A Lehman College Title IX lawyer can help you pick the correct campus reporting form, respond inside the two evidence windows, and prepare an advisor to handle questioning at the hearing.
Lehman runs sexual misconduct compliance through its Office of Compliance and Diversity in Shuster Hall, with a Title IX Coordinator office at the same Bronx address and a file-a-complaint page that gathers the campus reporting routes in one place. The Division of Student Affairs runs a separate Community Standards page with distinct report forms for academic integrity, general conduct, and Title IX policy violations, and it routes employee-only Title IX matters to Human Resources. Knowing which form and which office holds your case is the first defense step.
Intake: forms, portals, and the formal complaint
Lehman offers more than one way to put the college on notice. The file-a-complaint page connects to the CUNY Discrimination and Retaliation Reporting Portal for discrimination and retaliation reports, while the Community Standards page hosts a dedicated Title IX Sexual Harassment Policy Violation Report Form for student matters, alongside separate forms for academic integrity and general conduct concerns. Counseling, Public Safety, and Student Affairs appear as parallel support doors, and the campus notes that employee-only violations go to Human Resources rather than the student process.
For Title IX discipline, only a Title IX Formal Complaint opens the grievance procedure, and without one the matter may wait until a complaint arrives. Once filed, both known parties receive written notice with the policy, the specific allegations, the presumption of non-responsibility, advisor rights, and the statement that the college carries the burden of proof. Notice must arrive at least five policy days before any initial interview unless you consent to less. Investigation basics are at title-ix-investigation.
A note on which rules apply. The posted CUNY procedures follow the 2020 federal Title IX framework, effective August 14, 2020. References found elsewhere to a 2024 federal rewrite are outdated because those rules were vacated, and a 2020-era rule barring reliance on statements never tested by cross-examination was revoked after a 2021 federal court ruling.
Day counts in this guide mean policy days. A policy day is a calendar day other than a Saturday, Sunday, or a federal or state holiday.
Investigation: the record and your two responses
The Title IX Coordinator investigates promptly and impartially, interviews witnesses likely to hold relevant information, and keeps the burden of proof and evidence gathering on the college. You may submit evidence, propose fact and expert witnesses, and present inculpatory and exculpatory material. Treatment records stay out without your voluntary written consent. Preparation notes are at after you have been accused.
Respondents answer the file twice in writing. Before the report is finalized, both sides receive the directly related evidence and have ten policy days to answer, which the coordinator must consider. The report then circulates at least ten policy days before any hearing, with a second ten-policy-day response period shared with the decision makers and the other party. The college aims to finish within 120 policy days of the formal complaint and must explain delays in writing with reasons.
Hearing and advisor: questioning through counsel
A Title IX Sexual Harassment matter that completes investigation proceeds to a live hearing before a three-member Adjudication Committee drawn from a CUNY-wide panel, with members barred from cases at their home campus. Hearings are closed, may run in person or virtually with simultaneous sight and sound, and should conclude within sixty policy days after the investigation. The hearing notice gives the date, time, location, itemized allegations, and possible penalties at least seven policy days ahead, sent to your address of record and CUNY email. Each side may take one adjournment without giving a reason, and further requests are decided by the chair at least five policy days before the hearing. Procedure detail is at title-ix-disciplinary-hearings.
Advisors conduct all questioning. You may bring any advisor, attorney or not, with five policy days notice of counsel name and contact details for attorney appearances. Parties never question each other directly, and the college must provide an advisor for cross-examination if you have none. The chair rules on relevance before each answer and explains exclusions. The preponderance standard applies, and you may remain silent without an adverse assumption. Advisor selection is at title-ix-advisor.
Sanctions and appeal
A responsibility finding moves the hearing into a penalty phase where the parties and the college may present character evidence, prior CUNY disciplinary records, and impact statements. Student sanctions range from a warning up to suspension or expulsion from CUNY, and a suspension of one term or more, or an expulsion, bars the respondent from every other CUNY unit while it runs. Transcript notation can follow suspension or expulsion findings, with removal available on request after defined periods, so confirm the precise notation language before the hearing closes.
The written determination reaches both parties simultaneously within fifteen policy days after the hearing, or twenty policy days in multi-party cases. Either side may appeal responsibility or penalty for procedural irregularity, new and previously unavailable evidence, conflict or bias, or disproportionate penalty. The Notice of Appeal goes to the University Title IX Director within fifteen policy days after the determination arrives, the full written appeal within fifteen policy days after receiving the hearing recording, the other side gets fifteen policy days to respond, and the Appeal Committee decides within fifteen policy days after that window closes. Appeal mechanics are at title-ix-appeals.
Respondent checklist for Lehman College students
- Match your matter to the right form: Title IX violation form, general conduct form, or the system discrimination portal.
- Confirm in writing whether the charge is Title IX Sexual Harassment or a non-Title IX matter.
- Save the formal complaint, notice of allegations, and every scheduling message together.
- Preserve messages, photos, location history, and receipts, and list witnesses with firsthand knowledge.
- Avoid contact with the other party and obey any No Contact Order exactly as written.
- Choose an advisor before the first interview and give five policy days notice for attorney appearances.
Speak with a Lehman College Title IX lawyer
Lehman cases start in Shuster Hall offices and run on CUNY-wide deadlines, so early form sorting and calendar discipline decide much of the outcome. Contact us to discuss your notice and what comes next.
FAQ
Which Lehman office handles my report?
The Office of Compliance and Diversity handles sexual misconduct compliance, with a dedicated Title IX violation report form for student matters and Human Resources for employee-only matters.
Must there be a formal complaint?
For Title IX discipline, yes. Without one the matter may rest until a formal complaint is submitted.
Can I bring a lawyer?
Any advisor of choice may attend every stage, and only advisors cross-examine at the hearing. Give five policy days notice for counsel, and the college supplies an advisor for cross-examination if you have none.
What must the college prove?
That a violation more likely than not occurred, carrying the burden of proof and evidence gathering itself while you are presumed not responsible.
What sanctions are possible?
From a warning through suspension or expulsion from CUNY, with possible transcript notation and a university-wide attendance bar during longer penalties.
How do appeals work?
Notice of Appeal to the University Title IX Director within fifteen policy days after the determination, then the full appeal within fifteen policy days after receiving the hearing recording.
Sources (checked 2026-09-22)
- CUNY Policy on Sexual Misconduct: formal complaint, investigation, hearing, sanctions, appeal
- CUNY Combating Sexual Misconduct Title IX hub: campus contacts, policy links, resources
- Lehman Office of Compliance and Diversity: Title IX coordination, complaint routes, office location
- Lehman file-a-complaint page: reporting contacts, counseling, public safety, student affairs
- Lehman Community Standards: violation report forms, Title IX form, intervention team
- CUNY Bylaws Article XV: student disciplinary procedures, transcript notation, emergency provisions
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 Lehman College or the City University of New York. Policies change; confirm the current procedure text before acting.
