Title IX
Title IX is a federal law that was passed in 1972 to ensure that male and female students and employees in educational settings are treated equally and fairly. Pursuant to Title IX, each PVSD student and employee has a right to learn and work in an environment that is safe and free from unlawful discrimination. Title IX protects against discrimination based on sex, including transgender students or students who do not conform to sex stereotypes. The Portola Valley School District is committed to providing a workplace and educational environment free of sexual harassment and considers such harassment to be a major offense that may result in disciplinary action. This policy is inclusive of instances that occur: on any school campus; at school-sponsored events and activities, regardless of location; through school owned technology; and through other electronic means. In 2024, the US Department of Education issued new Title IX regulations. The new regulations describe what constitutes sexual harassment under Title IX, what triggers a school’s legal obligation to respond and how a school must respond.
The 2024 regulations include:
1. a specific definition of sex-based harassment;
2. how districts must respond to any complaint or report of sex-based harassment; and
3. delineated steps and considerations that must be included in any investigation.
Further, in order to maintain compliance with Title IX, schools are required to respond to a sexual harassment complaint “without deliberate indifference.” Sex-based discrimination is now defined as any discrimination based on sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation and gender identity.
1. A school employee conditioning provision of an aid, benefit or service upon a person’s participation in unwelcome sexual conduct, a.k.a. quid pro quo; or
2. Unwelcome conduct determined by a reasonable person, to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the school’s educational program or activity; or
3. Sexual assault (an offense classified as a forcible or nonforcible sex offense under the uniform crime reporting system of the FBI), dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking.
The District programs, activities, and practices shall be free from unlawful discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying based on actual or perceived race, color, ancestry, national origin, ethnic group identification, age, religion, marital or parental status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or gender expression; or on the basis of a person’s association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics.
If you believe that you have been subjected to discrimination, harassment, intimidation or bullying, you should immediately contact the District’s Title IX Coordinator:
Lynette Hovland
Principal, Ormondale School
200 Shawnee Pass
Portola Valley, CA 94028
(650) 851-1777 x2650
lhovland@pvsd.net
The 2024 regulations include:
1. a specific definition of sex-based harassment;
2. how districts must respond to any complaint or report of sex-based harassment; and
3. delineated steps and considerations that must be included in any investigation.
Further, in order to maintain compliance with Title IX, schools are required to respond to a sexual harassment complaint “without deliberate indifference.” Sex-based discrimination is now defined as any discrimination based on sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation and gender identity.
1. A school employee conditioning provision of an aid, benefit or service upon a person’s participation in unwelcome sexual conduct, a.k.a. quid pro quo; or
2. Unwelcome conduct determined by a reasonable person, to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the school’s educational program or activity; or
3. Sexual assault (an offense classified as a forcible or nonforcible sex offense under the uniform crime reporting system of the FBI), dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking.
The District programs, activities, and practices shall be free from unlawful discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying based on actual or perceived race, color, ancestry, national origin, ethnic group identification, age, religion, marital or parental status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or gender expression; or on the basis of a person’s association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics.
If you believe that you have been subjected to discrimination, harassment, intimidation or bullying, you should immediately contact the District’s Title IX Coordinator:
Lynette Hovland
Principal, Ormondale School
200 Shawnee Pass
Portola Valley, CA 94028
(650) 851-1777 x2650
lhovland@pvsd.net
Title IX Training Materials (August, 2024)
Additional Resources
United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights
United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Complaint Form
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/complaintintro.html
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/complaintform.pdf
Contact Information: 1-800-421-3481 or ocr@ed.gov
California Department of Education’s Office for Equal Opportunity
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/index.html
http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/di/or/oeo.asp