Title IX Prevention of Sexual Discrimination

What Is Title IX?

"No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any educational programs or activity receiving federal financial assistance." -- preamble to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

Title IX is a federal law that prohibits discrimination based on sex and gender, including sexual harassment and sexual violence.This law requires Oakton to establish a robust campus response to combat sexual violence and harassment and respond to survivors’ needs to ensure that all students have equal access to education. The response is aligned with Oakton Board Policy 1102 on Sexual Misconduct and implemented by Oakton’s Misconduct Procedures.

All public and private schools, school districts, colleges and universities receiving federal funds must comply with Title IX. 

Title IX extends to discrimination claims based on sex, gender identity or failure to conform to stereotypical notions of masculinity or femininity.

If you have experienced sexual violence, review your rights at the Office on Violence Against Women on the United States Department of Justice website.

Reporting an Incident

If you are in immediate crisis, call 911.

Submit Online Incident Report

Defending Against Discrimination

Learn more about Oakton's initiatives and policies to foster nondiscrimination, protect students from harassment and provide survivors with the support they need.

Know Your Title IX

Sexual misconduct is conduct of a sexual nature or conduct based on sex or gender that is nonconsensual or has the purpose or effect of threatening, intimidating, or coercing a person. Sexual misconduct is a form of sex- and gender-based discrimination. As such, it’s an umbrella term that includes: sexual harassment, a sub-set of sexual misconduct, sexual violence, which includes attempted or completed rape or sexual assault, as well as sexual harassment, stalking, voyeurism, exhibitionism, verbal or physical sexuality-based threats or abuse, and intimate partner violence, and relationship/dating violence, which is committed by a person:

  • a) who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim; and
  • b) where the existence of such a relationship shall be determined based on a consideration of the length of the relationship, the type of relationship, and the frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship.

This is a unified policy and applies to our entire Oakton community. Title IX protects any person from sex-based discrimination, regardless of their real or perceived sex, gender identity, and/or gender expression. Female, male, and gender non-conforming students, faculty, staff, student employees, visitors, vendors, and volunteers are protected from any sex-based discrimination, harassment or violence.

At Oakton, this includes professional counselors (employees with a professional license requiring confidentiality; e.g., Student Health Center employees or Medical Center employees functioning within the scope of that license or certification). Before a student complainant reveals any information to a Responsible Employee, the employee should ensure that the student complainant understands the employee’s reporting obligations – and, if the complainant wants to maintain confidentiality, direct the complainant to the campus’s confidential resources. As Oakton employees, we are all responsible for promoting a safe environment for our students and each other. A Responsible Employee must report to the Title IX Coordinator all relevant details about the alleged sexual violence shared by the student complainant. Contact Oakton Title IX coordinator, Leana Cuellar, Ph.D., Des Plaines Campus Room 1432 at 847.635.1655 or Title IX deputy coordinator, Robert Peterson, Des Plaines Campus Room 1431 at 847.635.1751 to report Title IX complaints.

If a student complainant discloses an incident to a Responsible Employee but wishes to maintain confidentiality or requests that no investigation into a particular incident is conducted or disciplinary action is taken, the Title IX coordinator will weigh that request against Oakton’s obligation to provide a safe, non-discriminatory environment for all students and employees, including the student complainant. The employee should also tell the student complainant that the College will consider the request but cannot guarantee that the College will be able to honor it. In reporting the details of the incident to the Title IX coordinator, the Responsible Employee will also inform the Title IX coordinator of the student complainant’s request for confidentiality.

The Title IX coordinator oversees the College’s response to all complaints alleging sexual discrimination, sexual harassment and/or sexual misconduct that involve a college student as the complainant or as the respondent. The response to such complaints follows the protocol outlined in the Sexual Misconduct Policy and Procedures. The Office of Human Resources (HR) will partner with the Title IX coordinator concerning any Title IX complaints which involve a College employee as the complainant or as the respondent. HR will oversee the College’s response to all complaints of sexual discrimination, harassment and/or misconduct that solely or partly involve employees and/or third parties.

The College must be proactive in ensuring that the Oakton campus is free of sex discrimination by stopping it, preventing its recurrence, and remedying the effects upon the complainant/reporting party and community. You are protected under Title IX even if you do not experience sex discrimination directly. The College will take immediate steps to address any sex discrimination, harassment or misconduct violence on campus to prevent it from affecting students further.

Oakton will keep a complainant safe from retaliatory harassment or behavior.

Because all employees have a duty to report sexual discrimination, harassment, and misconduct, we must know what these behaviors look like and where to report them. The Sexual Misconduct Policy and Procedures located on the College’s website provide specific information on Title IX and sexual misconduct, reporting, adjudication, and training to help employees be prepared to act.

Contact Us

Office of Access, Equity, and Diversity
847.635.1837
Room 1430

Dr. Leana Cuellar 
Dean of Access, Equity, and Diversity and Title IX Coordinator
847.635.1655
lcuellar@oakton.edu

Robert Peterson
Manager, Student Conduct and Deputy Title IX Coordinator
847.635.1751
rpeterson@oakton.edu

Report a Complaint Online

Oakton Police
Des Plaines
847.635.1880

Skokie
847.635.1422

If you are in an emergency call 911.