If you are a student or parent looking for a Kentucky Title IX lawyer after a university notice, this page links to the school guides on this site for five Kentucky universities. Each guide explains that university’s posted process for a student respondent, meaning the accused student.
Each university runs its own process under its own policy. The written notice you receive, and the policy version it names, control your case.
How Kentucky universities handle Title IX cases
Two differences show why the school page matters.
First, the person or group that decides responsibility is different at each school. At EKU, a Title IX hearing is decided by one Title IX Hearing Officer, an outside party contracted by the university. NKU uses a single Decision-maker, and a separate Sanctioning Panel decides sanctions. The University of Kentucky sends Title IX Sexual Harassment charges to its Equal Opportunity Hearing Board, where a finding of responsibility must be unanimous. The University of Louisville uses a three-member Hearing Board that decides by majority vote. At WKU, a hearing officer who is a Kentucky-licensed attorney, and not a WKU employee or contractor, decides responsibility.
Second, the appeal route can end in a different place. At EKU, appeals involving suspension or expulsion go to the Board of Regents. At NKU, a student who is suspended or expelled may appeal to the Board of Regents after the Appeal Decision-maker rules. At the University of Louisville, the Dean of Students or a designee serves as the Appeal Officer, and at WKU an Appeal Officer who was not involved earlier decides the appeal.
Day counts also differ. The University of Louisville’s student policy counts deadlines in Days without saying whether they are calendar or business days, while EKU and NKU each define a business day in their own policy.
Kentucky university guides
- Eastern Kentucky University: EKU uses Policy 1.4.1POL, Discrimination and Harassment, effective August 6, 2024, with the investigation, hearing, and appeal steps written into the policy, and its Student Code of Conduct sends sexual misconduct allegations to that policy. The policy states no separate deadline for appealing a dismissal or closure, so see the school page for appeal timing.
- Northern Kentucky University: NKU uses its Sexual Harassment policy from the NKU policy library, effective August 14, 2020, with a revision approved June 10, 2025. The policy and the student code set different appeal routes, and the policy states no separate window for a dismissal appeal, so see the school page for appeal timing.
- University of Kentucky: The University of Kentucky’s Office of Equal Opportunity links the Administrative Regulation: Equal Dignity (Interim) and the Equal Opportunity Policy, which says it was revised June 26, 2026, and an attorney conducts the questioning at a Title IX hearing, with the university providing one if a party has none. Appeal deadlines depend on which decision is appealed, and the written materials do not set one deadline for every dismissal appeal, so see the school page for appeal timing.
- University of Louisville: The University of Louisville uses its Title IX Student Sexual Misconduct Policy, effective August 12, 2020, with revisions dated August 1, 2025 and September 2, 2025. Because the policy does not define Days and states no filing deadline for a dismissal appeal, see the school page for appeal timing.
- Western Kentucky University: WKU uses Policy 0.2070, Sex and Gender-Based Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation, and its Student Code of Conduct, Policy 6.3000, says alleged violations of 0.2070 follow that policy’s procedures. The policy says a dismissal can be appealed but states no separate period for doing so, so see the school page for appeal timing.
Common questions
Is the appeal deadline the same at every Kentucky school?
No. Each policy sets its own route, and each of these five has at least one open timing question noted on its school page, such as an undefined day count or no stated deadline for a dismissal appeal. Use the deadline stated in your own notice and confirm it with the office that sent it.
Do I have to hire an attorney as my advisor?
None of these five policies requires you to hire one. At a Title IX hearing, questioning of the other side is done through advisors, and each school provides or appoints one if you have none. How that works differs: EKU gives a list of volunteer employee advisors to choose from, while the University of Kentucky provides an attorney for hearing questioning.
What should I check first in my notice?
Check which policy and version the notice names, whether the matter is handled as Title IX or under another track, and every date it gives. EKU and NKU both say older incidents may involve different rules, so ask the office that sent the notice which version governs.
Talk to a Kentucky Title IX lawyer
If you have a notice from one of these universities and want to talk through it, you can contact us.
Disclaimer
This page is general information only and is not legal advice. This site is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any university named on this page. Reading this page or contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. University policies and procedures change. The notice you receive and the policy version it names control your case, so check your notice.
