Running head: DISREGARD OF TITLE IX 1

The Disregard of Title IX: How High School Students Suffer at the Hands of Those Who Are

Supposed to Protect Them

Rebecca D. Shelton

Tallwood High School Global Studies and World Languages Academy

DISREGARD OF TITLE IX 2

Abstract

This paper will discuss the importance of informing students and administrators about sexual

assault and sexual harassment and its harmful effects on students. Statistics, newspaper articles,

and other forms of up-to-date data are used to inform the audience about the topic. Sexual assault

and harassment in the public school system are issues that must be acknowledged by society so

they can be solved. The consequences of these problems going unresolved are severe and

detrimental for students.

Keywords:​ Students, administrators, sexual assault, sexual harassment, public school

DISREGARD OF TITLE IX 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page………………………………………………………………………………………...1

Abstract………………………………………………………………………………...……......2

Table of Contents………………………………………………………………...……………...3

Introduction……………………………………………………………………...……………....4

Limitations of Study…………………………………………….……………………………….4

Literature Review………………………………………………………………………………..5

Discussion……………………………………………………………………………………….7

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………...10

References……………………………………………………………………………………....11
DISREGARD OF TITLE IX 4

The Disregard of Title IX: How High School Students Suffer at the Hands of Those Who

Are Supposed to Protect Them

Unfortunately, sexual assault is not uncommon in modern high schools; however, it is

often overlooked. Administrators willingly ignore known cases of sexual assault until they have

no choice but to acknowledge them. When cases are addressed, they are predominantly

mishandled and brushed under the rug. Victims are often neglected and forced to suffer in

silence, which leads to more unreported cases. The topic of sexual assault and harassment is

rarely discussed with students, and many do not know its legal definition nor what qualifies as

sexual assault. Therefore, many victims of sexual assault and/or harassment are unaware that a

crime has been committed against them. Public high school systems willingly fail to

acknowledge or correct the crisis of sexual assault and harassment on campus.

Limitations of Study

Limitations of study include: personal bias, sensitivity to the topic, and audience

reachability. The author, Rebecca Shelton, knows victims of sexual assault personally. This may

influence her data to be more sympathetic towards the victims of sexual assault and more harsh

towards those convicted of sexual assault. The author also finds it difficult to discuss the topic

because it is so personal to her. This can inhibit her ability to collect data and report it with

complete accuracy. Audience reachability will also limit the author because the majority of the

population are not comfortable with the topic of sexual assault and harassment. Also, many

people do not like to be apart of conversations about sexual assault because it is common for
DISREGARD OF TITLE IX 5

some victims to lie about their story. Others have already closed their minds to the subject of

sexual assault for other reasons.

Literature Review

In a recent article published by The Washington Post, Peter Jamison and Perry Stein tell

the story of an unnamed student at Roosevelt High School in Washington D.C. who was sexually

assaulted on campus (2018). Allegedly, a male student pulled the girl into a school bathroom,

kissed her, left a hickey on her neck and put his hand up her dress. The student reported the

assault to her principal, Aqueelha James, the next day. In a meeting with the student, the

student’s mother, and three other school officials, James reassured the student and her mother

that she was there to help and support them. When the victim and her mother were out of the

room, the principal stated to the school officials present that she was “sick of her and her mom”

and that she planned to embarrass the girl. Principal James then went on to say, “You should see

the dress she’s got on” (Jamison & Stein, 2018).

The victim and her mother decided to file a lawsuit against Aqueelha James and the D.C.

government in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. It claims that James and the

school officials broke federal law by failing to perform a valid investigation and intentionally

destroying the victim’s credibility to law enforcement (Jamison & Stein, 2018). There were no

charges made against the student who allegedly assaulted the victim.

The Washington Post also published an article written by Debbie Truong (2018) about a

sexual assault report that ended up being a lawsuit due to mishandling. According to the article

(Truong, 2018), a student at Oakton High School was sexually assaulted while on a band trip.

Even though they were notified of the assault during the trip, school administrators did not
DISREGARD OF TITLE IX 6

address the assault until the trip was over. This resulted in the victim being forced to interact

closely with her attacker for many days, causing her to live in fear and fall ill for the entirety of

the trip. When the student returned to school, she was asked to report to the office by the director

of student services (Truong, 2018). There, the student was asked to prepare a written statement

and was later told by the school’s safety and security specialist that pressing charges would be a

“waste of money” (Truong, 2018). The school system then proceeded to conduct a “sham

investigation” (Truong, 2018) and never alerted the student’s parents of its result. The school

system also never informed the student of her rights under Title IX nor did it offer any support as

she coped with the assault (Truong, 2018).

Fairfax County Public Schools supposedly agreed to review its management of sexual

harassment claims in 2014. However, Adele Kimmel, a senior attorney for Public Justice, stated

the school system “pays lip service to caring about sexual assault” (Truong, 2018). She also said,

“Fairfax County is a role model for what not to do when it comes to protecting victims of sexual

assault” (Truong, 2018). The student stated that she filed the lawsuit with the hope that it would

result in a systematic change and prevent more victims of sexual violence from sharing the same

experience (Truong, 2018).

The Office for Civil Rights clearly states the rights every student has under Title IX on

the U.S. Department of Education’s website. According to this page, any institution that receives

funding from the U.S. Department of Education must follow all regulations under Title IX. Title

IX states that “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from

participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education

program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance…. OCR vigorously enforces Title IX
DISREGARD OF TITLE IX 7

to ensure that institutions that receive federal financial assistance from ED comply with the law.

OCR evaluates, investigates, and resolves complaints alleging sex discrimination. OCR also

conducts proactive investigations, called compliance reviews, to examine potential systemic

violations based on sources of information other than complaints” (U.S. Department of

Education, 2018).

Discussion

Sexual assault and harassment in the workplace and at public universities is not an

occurrence that shocks most of modern society. These cases are often mentioned on the news and

are handled swiftly and correctly. However, the media does not mention hundreds of sexual

violence cases that occur in public high schools every year. In fact, no one mentions these cases

at all. This is because high schools are underreporting sexual violence cases and they are failing

to inform students and administrators about sexual violence on campus.

According to research provided by an article written by Kevin Miller in November of

2018, 81% of students in grades 8-11 reported experiencing sexual harassment sometime during

their school lives. However, 79% of schools teaching grades 7-12 reported zero allegations of

sexual harassment in 2016 (Miller, 2018). The article Miller wrote was published by the

American Association of University Women on their website. Schools are obviously choosing

not to report allegations of sexual assault and harassment that take place on campus. This is an

unfortunate event that has been taking place for decades, long before Title IX was put into place.

Title IX is a statute that is enforced by the United States Department of Education’s

Office for Civil Rights. Title IX states, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex,

be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination
DISREGARD OF TITLE IX 8

under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance” (2018). The

Office for Civil Rights, or OCR, actively investigates and solves all complaints reported to them,

this includes sexual assault and harassment allegations. However, if schools do not report these

allegations, the OCR cannot perform proper investigations in order to resolve the complaint. The

OCR is trained to handle these specific situations, but school administrators are not. That is why

schools are not advised to conduct their own investigations and are told to report the allegations

to the police.

On the other hand, school administrators are ill-prepared to address issues of sexual

assault and harassment within the student body. An article published by the “Dating Violence

Blog” says that 80% of high school counselors do not feel equipped to address issues of sexual

abuse. This often leads to allegations going unreported by administrators and students for a

multitude of reasons. Administrators often do not want to believe students when they report a

sexual assault or harassment allegation. This is usually because they do not know how to handle

it, the topic makes them uncomfortable, or they simply do not feel obligated to file a report at all

because they do not take the allegations seriously. Many high school students are aware of the

fact that their counselors are not properly trained to address sexual assault and harassment cases.

Others may not feel comfortable with their counselor enough to tell them about what they

experienced if they feel comfortable talking to their counselor at all. Steps need to be taken to

teach administrators and staff about addressing sexual assault and harassment allegations so

students feel more safe when reporting allegations and so administrators can properly handle the

cases so they may be resolved.

DISREGARD OF TITLE IX 9

Administrators, teachers, and staff members are not the only individuals who are

ill-informed. Students are painfully unaware of the realities of sexual violence and the

consequences of their own ignorance have proven to be detrimental. When the author of this

paper conducted an interview with a fellow student, the student, who chose to remain

anonymous, revealed that she had no recollection of any teacher or administrator at any school

teaching her the definition of sexual harassment. She stated, “If they did, I can’t remember a time

when it happened. So if they did, it wasn’t recent” (Anonymous, personal communication,

December 17, 2018). The student mentioned attends the same high school as the author and has

been enrolled in public school for the entirety of her educational career. The interview revealed

many other astonishing facts which proved that the public school system fails to inform students

about sexual assault and harassment. For example, the student being interviewed expressed that

she did not know what aggravated sexual assault was nor did she know the punishment for those

convicted of sexual assault. Furthermore, she expressed that she was unaware that sexual assault

had taken place in her high school.

The phrase “ignorance is bliss” is far from accurate when regarding this topic. In all

actuality, ignorance plays a huge role in the increasing severity of the issue; the less knowledge

society has about sexual violence, the worse it becomes. When no one is aware of the problem,

that means no one is working to solve it. When schools choose to ignore sexual violence

allegations, they are creating more opportunities for it to take place. Students have no way to

defend themselves against assault and harassment when they do not know what it is or where it

takes place. When students have no means of defending themselves, they simply will not be able

to. This increases their chances of becoming a victim to another student. This is an experience
DISREGARD OF TITLE IX 10

that no child, or adult, should go through because it permanently damages the mental and

emotional health of the individual. Sexual violence destroys those who fall victim to it and many

do not recover. By choosing to neglect students and failing to inform them of their rights under

Title IX, schools are placing their students in danger.

Conclusion

Students in the public school system are suffering due to the neglect of Title IX.

Administrators ignore the importance of sexual education and how this knowledge could help

students defend themselves against sexual assault and harassment. Many students are victims of

sexual assault or harassment and do not realize it because they have never been taught what

assault and harassment are. Victims are left to cope with the life changing experience on their

own with no support from the school that is supposed to help them. Many of them are also forced

to interact with their assailant on a daily basis after the attack. This ignorance and neglect is apart

of the problem. When schools ignore the issues taking place within their student bodies, these

issues become increasingly worse and the result is the imploding of the school structure and the

declining of the mental health and safety of its students.

DISREGARD OF TITLE IX 11

References

6 Reasons Why Students Don't Report Sexual Assault [Web log post]. (2018, October 15).

Retrieved December 03, 2018, from

https://everfi.com/insights/blog/students-dont-report-sexual-assault/

Children and Teens: Statistics. (2018). Retrieved December 03, 2018, from

https://www.rainn.org/statistics/children-and-teens

Crisis In Our Schools. (n.d.). Retrieved December 26, 2018, from

http://stopsexualassaultinschools.org/crisis-in-our-schools/

Engel, B., L.M.F.T. (2017, November 16). Why Don't Victims of Sexual Harassment Come

Forward Sooner? [Web log post]. Retrieved December 03, 2018, from

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-compassion-chronicles/201711/why-dont-

victims-sexual-harassment-come-forward-sooner

Forde, K. (2018, September 27). Why more women don't report sexual assaults: A survivor

speaks out. Abc NEWS. Retrieved December 03, 2018, from

https://abcnews.go.com/US/women-report-sexual-assaults-survivor-speaks/story?id=579

85818

Gayle/ABC7, A. (2018, September 27). Roosevelt High School principal on leave after sexual

assault victim files lawsuit. ​WJLA.​ Retrieved December 03, 2018, from

https://wjla.com/news/local/lawsuit-dc-principal-mocked-student-sex-assault-claim

Gordon, C. (2014, November 14). By the numbers: Sexual violence in high school. Aljazeera

America. Retrieved December 03, 2018, from

DISREGARD OF TITLE IX 12

http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/america-tonight/articles/2014/11/14/by-the-nu

mbers-sexualviolenceinhighschool.html

Jagannathan, M. (2018, September 27). Why we’re still asking why survivors don’t report sexual

assault -- and how we can change. Market Watch. Retrieved December 03, 2018, from

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-were-still-asking-why-survivors-dont-report-se

xual-assault----and-how-we-can-change-2018-09-27

Jamison, P., & Stein, P. (2018, September 27). D.C. principal was taped mocking student's

sexual assault claim, lawsuit says. Washington Post. Retrieved December 17, 2018, from

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/dc-principal-was-taped-mocking-stude

nts-sex-assault-claim-lawsuit-says/2018/09/26/59022914-c00d-11e8-9005-5104e9616c21

_story.html?utm_term=.07d187469e2c

Joyce, K. (2017, December 05). The Takedown of Title IX. The New York Times Magazine.

Retrieved December 13, 2018, from

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/05/magazine/the-takedown-of-title-ix.html

Long, C. (2017, December 04). The Secret of Sexual Assault in Schools. NeaToday. Retrieved

December 04, 2018, from ​http://neatoday.org/2017/12/04/sexual-assault-in-schools/

Miller, K. (2018, November 02). Schools Are Still Underreporting Sexual Harassment and

Assault. American Association of University Women. Retrieved December 04, 2018,

from

https://www.aauw.org/article/schools-still-underreporting-sexual-harassment-and-assault/

Rape and Sexual Violence. (2017, March 21). Retrieved December 18, 2018, from

https://www.nij.gov/topics/crime/rape-sexual-violence/Pages/welcome.aspx
DISREGARD OF TITLE IX 13

Shakeshaft, C. (2018). Preventing sexual assault in schools: It is up to us. Phi Delta Kappan,

100(2), 40-45. doi:10.1177/0031721718803569

Statistics About Sexual Violence [PDF]. (2015). National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

Student Code of Conduct Policy Guidelines [PDF]. (2015, January). Virginia Board of

Education.

The Need for Response to Sexual Assault in Middle and High School [Web log post]. (n.d.).

Retrieved December 03, 2018, from

https://www.breakthecycle.org/blog/need-response-sexual-assault-middle-and-high-schoo

The Next Generation of Title IX: Harassment and Bullying Based on Sex [PDF]. (2012, June).

Washington D.C.: National Women's Law Center.

Title 34: Education. (2018, December 20). Retrieved January 14, 2019, from

https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/retrieveECFR?gp=&SID=bfc1134a34c4fb950905518ea4ae

0d5b&mc=true&n=pt34.1.21&r=PART&ty=HTML#se34.1.21_110

Title IX and Sex Discrimination. (2018, September 25). Retrieved December 17, 2018, from

https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/tix_dis.html

Truong, D. (2018, May 29). Virginia student sues school system, alleging mishandling of sexual

assault report. Washington Post. Retrieved December 05, 2018, from

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/virginia-student-says-school-system-mi

shandled-sexual-assault-report/2018/05/29/ec6e5e32-5dfe-11e8-9ee3-49d6d4814c4c_stor

y.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.0b1eb9e5504b
DISREGARD OF TITLE IX 14