Individuals who fill certain roles in the Title IX Grievance Procedure must receive annual training to ensure awareness of their compliance obligations and in order to best provide equitable treatment to Complainants and Respondents and be compliant with the Grievance Procedures required by Title IX. These individuals are the Title IX Coordinator, Deputy Coordinators, Investigators, Decision Makers (including appellate decision makers), and any person facilitating an Alternative Resolution Option within the Informal Process. Training subjects must include: the definition of Sexual Harassment as proscribed by the Title IX regulations; the scope of the University’s education program or activity; how to conduct an Investigation and Grievance Process including Hearings, Appeals, and informal resolution processes, as applicable.
Additionally, the Decision Maker(s) must receive training on any technology to be used at a live hearing and on issues of relevance of questions and evidence, including when questions and evidence about the Complainant’s sexual predisposition or prior sexual behavior are not relevant. Investigators must also receive the appropriate training needed to create an investigative report that fairly summarizes relevant evidence.
The Title IX regulations (34 C.F.R. part 106) further require Tulane to make publicly available information on these trainings starting August 14, 2020. A list of trainings attended by these individuals is available at this link. This list includes all trainings attended post-August 14, 2020. It also includes some trainings attended prior to August 14, 2020 when the trainings were relevant to our obligations under the Title IX regulations (34 C.F.R. part 106). These trainings are both internal and external trainings. The list includes the materials used in the training, all of which are provided for public review. These materials will be kept for seven years.
Further, any individual designated by Tulane as a Title IX Coordinator, Investigator, Decision Maker, or any person facilitating an Alternative Resolution Option within the Informal Process, will not have a conflict of interest or bias for or against Complainants or Respondents generally or an individual Complainant or Respondent. They will also be required to receive training on how to serve impartially, including by avoiding prejudgment of the facts at issue, conflicts of interest, and bias. Any materials used to train Title IX Coordinator, investigators, decision-makers, and any person facilitating an Alternative Resolution Option within the Informal Process must not rely on sex stereotypes and must promote impartial investigations and adjudications of Formal Complaints of Sexual Harassment. Any training materials on these subjects will be publicly shared in the manner described above.
