The Board declares it to be the policy of this district to provide an equal opportunity for all students to achieve their maximum potential through the programs and activities offered in the schools without discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, ancestry, national origin, marital status, pregnancy or handicap/disability.
The Board also declares it to be the policy of this district to comply with federal law and regulations under Title IX prohibiting sexual harassment, which is a form of unlawful discrimination on the basis of sex. Such discrimination should be referred to throughout the policy as Title IX sexual harassment. Inquiries regarding the application of Title IX to the district may be referred to the Title IX Coordinator (listed below), to the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education, or both.
The U.S. Department of Education published new Title IX regulations which became effective August 1, 2024 (the 2024 Title IX regulations). This statement is to explain what the Cocalico School District is doing with regards to the 2024 Title IX regulations considering a preliminary injunction order entered in State of Kansas et al. v. United States Department of Education. That federal court case is one of several that challenges the legality of the 2024 Title IX regulations.
The Kansas preliminary injunction order prohibits the federal government from enforcing the 2024 Title IX regulations in hundreds of named colleges, universities, and K-12 schools throughout the country. The School District has learned that the Kansas list of educational institutions includes the following District schools: Cocalico High School, Cocalico Middle School, Denver Elementary, Adamstown Elementary, & Reamstown Elementary. The U.S. Department of Education has stated schools identified on that list should continue to comply with the 2020 version of the Title IX regulations, pending further court orders in that litigation.
After conferring with our solicitor, the School District will continue to follow its existing anti-discrimination policies and procedures, that already were in place before the 2024 Title IX regulations, without modifications or changes. In the meantime, the School District remains committed to complying with and enforcing Title IX, and people may refer to School Board Policies #103 and #104 to pursue complaints to address any allegations of prohibited discrimination. Board policies can be found below.
For information regarding Title IX or the grievance procedures, please contact the Title IX Coordinator:
Dr. Stephen Melnyk
800 South 4th Street, PO Box 800
Denver, PA 17517
(717) 336-1403
Email
The Title IX Coordinator has participated in all required Title IX trainings and has made the training materials available below.