UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS, REGION I 5 POST OFFICE SQUARE, 8 1h FLOOR BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02109-3921 August 3, 2017 (b)(6);(b)(7(C) Re: Case No. 01-17-2107 Stonehill College Dear) (6);(b)(7(C) The U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has received the abovereferenced complaint you filed against Stonehill College (College), allegi ng discrimination based on sex. Specifically, you alleged that the College failed to respond promptly and e uitabl to the Student ' s report of sexual assault , including by failin to res ond to her report i (b)(5); (b)(? to You also alleged that the College staff until she reported it to campus police i (b)(5); (b)(?(C) College's Title IX procedures contain conflicting information regarding the Title IX coordinator. OCR is responsible for enforcing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX), as amended, 20 U.S.C. § 1681 et~, and its implementing regulation at 34 C.F.R. Part 106, which prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex in programs and activities receiving financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Education. Title IX also prohibits retaliation against any individual for asserting rights under Title IX, including filing a complaint and/or participating in a grievance process. The College is subject to Title IX because it is a recipient of Federal financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Education. This letter is to notify you that OCR is opening your allegations for investigation because we have determined that we have jurisdiction over the allegation s and that they were timely filed. Accordingly, OCR will investigate the College's compliance with Title IX and will examine the following issues: 1. Whether the College failed to implement, publish, and distribute a notice of nondiscrimination, in violation of 34 C.F.R. § 106.9; 2. Whether the College failed to designate an employee(s) to coordinate its efforts to comply with and carry out its responsibilities under Title IX , in violation of 34 C.F.R. § 106.8(a); 3. Whether the College failed to adopt and publish grievance procedures providing for prompt and equitable resolution of student and employee Title IX complaints of harassment based on sex , including sexual harassment and sexual violence, in violation of 34 C.F.R. § 106.8(b); and (b)(6) ; (b)(7(C) Page 2 of 2 OCR Case No. 01-17 -2 107 4. Wh ether the College failed to respond promptly and equit ably to comp laints, reports, and/or incidents involving the Student of harassment based on sex, including sexual harassment and sexual violence of which it had notice, and if so, whether the Student was subjected to a sexually hostile environment , in violation of 34 C.F.R. §§ 106.8(b), I06. 31(a) and (b). Please note that opening these allegations for investiga tion does not imply that OCR has made a determin ation with regard to their merits. During the investigation, OCR is a neutral fact-finder, collecting and analyzing relevan t evidence from you, the recipient, and other sources, as appropriate. OCR will ensure that its investigation is legally sufficient and is dispositive of the allegations, in accordance with the provisions of OCR 's Case Processing Manual , which can be found online at: http://www2.ed.gov/abo ut/offices/list/ocr/docs/ocrcpm .html . Our goa l is the prompt, appropriate resolution of the complaint. While we are proceeding with an investiga tion, there are other approaches that can achieve this goal. Inform ation on OCR' s complaint proce ssing procedur es is available at http://www .ed.gov/ocr/complaints -how .html . In particular, please note the section on Early Complaint Resolution (ECR). Under this voluntary, informal approach, similar to mediation, OCR helps facilitate settlem ent discussions between you and the College. If you believe ECR can be useful in this case, please contact the OCR staff person identified below as soon as possible. Please note that the nondiscrimination laws OCR enforces prohibit the District from retaliating against, intimid ating, or harassing anyone who files a complaint with OCR or participat es in an OCR investigation . If such conduct should occur, an indi vidual may file another complaint with OCR alleging such treatment. Also, under the Fr eedom of Information Act, it may be necessary to release this document and related correspondence and records upon request. In the event that OCR receives such a request, it will seek to protect, to the extent provided by law, personally identifiable information that, if released, could reasona bly be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy. If you have any questions, you may contact Civil Rights Attorney Tokufumi Noda at (617) 2890017 or Tokufumi .Noda@ed.gov . Plea se reference this complaint number (01-17-2 107) in all correspondence with OCR. (b)(6); (b)(7(C) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS, REGION I 5 POST OFFICE SQUARE, 8 1h FLOOR BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02109-3921 August 3, 2017 Rev. John Denning , C.S.C. President Stonehill College 320 Washington Street Easton, MA 02357 Email: president@stonehill.edu Re: Case No. 01-17-2107 Stonehill College Dear Rev. Denning: The U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has received the abovereferenced complaint filed against Stonehill College (College), alleging discrimination based on sex. Specifically, the Complainant alleged that the College failed to respond promptly and equitably to the Student's report of sexual assault, including by failin to res ond to her report in 7CC) 5>; Cb)C Hb)C6);Cb)C7l to College staff until she reported it to campus police i Cb)C The Complainant also alleged that the College's Title IX procedures contain cont 1cting information regarding the Title IX coordinator. OCR is responsible for enforcing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX), as amended, 20 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq., and its implementing regulation at 34 C.F.R. Part 106, which prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex in programs and activities receiving financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Education. Title IX also prohibi ts retaliation against any individual for asserting rights under Title IX, including filing a complaint and/or participa ting in a grievance process. The College is subject to Title IX because it is a recipient of Federal financial assistance from the U.S . Departm ent of Education. This letter is to notify you that OCR is opening the allegations for investigation because we have determined that we have juri sdiction over the allegations and that they were timely filed. Accordingly, OCR will investigate the College's compliance with Title IX and will exa mine the following issues: 1. Whether the College failed to implement, publish, and distribute a notice of nondiscrimination, in violation of 34 C.F.R. § 106.9; 2. Whether the College failed to designate an employee(s) to coordinate its efforts to comply with and carry out its responsibilitie s under Title IX, in violation of 34 C.F.R. § 106.8(a); 3. Whether the College failed to adopt and publish grievance procedures providing for prompt and equitable resolution of student and employee Title IX complaints of harassment based on sex, including sexual harassment and sexual violence, in violation of 34 C.F.R. § 106.8(b); and Page 2 of 3 -Rev. John Denning, C.S.C., President- OCR Case No. 01-17-2107 4. Wh ether the College failed to respond promptly and equitably to complaints, reports, and/or incidents involving the Student of harassment based on sex, including sexual harassment and sexual violence of which it had notice, and if so, whether the Student was subjected to a sexually hostile environment, in violation of 34 C.F.R. §§ 106.8(b), 106.31(a) and (b). Please note that opening these allegations for investigation does not imply that OCR has made a determination with regard to their merits. During the investigation, OCR is a neutral fact-finder, collecting and analyzing relevant evidence from the complainant, the recipient, and other sources, as appropriate. OCR will ensure that its investigation is legally sufficient and is dispositive of the allegations, in accordance with the provisions of OCR 's Case Processing Manual (CPM), which can be found online at: http://www2 .ed.gov/a bout/offices/lis t/ocr/docs/ocrcpm .htm1. Our goal is the prompt, appropriate resolution of the complaint. While we are proceeding with an investigation , there are other approaches that can achieve this goal. Information on OCR' s complaint processing procedures is available at http ://www.ed.gov/ocr/complaints-bow .html. In particular, please note the section on Early Complaint Resolution (ECR). Under this voluntary, infom1al approach, similar to mediation, OCR helps facilitate settlement discuss ions between you and the College. If you believe ECR can be useful in this case, please contact the OCR staff person identified below as soon as possible. Please also note the sect ion on resolution of a complaint prior to the conclusion of an investigation. If the College expresses an interest in resolving the complaint and OCR determines that resolution of the complaint prior to the completion of the investigation is appropriate, OCR may attempt to negotiate an agreement with the College pursuant to Section 302 of the CPM. We have enclosed a preliminary data request. Because some of this information was previously submitted in conjunction with the prior OCR complaint!