CMS to enhance Title IX training for students, staff following Myers Park complaints
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Title IX complaints in CMS
From lawsuits at Myers Park High to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools reassigning administrators amid controversy, this is the latest on sexual assault cases and Title IX issues in the district.
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Along with a new task force to review how student reports of sexual misconduct are handled, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials said Tuesday they will strengthen anti-harassment training both for staff and the student body this year.
The changes come as CMS leaders have been criticized for how the district has responded to issues at Myers Park High School, where former students have sued following sexual assaults on campus, and others have held protests over alleged Title IX violations. Myers Park High Principal Mark Bosco was suspended last week, and he and CMS officials confirmed an investigation is underway.
Aidan Finnell said she’s been a victim of sexual harassment on the campus of Myers Park High School.
Her experience and the stories of sexual violence on campus from former students at the school have inspired the 17-year-old junior to organize protests, write school board members and create posters explaining Title IX and what rights students have under the federal education law.
Finnell spoke during the public comment portion of Tuesday night’s Board of Education meeting, where Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ officials also presented a report on the district’s Title IX office management and oversight. Several board members asked for the presentation last month in light of complaints from students that Myers Park administrators mishandled past reports of sexual assault and harassment.
District officials said late Tuesday night that in addition to continued training of its employees on Title IX, CMS plans on bringing student awareness of Title IX procedures to the forefront with more clear reporting tools and user-friendly online guides to liaisons.
Finnell said she’s still pushing for Title IX reform at CMS because “I wanted to make sure that no one that steps foot on campus experiences that same treatment and ignorance again.”
“All CMS personnel, regardless of assignment, have the responsibility to understand Title IX,” Superintendent Earnest Winston said. “...There is zero tolerance for violating any element of Title IX.”
The Observer reported last month that new revelations of past reported sexual violence call into question how effective attempts by CMS at Title IX reform were, even after a federal investigation revealed problems. The Observer also found CMS likely needs fresh investigations under Title IX as more survivors come forth.
Title IX requires federally funded schools and colleges to follow strict protocol when responding to reports of sexual assault or harassment.
‘Discretion and accountability’
According to Tuesday night’s presentation by Stephanie McKinney, the district’s Title IX administrator, there were 1,072 reported incidents of sexual misconduct across CMS during the 2019-20 school year, down from 1,614 reported incidents in 2018-19.
Of those 2019-20 incidents, 45% fell in the category of offensive touching; 39% sexual harassment and 12% were indecent exposure, according to another district report The Observer obtained. There were 215 reports during the 2020-21 academic year, when students didn’t return to in-person learning until late in the calendar because of COVID restrictions. Of those 215 reports, 130 were found to be a violation, according to the data.
According to a 2020-21 student culture survey performed by CMS, 92% of high school students across the district said they “strongly disagree” when asked the question of “I have experienced sexual harassment at this school.” Of middle school students asked the same question, 93% strongly disagreed.
Breana Fowler, a student advisor to the BOE, said she believes some students don’t know what sexual harassment looks like.
“We need to have an honest conversation with our students,” Fowler said. “... We need discretion, definitions and accountability.”
Updated Title IX visibility
McKinney, the Title IX administrator, said there is a new awareness campaign that will include updated anti-harassment posters. Those posters will be printed and delivered to schools by the first week of school, which begins Aug. 25.
Parents also will receive a CMS Commitment of Safety letter in their first day of school information. The letter will include how to report any allegations of sexual misconduct and/or discrimination, identify the campus Title IX liaison and guide students to a link that has been added to every school website informing students, parents and staff of their campus liaison and how to report an incident.
“Students will receive grade-level appropriate lessons, including how and to whom to report allegations of sexual misconduct,” McKinney told The Observer. “This year, we have updated the Title IX liaison contact visibility, placing it in a fixed location on all school websites with school liaison and district administrator contact information.”
A heightened priority
CMS officials said while training has not changed for the upcoming school year, it has received a heightened priority.
“This is not just a beginning of the year problem,” school board member Margaret Marshall said. She added: “I want it to be front of mind” throughout the school year.
All school-based staff, including administrators, participate in annual Title IX training online in August. In addition, administrators participate in two additional training modules that include investigation and documentation. Those modules are taught in person, with investigation training being a three-hour course and documentation training a two-hour training course.
CMS students receive annual Title IX training, but new this year will be the depth of which and when such education takes place. High school students will be trained within the first 10 days of school; middle and elementary school students will receive training within the first 20 days of school.
“We are actively looking at our student lessons,” McKinney said, “to make them more relevant.”
‘We are the ones who experience and see harassment’
Last week, Winston announced the establishment of a Title IX Task Force at CMS.
According to Winston’s note to families, the purpose of the task force is to review current reporting and support procedures to ensure the district is responding promptly and effectively to claims including harassment, assault or violations under Title IX.
Winston stressed the task force will be student-driven — something Finnell is grateful for.
Board member Marshall, in email correspondence to Finnell on July 28, thanked the student for her interest in preventing sexual assault and “for the work you are doing to educate students on reporting.”
Marshall told Finnell she would be recommending her to be a part of the task force.
“It’s important for it to be student-led because we/students are the ones who experience and see harassment, sexual violence and violations of Title IX in person and up close,” Finnell said. “A lot of students have been leading this movement and have been critical of how former students and victims have been left out of the narrative, so it’s important now to include them.”
This story was originally published August 11, 2021 at 12:47 AM.
