Redlands Unified agrees to reform how it addresses sexual harassment concerns following federal review

REDLANDS, Calif. — The Redlands Unified School District (RUSD) has entered into a resolution agreement with the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to address concerns that the district inadequately responded to reports of sexual misconduct. 

Why it matters: The agreement was announced on April 25 following a compliance review that revealed multiple violations of Title IX, a federal law enacted in 1972 that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education programs that receive federal funding. 

Details: The OCR started the investigation on March 12, 2020, and looked at three school years including 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20. In the review, OCR determined that the district had no systems to monitor whether or not responses to allegations complied with Title IX requirements. There were also no systems to identify patterns or systemic problems related to these incidents. 

In about 75% of the reviewed reports over the three school years, OCR found that the district did not provide any evidence of action taken to address the effects of the harassing conduct on targeted students or how to prevent harassment from recurring.

OCR also found that the district failed to investigate and adequately address employee-to-student and student-to-student sexual assault allegations after they were reported, leaving affected students vulnerable. One such example detailed in the report discusses a student's allegation that they had witnessed a sexual relationship between an employee and another student for about a year that included the sharing of nude photographs via social media. While the district confirmed the relationship, the employee was able to resign without a proper investigation into whether it constituted sexual harassment and if the conduct created a hostile environment for the affected student and the larger school population. 

The report also identified flaws in the district's recordkeeping system to track sexual harassment incidents. In the 2017-18 school year, the district reported three assaults for that year's OCR Civil Rights Data Collection. However, they then proceeded to report a total of nine sexual assaults for that same year when submitting information for the compliance review. 

In a 20-page letter sent to Redlands Unified School District Superintendent Juan Cabral, OCR noted that many of these issues possibly resulted from inadequately training the district's Title IX coordinator. 

"Based on OCR's interview with the former Title IX Coordinator, OCR determined that the Coordinator was not familiar with the definition of sexual harassment that would trigger these duties, nor was the Coordinator aware of or fulfilling these duties," the email read. "The Title IX Coordinator's lack of familiarity with the definition of sexual harassment and the requirements of the Title IX regulations likely contributed to the violations detailed above."

Based on the report, the district agreed to resolve the identified issues through the resolution agreement. 

What is included in the resolution agreement:

• The district must coordinate its Title IX compliance through its Title IX coordinator.
• Students, parents and employees must be notified of who the designated Title IX coordinator is.
• Anti-discrimination efforts must be assessed for effectiveness.
• Title IX policies and procedures must be revised to comply with federal regulations.
• Students and staff must be trained on Title IX procedures and how to identify what constitutes sexual harassment and how to report it. 
• An annual school climate survey will be administered to district employees and students with respect to sexual harassment and to identify responsive steps forward. 
• Case files of reported incidents of sexual harassment should be reviewed to determine if further action is needed.
• The district must report on its responses to complaints of sexual harassment to OCR.

RUSD responds to report: On May 2, Cabral responded to a news report about the district's resolution agreement with the OCR in a letter to parents and community members. 

In the letter, Carbal outlined the safety measures that have been implemented between January 2022 - March 2023, prior to receiving OCR's findings. Some of the measures were shared in the letter, including:

• Addition of a Title IX Director position 
• Monthly safety protocols and micro-trainings for all staff to ensure that staff members understand their responsibilities under Title IX and are equipped to handle related issues effectively. 
• Establishment of a Boundaries Policy (BP 4019.1) 
• Implemented the Actions Create Trust (ACT) Now initiative.
• Anonymous reporting systems:
  • See Something Say Something 
  • Sprigeo Reporting Platform 
  • We Tip Reporting Platform 
• Implemented a district-wide Hall Pass policy at all school sites which contributes to the overall safety and supervision within the school environment.
• Implemented a district-wide daily Safety Walks policy at all school sites to ensure a safe and secure environment for students and staff while also allowing for potential issues to be identified immediately and addressed promptly. 

"All our teachers, support staff and administrators have played an integral role in implementing and maintaining these safety practices. OCR's findings and anticipated DOJ findings point to specific areas where our Title IX process needs additional improvements. I want to emphasize that we will fully comply and implement all of the provisions of the OCR resolution agreement, and that of the DOJ once finalized," wrote Carbal.

The letter also included the contact information for the district's Title IX coordinator, Mr. Mark Bline. 

"As we work to further strengthen our Title IX process, our priority remains to continue providing a safe and inclusive learning environment for all students. I want to express my gratitude for your continued support of our school community," concluded Cabral. 

Moving Forward: Cabral said the school district is also working on a resolution to an investigation completed by the Department of Justice (DOJ). Carbal notes that both the OCR and the DOJ started their investigations several years ago and are now being finalized.