The period within which the victim must file a complaint is known as the “Statute of limitations.” If the accuser fails to file a complaint within the period that the statute of limitations suggests, then any action is barred by the law, and the accused gets to avoid the consequences. If the accuser files a timely complaint within the statute of limitations, then the proceeding is allowed to continue as long as required. Consulting a specialized high school Title IX defense attorney can help students get the proper legal guidance to file the complaint within the time.
What is the statute of limitation under Title IX?
The statute of limitations for court complaints differs in various situations. Some limitation periods are for ninety days only, while others may be extended to one to ten years.
School students must file an official complaint with the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights. The student must file it within 180 days of the last title IX sex discrimination or sexual misconduct incident.
The enforcement office director may extend the 180 days if the complainant displays an excellent reason to justify the delay. Suppose the student initially follows the administrative procedure used by the school but is not satisfied with the result and decides to file an Office of Civil Rights complaint instead. In that case, the student must file the Office of Civil Rights complaint within 60 days after the school’s administrative procedure concludes.
Statutes of limitations generally start against a claim right after the claim is accrued. A claim is accrued when all of its elements are present. In a Title IX case, a claim would accrue, and the limitations period starts when the sexual misconduct occurred. People who could file Title IX claims are allowed to rest on their claims. They can hold the potential for a claim over the responding students. Some people with Title IX claims don’t even know they have claims or don’t care at the moment to file them. The statute of limitations means that after the period runs without a filing, the person with the Title IX claim no longer has such a claim to file. At that point, the complainant is without legal remedy. This forces the complainant to file the complaint one way or another within the time frame.
Contact a Title IX defense attorney today!
Since there is a limited time to file a Title IX claim, speak to an attorney who can help you in the legal proceedings.
