An FIU Title IX lawyer can help you tell the two tracks apart, protect the Business Day clocks, and prepare for advisor led questioning at the hearing.
Florida International University handles covered cases under Regulation FIU-105, which addresses both Title IX sexual harassment and sexual misconduct. Title IX covers conduct in a university program or activity in the United States, while sexual misconduct can reach conduct inside or outside a program regardless of location. Federally, the 2020 Title IX rule is the enforcement basis after the January 9, 2025 nationwide vacatur of the 2024 rule. What follows describes the campus regulation as written. Hearing background is at how do Title IX hearings work.
Intake and reporting at FIU
Reports go to the Title IX Coordinator through the Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity, in person, by mail, or by email. Each side is offered an information session on process, supportive measures, and next steps. Supportive measures are non disciplinary, without fee, and can include counseling, deadline changes, schedule changes, escort services, contact limits, and housing or work changes.
A disciplinary case needs a formal complaint, and the complainant must be participating in or attempting to participate in a university program at filing. The university tests whether dismissal is required, for example where the facts as alleged would not fit the regulation or fell outside the program or the country. Dismissal brings prompt simultaneous written notice with reasons and a chance to appeal. Cases that proceed bring a written notice of allegations with at least five Business Days before the initial interview to prepare, plus at least five Business Days notice for later interviews, except in emergencies or where waived. First steps are at after-you-have-been-accused.
Day counting is its own trap at FIU. A Business Day means a day the university is open for regular business, and for emailed correspondence the delivery day does not count while the triggering day is excluded from every period. Treat each deadline below as Business Days and confirm every date in writing. Florida law also sets a general notice floor for student conduct cases, so confirm the current code text before acting. A respondent removed by interim suspension or leave gets three Business Days to challenge in writing, with a written decision within three Business Days after the challenge arrives.
Investigation and the 10 plus 10 Business Day reviews
The university carries the burden of proof and gathers the evidence. Both sides may present witnesses and material, the investigator decides relevance, and privileged or medical records stay out without voluntary written consent. The regulation targets completing investigation and determination within ninety Business Days, extendable for good cause.
Two review windows protect respondents. Before the report is finished, both sides receive the evidence subject to inspection and have at least ten Business Days to file a written response. The investigator then circulates a final report fairly summarizing relevant evidence at least ten Business Days before any hearing or determination. Calendar both windows separately. Record building is at title-ix-investigation.
FIU also offers a voluntary alternative path. Under the Alternative Resolution section, after a formal complaint and before a finding, the university may facilitate a resolution where both sides give voluntary informed written consent. That path is closed where a student alleges that an employee engaged in covered harassment or misconduct. It must finish within fifteen Business Days of agreement absent an approved extension or the complaint returns to investigation and hearing, and any side may withdraw before agreeing. Get the written terms, timeline, records handling, and preclusive effect before choosing.
Hearing and advisor at FIU
Cases reaching adjudication go to a live hearing in person or virtual with simultaneous sight and sound, with separate rooms available on request. Hearings are closed to the public. A hearing officer explains rights, guards fairness, and screens every question for relevance before it is answered, with reasons for exclusions. Advisor preparation is at title-ix-advisor and format at title-ix-disciplinary-hearings.
Questioning belongs to advisors. Each advisor asks the other side and witnesses all relevant questions and follow ups, including credibility challenges, directly, orally, and in real time. Parties never question each other. Questions about a complainant’s predisposition or prior behavior are generally excluded unless offered to show someone else committed the conduct or to show consent through specific prior incidents with the respondent. Without an advisor the university provides one for cross examination purposes, and a disruptive advisor can be removed after warning. No inference about responsibility follows from absence or silence alone.
The standard is preponderance of the evidence, meaning more likely than not on the totality of the evidence with the burden on the university. The written determination reaches both sides simultaneously within fourteen Business Days of the hearing close and becomes final absent appeal. Conduct outside the Title IX track proceeds under Regulation FIU-2501 without the Title IX hearing model, so confirm your track.
Sanctions and appeal at FIU
Sanctions and remedies follow the written determination. Either side may appeal in writing within seven Business Days on grounds including procedural irregularity affecting the outcome, new and previously unavailable evidence, conflict or bias affecting the outcome, or sanctions extraordinarily disproportionate to the violation, with new evidence attached. The other side is notified and gets seven Business Days to respond. A neutral appellate officer with no prior case role decides on the record. Appeals are at title-ix-appeals and consequences at consequences of a Title IX violation.
Speak with an FIU Title IX lawyer
FIU cases turn on Business Day math, the two ten Business Day review windows, and the choice between hearing and alternative resolution. Contact us to discuss your notice and what comes next.
Respondent checklist
- Confirm the Title IX, sexual misconduct, or conduct code track in your notice
- Calendar every deadline as Business Days and confirm each date in writing
- File the evidence response inside ten Business Days and the report response inside the separate ten Business Day window
- Secure an advisor early and prepare advisor led questions tied to the report
- Get alternative resolution terms, timeline, records handling, and withdrawal terms in writing before choosing
- Challenge any interim removal in writing inside three Business Days
- Calendar the seven Business Day appeal and response windows
FAQ
Where do I go if accused at FIU?
The Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity serves as the Title IX office. Confirm whether a formal complaint exists.
What counts as a Business Day?
A day the university is open for regular business, with delivery and triggering days excluded. Confirm each computed date in writing.
Can I bring a lawyer?
Any advisor, attorney or not, may serve. Only advisors ask cross examination questions, and the university provides one for that purpose if you have none.
What must the university prove?
That the alleged acts more likely than not occurred, on the totality of the evidence with the burden on the university.
Is there a non hearing option?
Voluntary alternative resolution may be offered after a formal complaint and before a finding, except where a student alleges employee misconduct, with a fifteen Business Day completion target.
How do I appeal?
Write within seven Business Days stating the ground. The other side may respond within seven Business Days and the officer decides on the record.
Sources (checked 2026-09-22)
- FIU Title IX portal: office role, reporting routes, regulation summary
- FIU Regulation FIU-105: scope, Business Day definition, investigation, alternative resolution, hearing, appeal
- FIU Regulation FIU-2501 Student Conduct and Honor Code: conduct code routing for matters outside the Title IX track
- Florida Statute 1006.60 (2026): subsection (3)(a) sets a seven business day hearing notice floor plus five business day information requirements for covered student conduct proceedings, and (3)(g) addresses advisor participation; a statutory floor for covered proceedings, not a guarantee across every Title IX track
More guides for Florida schools: Florida Title IX lawyer.
Disclaimer
This page is general information only, not legal advice, and reading it creates no attorney-client relationship. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Florida International University. Policies change, so confirm the current regulation text before acting.
