Filed Under: Definitions
In the definition of a complainant, OCR defines it as a “student or employee” OR a “person who is not a student or employee but was participating or attempting to participate” at the time of alleged discrimination. Must a student or employee have been a student or employee at the time of the complaint or at the time of the discrimination?
Section 106.2 defines “complainant” as: “(1) A student or employee who is alleged to have been subjected to conduct that could constitute sex discrimination under Title IX or this part; or (2) A person other than a student or employee who is alleged to have been subjected to conduct that could constitute sex discrimination under Title IX or this part and who was participating or attempting to participate in the recipient’s education program or activity at the time of the alleged sex discrimination.” As explained in the preamble to the 2024 Title IX regulations, this definition shifts the focus from whether the person was participating or attempting participation at the time the complaint was filed (as required by the 2020 Title IX regulations) to the time of the alleged sex discrimination. 89 FR 33483-84; see also 87 FR 41408.