MADISON, WI (WSAU) – An investigation into an incident involving a male student who identifies as a female who exposed himself to four freshmen girls in the Sun Prairie High School women’s locker room has been launched by the US Department of Education.
According to The Federalist, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) says it will remain neutral as its agents “collect and analyze the evidence it needs to make a decision” on whether the school district “responded to a report of sexual harassment consistent with the requirements of Title IX.”
On behalf of the parents of the freshmen girls, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), a civil rights law firm located in Milwaukee, filed the Title IX complaint back in June after the incident initially occurred on March 3.
WILL alleged in a letter to the OCR that East High School administrators neglected to look into the issue at the time and further stated that it took almost a month for school administrators to meet face-to-face to discuss the locker room incident. The letter also says that no school district official contacted the girls “to offer supportive measures or an opportunity to file a formal complaint of sexual harassment until after WILL became involved.”
The Federalist further reports that the district responded to the complaint, saying that it had “previously addressed this incident when it was brought to our attention” in an email to parents and a press statement sent out in April. However, WILL states that at this time it remains unclear what measures the district took and has requested that all communications related to the incident be continued.
Cory Brewer, associate counsel for the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, stated in a press release that “parents and students should be able to feel confident that their school is complying with federal laws like Title IX, but right now in Sun Prairie, parents do not have that confidence.”
Patti Lux, director of communications and engagement for the school district, told the Federalist that “what happened in this incident was not in line with our district’s practices” and that the district has communicated as much as they can based on student confidentiality laws.
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