Will Union County schools investigate football coach under Title IX? Experts say it must
Editor’s note, added Dec. 24, 2024: A Union County Public Schools investigation looked into allegations of harassment against then-Parkwood High School Head Football Coach Tim Boyd. While the February 2023 investigatory report found evidence corroborating some allegations, it did not label his actions as sexual harassment, nor was he disciplined for any misconduct as a coach or teacher.
The final report of the Union County Schools stated: “The investigation did not substantiate any allegations of sexual harassment. Further the investigation did not substantiate any other violations of policy that warrant disciplinary action. The investigation was closed and we expect you to continue in your role as a teacher at Parkwood High School in the Fall of 2023.”
The final report was signed by UCPS Superintendent Dr. Andrew G. Houlihan. The final report was dated April 6, 2023.
Boyd voluntarily stepped down as the Parkwood football coach. Boyd remained as a PE teacher until July 2023 and then left the Union County school system voluntarily.
It remains unclear whether Union County Public Schools started a Title IX investigation after finding evidence a football coach harassed his players.
District spokesperson Tahira Stalberte told The Charlotte Observer on Thursday information about investigations is confidential because of personnel protections. Parents say that response raises more questions amid concerns about Tim Boyd, a physical education teacher and head football coach at Parkwood High School in Monroe.
UCPS conducted an employee relations investigation in September that corroborated some reports from parents and players. It found evidence Boyd “made the statements of a sexual nature,” according to the 10-page report provided to the Observer by a parent who’s child is named in it.
Jake Modla, an attorney Boyd hired in early February, told the Observer Thursday the district’s report was “factually inaccurate and false” and that the district didn’t pursue a Title IX investigation because there were no violations. Modla cited a conversation he had with UCPS’ legal counsel.
“Therefore, no Title IX investigation was done and won’t be done,” said Modla, of The Law Offices of Jason E. Taylor, in Rock Hill.
Districts must launch a separate probe when it comes to possible harassment or sexual violence under federal education law known as Title IX. The law requires school leaders to follow notification requirements as well as take steps to prevent further victimization or harm — steps parents say UCPS did not take.
Boyd, 35, is still employed as a teacher at the school. Modla says he’s still a coach, too. He was hired Aug. 18. Modla says Boyd was never placed on leave during UCPS’ employee relations investigation or disciplined. Boyd was interviewed as part of the investigation, according to the report.
What school districts must do
Experts who spoke to the Observer say Title IX protocols call for an immediate investigation if someone says they have been sexually harassed.
“Title IX is there to protect students,” said Sandra Hodgin, the CEO of the Title IX Consulting Group that provides national consulting services for K-12, higher education, students and law firms. “A Title IX investigation needed to be done on top of the employee investigation. What’s more, the district is obligated under Title IX to provide support for those students on campus to ensure they’re OK.”
School districts, according to Title IX guidance, are required to investigate once they know or reasonably should know about an incident. Hodgin told the Observer districts are not required to disclose the existence of a Title IX investigation to anyone other than the parties directly involved.
Barbara Osborne, a professor of sports administration at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, says sexual harassment is sex discrimination under Title IX.
“The important thing is did (the district) conduct a thorough investigation, correct the issue and put policies/procedures in place to prevent recurrence or retaliation,” said Osborne, whose expertise is in the area of sports law around the issue of sexual violence/harassment.
Mom: UCPS provided no support
The district’s employee investigation launched in September after Tammy Meaders, Meg Enos, and a handful of other parents, brought concerns to Parkwood High Principal Tracy Strickland, former Athletic Director Rocky Richar and Superintendent Andrew Houlihan, among others.
The parents alleged Boyd bullied and harassed players in his first year as the school’s football coach. The investigation found evidence for some claims and didn’t for others.
Meaders’ son played football for Parkwood High this past season. She told the Observer her son was lifting weights when Boyd took a spray bottle, sprayed it in between the player’s legs and made the comment: “I just sprayed my solution into you.” The report obtained by the Observer said evidence found Boyd made “inappropriate sexual jokes referencing semen to his players,” and players understood the comment “to be referring to semen.” It was taken by players to be a “sexual innuendo,” according to the investigation.
Evidence also showed Boyd told a player he liked seeing him in his underwear while the player was changing in the locker room, according to the report of UCPS findings dated Sept. 28. Enos received a copy of that report Jan. 6.
After Enos’ son reported Boyd’s behavior, including the sexually-inappropriate jokes, he “was relieved because it was taking a toll on the team,” she said. She said school officials provided no support for her son nor his teammates who reported the abuse. Enos said they were treated as though they were wrong for reporting.
Enos told the Observer this week at least five days went by from the time when parents first alerted school leaders about problems and the start of the district’s employee relation investigation. She said Boyd remained at the school and coached the football team without school or district leaders trying to mitigate the situation.
“That’s egregious,” Hodgin said. “I’m looking at the full community of students. The coach is around other students. If he’s saying this to players that tells me he’s escalated his behavior.”
Hodgin says students at Parkwood High should be given resources and support to help them deal with the incidents.
But Modla disputes the entire document. He said the district didn’t compile a report or conduct an investigation. Instead, it was a “review of complaints by a couple of players.” He also says UCPS Investigator Steve Simpson “got a lot of things wrong” and his report was “incomplete.”
“The entire report was useless,” Modla told the Observer.
Enos and Meaders say school leaders have not told them or their sons of any type of Title IX investigation proceedings or received any results. Students weren’t notified of mental health services available to them, their Title IX rights and not given the outcome of the district’s investigation — either the internal or Title IX, if one was completed, in writing — all requirements of the law, the parents said.
Enos hired attorney Tee Leitner, of Leitner, Bragg and Griffin law firm in Monroe, to get a copy of the district’s employee report because she said the district would not provide a copy to her even though she and her son were interviewed.
Modla says Boyd never received a copy of the report, either.
”It felt like retaliation”
Enos’ and Meaders’ sons no longer attend Parkwood High. The moms told the Observer after the concerns were brought to school officials, they felt it was the best choice to pull the boys out of the school because of Boyd’s response and the lack of support for their students.
“It felt like retaliation,” Enos said. “I just want them to do the right thing.“
On Feb. 10, Strickland emailed Parkwood High parents and wrote, in part: “I want you to know that we take all allegations seriously and, with district support, we conduct thorough investigations.”
Stalberte told the Observer the district has had 307 Title IX reports filed so far this school year — those reports include both sexual harassment and discrimination claims. UCPS had 368 Title IX reports for the 2021-2022 school year.
This story was originally published February 24, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
