BVSD Updates Title IX Policy
BVSD seems to finally be listening to students calling for change when it comes to sexual violence prevention and support.
If you’re a consistent subscriber to The Owl, you may have already heard of district-wide movements like BVSD Survivors and Redefine Title IX that have been calling for BVSD to make changes to their Title IX Policy and the way they handle sexual assault cases. If you haven’t, what you need to know is that in the past few years BVSD has lacked a Title IX coordinator: a survivors bill of rights and an easy-to-use website for students.
But as of this week, that seems to have changed. On Tuesday, November 17th BVSD sent out an email to students with the subject “Title IX Protections and Supports: Resources for students on sexual violence and sexual harassment.” This email is the first step to inform BVSD students of their Title IX rights and the policy within BVSD.
The email explains that after having conversations with students, they have revised their policy and made it easier to access information for survivors. They then direct you to the nondiscrimination agreement website to find the new Title IX Coordinator, Kathleen Sullivan’s, contact information if one wants support in understanding Title IX and the new policy. BVSD also seems to have added website pages for Title IX rights, support learning how to report sexual violence and to report violated Title IX rights within an investigation.
This is the first year that BVSD has implemented these new policies, and as stated on the BVSD Survivor Instagram, “this is only the beginning stages and we have so much work left to do.”
While BVSD surely has always tried to put their best foot forward when it comes to supporting victims of sexual violence, they haven’t always hit the mark. Hopefully, with this new communication about the Title IX requirements, sexual violence within BVSD will be handled better and it will truly feel like a place for everyone.
Resources for victims of sexual violence:
RAINN – National Sexual Assault Hotline/ Website
Resource List Through BVSD Survivors
Isabel Oliver is a senior at Boulder High this year. Although new to The Owl, she has always loved writing and literary arts. Isabel grew up with an Editor in Chief for a mother and has always been fascinated by the inner workings of journalism. Isabel joined The Owl to improve her journalistic writing and to report on current events that she’s passionate about. Outside of The Owl, you can find Isabel acting with Troupe 60, singing in the choir, reading a good book, watching copious amounts of Netflix, or jamming with her band. After graduating from Boulder, she hopes to go to college and become either a therapist or a social worker - although she’s leaning towards liberal arts, so that’s...