Press Release
☷U S Department of Education s Office for Civil Rights Announces Resolution of Sexual Assault and Disability Discrimination Investigation of Pflugerville Independent School District in Texas
U.S. Department of Education ( By Press Release office)
Aug 23,2023
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Today , the U . S . Department of Education ' s Office for Civil Rights ( OCR ) announced that the Pflugerville Independent School District in Texas has agreed to address issues related to a sexual assault case and ensure compliance with Title IX . The agreement also addresses concerns under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 . OCR found that the district did not respond appropriately to a report of sexual assault between students in a school restroom during the 2018 - 2019 school year . Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E . Lhamon stated that the district ' s handling of the situation did not meet Title IX requirements and relied on stereotypes . The district has committed to following Title IX guidelines in the future and providing necessary services for students with disabilities . The district did not conduct a Title IX investigation despite a request from law enforcement to wait until after their criminal investigation . When a third - party investigator was eventually hired , they did not conduct a thorough investigation and did not provide the accused student with a fair process . The district ' s Title IX coordinator , who was not involved in the investigation , accepted the flawed findings and did not inform the accused student of the outcome . The OCR also discovered that the district broke Section 504 and Title II rules during the 2018 - 2019 school year . They didn ' t provide the student , who the complaint was about , with the necessary accommodations for their disability in a class , as stated in their Section 504 plan . The district also had concerns about whether they provided the student with the required accommodation for a state - mandated exam . To resolve the investigation , the district agreed to take certain actions and signed an agreement . This agreement will address the violations and concerns related to Title IX , Section 504 , and Title II . The agreement states that the district will: ( 1 ) meet with the student who reported the assault and their family to discuss how the district handled the allegation and reimburse the student for counseling expenses; ( 2 ) assign a Title IX coordinator; ( 3 ) provide training on Title IX and Section 504/Title II to relevant staff; ( 4 ) give OCR information and documents related to sexual harassment complaints received in the 2021 - 2022 and 2022 - 2023 school years; ( 5 ) create and distribute a survey about sexual harassment to students , with the district ' s actions being reviewed and approved by OCR; and ( 6 ) establish a system for keeping records of all sexual harassment complaints and related documents . You can find the letter to Pflugerville Independent School District here , and the resolution agreement here . For more information on how to file an ED OCR complaint , check here .
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