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Filing a Complaint

Title IX Formal Complaint and Fact-Finding Procedure: 

  1. When to file a complaint: Reporting obligations for the district to take action: 
  • Minneapolis Public Schools should take action towards Sexual Violence when it happens on District property, occurs while one party was employed by the district, or while one party was a student at the district. In conclusion, the district is obligated to take action if any party was affiliated with the district at the time of the assault (5050A.3). 
  • The complaint needs to be filed within one year from the most recent incident (there may be an exception to this ie. The Respondent is a teacher and it is probable they are continuing the behavior). 

  1. How to file a complaint: 

  • The online reporting system within the District Office of Equality and Civil Rights is found at this link.
  • The report can be oral, but a written one is needed, so the oral report will be transcribed within 72 hours. Once it is transcribed, the complainant needs only to sign off on it for the process to begin.
  • If the complainant is under 18, their guardians would then receive shared information about the fact-finding report, same if the alleged offender is under 18. 
  • It is important that the legal guardians are in contact and it makes the process much smoother and gives greater power to the school when it comes to possible outcomes. 

  1. Probable requested evidence for formal complaint: 

  • The name of the complainant, respondent, possible witnesses, the date and time, and other relevant details are given to the district office of equality and civil rights for the formal complaint. 
  • The fact-finding procedure includes personal interviews, any possible electronic sources being reviewed

  1. What to expect about the fact-finding procedure: 

  • Privacy is protected as much as possible
  • Fact-finding procedures should be started within one school day after a report.
  • In a school, the principal will be the main person in contact with the District Office of Equality and Civil Rights as they are the Responsible Authority for the building. If the complaint involves the Responsible Authority, reports should be filed directly to the District Office of Equality and Civil Rights, and if the complaint involves the District Office of Equality and Civil Rights it should be filed with the Superintendent. 
  • Employees should report cases of Sexual Harassment to the Responsible Authority, ie. the principal. 
  • The timeline is compliant with the District’s legal obligations and the fact-finding procedure and report are to be completed as soon as practicable.
  • If criminal activity is suspected, the authorities may be contacted. 

  1. Outcomes: Before a punishment is determined, there is a standard of proof that the investigation must meet(“the information supporting a finding of responsibility must be more convincing than the information in opposition to it”)

    • If the allegations are substantiated, the district will take action. Possible punishments include:

      • Student: A warning, suspension, exclusion, expulsion, or transfer 

      • Employee: Letter of reprimand in an employee's personal file, remediation, retraining, or coaching, suspension with or without pay or a termination/discharge

    • In all cases, the punishment must be within what is legally allowed by the state or an employment contract.

    • Sports and other Extracurricular activities: 

      • All the same definitions and reporting procedures are required for sports. Punishments are relatively low considering vaping/drug use has the same punishment. 

      • After the conclusion of an investigation, the minimum punishment for Sexual Harassment is not being able to play for two games or for two weeks, (whichever is more) but is still permitted to go to practice. The second offense is for six games or three weeks(whichever is longer).

If the activity is not an official sport, punishments are created by the school. Currently, we have no penalty for non-sporting events. An example given by the district is the One-Act Play competition. The source is bylaw 209.00: https://www.mshsl.org/sites/default/files/2021-08/mshsl-handbook-2021-2022-200-series_1.pdf