OWASSO, Okla. — The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that Owasso Public Schools has entered into an agreement to remedy Title IX violations in relation to sexual harassment reports in its schools.
Following an investigation, OCR said the district has a history of mishandling sexual harassment reports.
OCR said the district had a number of instances over three years where staff didn’t properly explain the process for filing a Title IX complaint after getting notice of possible sexual harassment.
The district also didn’t promptly discuss available support resources such as counseling or schedule changes, according to OCR.
According to a press release on the USDE’s website, “Sexual harassment prohibited under the Department’s Title IX regulation as amended in 2020 includes unwelcome conduct on the basis of sex determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the recipient’s education program or …