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Texas Association of School Boards Policy FFH prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation against students, and sets forth a process for investigating reports other than Title IX sexual harassment complaints. TASB Policy FFI addresses bullying of District students, including cyberbullying, and its procedures are either used in conjunction with or in lieu of Policy FFH, depending on the conduct at issue. School administrators are responsible for completing FFH and FFI investigations, but many often fail to comply with the strict requirements in the policies. Whether it is failing to identify that a report needs to be processed through these policies, rather than through the school’s code of conduct; identifying which policy to use between FFH and FFI; providing required notice and meeting other procedural steps in the policies; or not conducting an appropriate and legally defensible investigation, there are many ways that things can go wrong in these inquiries. Such missteps can be costly for a school district, leading to legal changes, embarrassing public relations nightmares, and other negative effects.
Join the Thompson & Horton educational law team for a fast-paced, interactive training that will help you avoid these risks and conduct the most legally defensible FFH and FFI investigations that you can. Topics covered will include:
- The requirements of FFH and FFI
- When FFH and FFI apply and when they do not
- Required procedural steps, including initial assessment, interim action, and notices of the report and at the end of the investigation
- Elements of legally defensible investigations
- Confidentiality pitfalls
- Appropriate corrective actions
- Writing a strong investigation report
- Appeals
- Required retention of records
- Interactions with law enforcement investigations
- Interactions with student disability laws (Section 504 and the IDEA)
- Interactions with processes for Title IX sexual harassment complaints
- Answers to your questions!
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