A Title IX Case Can Put Your Education and Future at Risk
If you have been accused of sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, or other sex-based misconduct at a Michigan college or university, the school may begin a Title IX process that is separate from any police investigation or criminal case. Suspension or expulsion may be possible, and decisions made at the beginning of the case can affect the evidence, the hearing, and your ability to remain in school.
Ben Hall Law represents students facing serious university misconduct allegations. The goal is to understand the school’s rules immediately, preserve evidence, prepare a disciplined response, and protect the student in both the university process and any related criminal investigation.
What Is Title IX?
Title IX is a federal civil rights law prohibiting sex discrimination in education programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. In the student-discipline context, Title IX can govern a school’s response to certain allegations of sexual harassment and other sex-based misconduct. A Title IX proceeding is not a criminal prosecution. The school is determining responsibility under its policies and federal requirements, not whether the student is guilty of a crime.
The distinction does not make the process minor. A university finding can affect enrollment, housing, campus access, extracurricular activities, academic progress, and in serious cases a student’s ability to continue at the institution. The precise procedure and possible sanctions depend on the school’s policy and the allegations involved.
What Allegations Can Lead to a Title IX Case?
Title IX matters can arise from allegations including sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating or domestic violence, and stalking when the allegations fall within the federal Title IX framework. Schools may also address sex-based or sexual misconduct under other university policies when an allegation does not fall within the scope of the formal Title IX grievance process.
- Sexual assault or nonconsensual sexual contact allegations
- Sexual harassment allegations
- Dating or domestic violence allegations
- Stalking allegations
- Conduct involving electronic messages, social media, images, or other online communications
- Related university misconduct allegations arising from the same incident
Students should therefore focus on the actual notice they receive and the policy identified by the school rather than assuming that every sexual-misconduct allegation follows exactly the same procedure.
What Happens After a Title IX Complaint?
The exact process varies by institution and by the type of complaint, but a formal postsecondary Title IX grievance process generally involves several distinct stages. Understanding where you are in that process is essential because different deadlines and strategic decisions arise at each stage.
1. Notice of the Allegations
When a formal grievance process begins, the parties receive notice describing the allegations and the applicable process. Read the notice carefully. It can identify the conduct being investigated, relevant dates or locations known to the school, the policies at issue, and important response deadlines.
2. Supportive Measures and Restrictions
A school may implement supportive measures while a matter is pending. Depending on the circumstances, these can involve class schedules, housing, campus activities, contact between the parties, or other arrangements. A student should understand exactly what an order or restriction requires before taking any action that could be viewed as a violation.
3. Investigation and Evidence
The investigation may involve interviews, text messages, photographs, videos, social-media material, location information, witness accounts, and other evidence. Under the current federal framework, the parties must receive meaningful opportunities to identify and review relevant evidence. This stage should not be treated as an informal conversation with the school. What a student says, omits, or submits can become important later in the case.
4. Hearing and Decision
For formal Title IX sexual-harassment complaints at colleges and universities governed by the current federal regulations, the grievance process includes a live hearing. Each party may have an advisor, and questioning of the other party and witnesses is conducted through advisors rather than by the students personally. The decision-maker must be separate from the Title IX Coordinator and investigator.
5. Appeal
Federal Title IX procedures require schools to offer both parties an appeal from a responsibility determination, and from certain dismissals, on specified grounds. University policies may provide additional detail about deadlines, required submissions, and available grounds. An appeal is not simply an opportunity to retry the entire case, so the record created during the investigation and hearing matters.
Your Rights in a College Title IX Proceeding
A Title IX case does not provide all of the constitutional protections that apply to a criminal prosecution, but that does not mean a school can simply decide responsibility without a defined process. Under the federal rules currently in effect, important protections in a formal grievance process include:
- Written notice of the allegations.
- A presumption that the respondent is not responsible for the alleged conduct unless responsibility is determined at the conclusion of the process.
- An equal opportunity to present witnesses and other evidence.
- An opportunity to inspect and review evidence directly related to the allegations.
- An advisor of the student’s choice, who may be an attorney.
- At postsecondary institutions, a live hearing with relevant cross-examination conducted by the parties’ advisors.
- A written determination explaining the result.
- An appeal opportunity available to both parties on the grounds established by the applicable rules and school policy.
The school’s own policy remains critical. Federal law establishes requirements, but the institution’s procedures determine many of the practical details of how a particular case moves forward.
What Standard of Proof Does a School Use?
Do not assume that every Title IX case uses the same evidentiary standard. Under the federal regulations currently in effect, a school may use either the preponderance of the evidence standard or the clear and convincing evidence standard, provided it applies the selected standard as required by the regulations. The institution’s published policy should identify which standard applies.
That is different from a criminal prosecution, where the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. A university finding of responsibility is therefore a different legal determination from a criminal conviction.
Title IX and Criminal Charges Can Happen at the Same Time
Some of the most serious student-defense cases involve both a university proceeding and a police investigation or criminal prosecution. An allegation of sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, or related misconduct can be investigated by the school while law enforcement examines the same underlying events.
| Issue | Title IX / University Process | Criminal Case |
|---|---|---|
| Decision-maker | University officials or appointed decision-makers | Judge or jury in the court system |
| Question being decided | Whether university policy was violated | Whether a criminal offense was proven |
| Proof | Standard identified in the school’s Title IX policy | Beyond a reasonable doubt |
| Potential consequences | University sanctions, potentially including suspension or expulsion | Criminal penalties authorized for the charged offense |
| Attorney | A party may select an advisor, who may be an attorney | A criminal defendant has the right to counsel |
The danger is not simply that two proceedings exist. It is that decisions in one can affect the other. A detailed university interview, written statement, text-message production, or hearing testimony may become relevant to a criminal investigation. At the same time, refusing to think about the university process while focusing only on criminal court can jeopardize a student’s academic position. The strategy needs to account for both.
What Should You Do After Receiving a Title IX Notice?
- Read the notice and preserve it. Identify the allegations, policy, deadlines, and university office handling the matter.
- Do not contact the complainant about the allegation. A direct message intended to “clear things up” can create additional evidence or raise separate concerns about retaliation or prohibited contact.
- Preserve evidence immediately. Keep texts, direct messages, photographs, videos, emails, call logs, location information, receipts, and other potentially relevant material. Do not delete or alter communications.
- Identify potential witnesses. Make a private record of people who may have relevant first-hand information and what they may know.
- Do not rush into a detailed statement. Understand the allegation, the school’s process, and any parallel criminal exposure before deciding how to respond.
- Get advice early. The investigation record begins developing quickly. Waiting until a hearing is scheduled can mean important opportunities have already passed.
Building a Defense to a Title IX Allegation
There is no universal defense to a Title IX allegation. Effective preparation starts with the actual accusation and the evidence. Depending on the case, the defense may involve contemporaneous communications, witness testimony, inconsistencies in accounts, digital evidence, the sequence of events, the wording of the university policy, or procedural issues in the school’s investigation.
A strong defense is also proactive. Relevant evidence should be identified before it disappears, witnesses should be considered before memories fade, and the student’s account should be prepared carefully rather than improvised during an interview. When criminal exposure is possible, every part of that preparation must also account for the separate court process.
How Ben Hall Law Helps Students Facing Title IX Allegations
Title IX defense requires more than showing up at a hearing. Ben Hall Law can help a student understand the allegations and university policy, prepare for interviews, identify and preserve evidence, evaluate witness information, review the investigative record, prepare for the hearing and questioning process, and assess available appeal issues.
When police or prosecutors are also involved, Ben Hall’s criminal-defense experience becomes especially important. The university case cannot be treated in isolation from a potential criminal case arising from the same allegation. The objective is a coordinated strategy that protects the student’s position in both systems.
Title IX Rules Have Changed — Current Procedure Matters
Title IX regulations have changed substantially in recent years. The federal regulations issued in 2024 were vacated by a federal court in January 2025 and are not currently effective. The U.S. Department of Education states that the 2020 Title IX regulations are again the basis for federal enforcement. Students and families should therefore be cautious about relying on older online explanations of the process—or materials written for rules that are no longer in effect.
The first practical question in any case is not simply “What does Title IX say?” It is “What rules apply to this allegation at this institution right now?”
Title IX Student Defense FAQs
No. A Title IX proceeding is an educational institution’s civil-rights and disciplinary process, not a criminal prosecution. The same alleged conduct can, however, also lead to a police investigation or criminal charges.
Yes. A university can impose discipline, potentially including suspension or expulsion, without a criminal conviction because the university proceeding and criminal justice system are separate and apply different rules and standards.
Yes. A university process and criminal investigation can proceed at the same time. Statements and evidence developed in one proceeding may affect the other, which is why the defense strategy should be coordinated from the beginning.
Federal Title IX rules allow a student to choose an advisor, and that advisor may be an attorney. Whether an attorney can speak or participate beyond the functions permitted to an advisor depends on the stage of the process and the school’s procedures. Legal guidance can be especially important when the allegation could also lead to criminal exposure.
Under the federal rules currently in effect, a school may use either the preponderance of the evidence standard or the clear and convincing evidence standard, subject to the requirements of the regulations. The institution’s Title IX policy should identify the standard it uses.
Facing a Title IX Investigation? Talk to Ben Hall
A Title IX allegation can move quickly, and the decisions made before an interview or hearing can shape the entire case. Ben Hall Law represents Michigan students facing serious university misconduct allegations and can coordinate the Title IX defense with any related criminal investigation.
Consultations are free and confidential.
