the state of Washington,
			 RCW
			   26.50.010.
(F) Dating violence. Physical violence,
			 bodily injury, assault, the infliction of fear of imminent physical harm,
			 sexual assault, or stalking committed by a person:
(I) Who is or has been in a social
			 relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim; and
(II) Where the existence of such a
			 relationship shall be determined based on a consideration of the following
			 factors:
(aa) The length of the
			 relationship;
(bb) The type of
			 relationship; and
(cc) The
			 frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the
			 relationship.
(G) Stalking. Engaging in a course of conduct
			 directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to:
(I) Fear for their safety or the safety of
			 others; or
(II) Suffer substantial
			 emotional distress.
(j)
Title IX administrators
are
			 the Title IX coordinator, Title IX investigators, the student conduct manager,
			 student conduct committee members, deputy Title IX coordinator, deputy safety
			 coordinator, hearing officer, employee disciplinary officer, and
			 college-provided advisors assigned to the parties by the college during Title
			 IX disciplinary proceedings.
(k)
Title IX coordinator
is responsible for processing Title IX
			 complaints and conducting and/or overseeing formal investigations and informal
			 resolution processes under this grievance procedure. Among other things, the
			 Title IX coordinator is responsible for:
(i)
			 Accepting and processing all Title IX reports, referrals, and formal
			 complaints.
(ii) Executing and
			 submitting a formal complaint when appropriate and necessary.
(iii) Handling requests for
			 confidentiality.
(iv) Determining
			 during the grievance procedure:
(A) Whether a
			 formal complaint should be dismissed either in whole or in part, and if
			 so;
(B) Providing notice to both
			 parties about why dismissal was necessary or desirable; and
(C) Referring the complaint to the
			 appropriate disciplinary authority for proceedings outside the jurisdiction of
			 Title IX.
(v)
			 Maintaining accurate records of all complaints, reports, and referrals, and
			 retaining investigation files, complaints, reports, and referrals in compliance
			 with the applicable records retention schedules or federal or state law,
			 whichever is longer.
(vi) Assigning
			 and overseeing investigations.
(vii) Engaging in an interactive process with
			 both parties to identify and provide supportive measures that ensure during the
			 investigation and disciplinary processes that the parties have equitable access
			 to educational programs and activities and are protected from further
			 discrimination or retaliation.
(viii) Upon completion of an investigation,
			 issuing or overseeing the issuance of a final investigation report to the
			 parties and the appropriate disciplinary authority in compliance with this
			 grievance procedure.
(ix)
			 Recommending nondisciplinary corrective measures to stop, remediate, and/or
			 prevent recurrence of discriminatory conduct to disciplinary authorities and
			 other college administrators.