Items bolded and italicized are drawn from the Illinois Community College Board Exhibit List.

Documents

What documentation can be used to indicate compliance with this standard?

  • Student handbook and other descriptive catalogs, brochures, and publications provided to students/parents
  • A copy of the annual notice to students, parents, employees, and the general public which states that career and technical programs/courses are offered without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, or disability, plus title, address, and phone number of the Title IX and Section 504 coordinator(s)
  • Copies of student application and registration forms and other admission criteria to career and technical education programs/courses
  • Documents on which annual notice of public non-discrimination is displayed, including local newspapers, institutional newspapers, catalogs, and handbooks
  • Bulletins, catalogs, student application/registration forms, promotional materials, brochures, website, and similar artifacts which display the continuous statement of non-discrimination
  • Bulletins, catalogs, application forms, and promotional materials provided to students, parents, or the community
  • Program offerings and admission criteria which must accompany the annual notice
  • Policy on determining community groups
  • Description of dissemination of annual notice
  • Translation of annual notice into primary languages
  • Description of dissemination of translation of the annual notice
  • Job description of Title IX/Section 504 Coordinator

Supplemental Information

What is a Title IX and Section 504 Coordinator?

A person or persons who coordinate compliance activities and carry out responsibilities under Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

What are some sample duties of a Section 504 Coordinator?

  • Work in partnership with the special needs coordinator.
  • Develop a district-wide compliance plan.
  • Gain board approval of the compliance plan.
  • Disseminate the compliance plan in newsletters.
  • Develop, implement, and disseminate details of procedural safeguards.
  • Locate and appoint compliance officers as needed in departments/divisions.
  • Develop, implement, and disseminate commensurate Section 504 procedures.
  • Train compliance officers in Section 504 procedures.
  • Communicate procedures to staff.
  • Seek new information relative to Section 504 compliance and update all data.
  • Appoint a local hearing officer.
  • Identify a mediator for impartial hearings related to referral, evaluation, or placement of individuals with disabilities.
  • Facilitate the training of compliance officers regarding applicant and employment issues related to Section 504 and the ADA.
  • Track the allocation of public resources related to Section 504 placement and accommodations.
  • Serve as liaison with the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education.

Source: Adapted by ICSPS for use by Illinois Community Colleges from Department of Education of the State of Delaware.

What are the elements of an annual statement of non-discrimination?

  • Statement that community college does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, or disability in any of its policies
  • Statement that non-discrimination applies to all areas of the community college
  • Name, address, and telephone number of Title IX and Section 504 Coordinator(s)
  • Statement that any person with questions concerning implementation of non-discrimination policy should contact Title IX and Section 504 Coordinator(s)
  • Assurance that limited English speaking skills will not be a barrier for admission or participation in educational programs
  • Accompanying brief description of program offerings and admission criteria
  • The Notice may include protections for additional groups, such as age (as protected by the Age Discrimination Act of 1975), but may not remove any of the required protected groups.  For example, the term gender may not be substituted for the term sex, however gender may be included in the list if the required term sex is also present.

What is a sample of an annual statement of non-discrimination?

Overton Community College distributes the following annual notice of non-discrimination on the class schedule which includes program offerings and admission criteria and which is mailed to each home in the District.

Overton Community College, in compliance with Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and other federal laws and regulations, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, or disability in any of its policies, practices, or procedures. The lack of English language skills will not be a barrier to admission and participation in educational programs.

Any person having questions regarding the above is directed to contact Mike Harty, Overton Community College, Title IX and Section 504 Coordinator, at 2131 W. Eastern Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, 61222 or (618) 555-1212.

For further information or to file a complaint with the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights visit http://wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov/CFAPPS/OCR/contactus.cfm for the address and phone number of the office that serves your area, or call 1-800-421-3481.

What is the continuous statement of non-discrimination?

The continuous statement condenses the policy of non-discrimination and is used on material directed toward current and potential students and employees.

What is a sample of a continuous statement of non-discrimination?

Overton Community College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, or disability.

What are some sample documents which must display the continuous statement of non-discrimination?

  • Announcements
  • Catalogs
  • Brochures
  • Recruitment materials
  • Bulletins
  • Application forms
  • Enrollment forms
  • Promotional materials
  • Website

What are the core responsibilities of the Title IX Coordinator(s)?

  • Develop a working knowledge of the federal Title IX and its implementing regulations. Have a copy of Title IX readily available and understand the requirements and the intent of the law. Keep informed of current research, and legal and judicial decisions related to Title IX and sex equity.
  • Be informed about state laws, regulations, and policies on all equity issues, including bullying, harassment, and child abuse laws.
  • Be knowledgeable of intersecting federal and state laws (e.g., ADA, Section 504, and IDEA) prohibiting discrimination against all protected classes (including race, religion, and sexual orientation).
  • Assure female and male students participating in work-based learning programs are guaranteed equal treatment by their employers.
  • Coordinate with other staff and document an internal self-evaluation of practices and policies with respect to the treatment of female and male students. If the evaluation was completed by a previous Title IX coordinator, determine the level of implementation of the evaluation action plan for eliminating segregation and discrimination.
  • Provide program development, including in-service training, to eliminate sex discrimination in the district. Consider conducting a community college-wide in-service or assembly on sexual harassment.
  • Attend state and national conferences specifically for Title IX coordinators on sex equity issues, and share the information with local administrators, staff, and faculty.
  • Provide updated resources on Title IX and sex equity to local community college districts.

Adapted from the US Department of Education/Office for Civil Rights/Boston Regional Office, North Carolina State Board of Education, the New Hampshire Department of Education, the Connecticut State Department of Education and the Equity Assistance Center/NYU at Rutgers University, and the Maryland State Department of Education by National Association of Multicultural Education.

How can a community college’s adherence to the standards of Title IX be evaluated?

Title IX Self-Evaluation Checklist (pdf)
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. (1993). Wisconsin model for sex equity in career and vocational education. Madison: Author.

Links

Information about discrimination based on sex
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/publications.html#TitleIX

Model notice of non-discrimination
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/nondisc.html

Title IX: 25 Years of Progress
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/TitleIX/title.html

Impact of the civil rights laws
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/impact.html

History, Status, and Future Roles of Title IX Gender Equity Coordinators
http://feminist.org/education/TitleIX_Coordinators.pdf

Department of Education Title IX Resource Guide
http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/dcl-title-ix-coordinators-guide-201504.pdf

Top Ten Things to Know About the Notice of Nondiscrimination Document
http://icsps.illinoisstate.edu/2017/04/civil-rights-top-10-documents/