Three months after receiving reports about the attempted aggravated rape of a 15-year-old boy, the Grundy County (Tenn.) Schools system still has not launched a Title IX investigation, Director of Schools Jessie Kinsey said after Tuesday night’s board meeting.
“Not that I’m aware of,” she told the Times Free Press when asked if a Title IX – the federal law that dictates how institutions that receive federal funds respond to allegations of sexual misconduct – investigation was ongoing.
Five Grundy County High School students stand accused of attempting to rape a freshman teammate with the metal handle of a dust mop in the high school’s field house on Oct. 11.
Under new Title IX guidelines put in place in September 2017, there is no fixed timeframe for what constitutes a “prompt” Title IX investigation.
Previously, the Office for Civil Rights specified a 60-day timeframe for investigations to take place. Now, however, the office “will evaluate a school’s good faith effort to conduct a fair, impartial investigation in a timely manner designed to provide all parties with resolution,” according to the United States Department of Education.