Philadelphia Title IX Lawyer: A Guide for Accused Students in Philadelphia

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A student who searches for a Philadelphia Title IX lawyer usually wants to know what happens after a campus complaint names them as the respondent. This page is for students accused in a Title IX or sexual misconduct case at a college in the Philadelphia metro area. This site publishes respondent guides for students at colleges across the metro area, and Pennsylvania state law adds rules on top of each school’s own policy. Your own notice, and the policy version named in it, control your actual deadlines.

Colleges in the Philadelphia area with a guide on this site

Only schools with a university guide that is already live or scheduled are listed here. Each school’s campus city below comes from the school’s own website. The primary rules and procedures referenced in this guide are published in Rowan Title IX Sexual Harassment/Sexual Assault Policy (Rowan University Policies) and Rowan Student Sexual Misconduct and Harassment Policy (Rowan University Policies).

| College | Governing document | Guide on this site |
|—|—|—|
| Temple University | Preventing and Addressing Sexual Misconduct, Policy 04.82.02, with hearing steps supplemented by the Student Conduct Code, Policy 03.70.12 | Temple Title IX lawyer guide |
| West Chester University of Pennsylvania | 2025-26 Sexual Misconduct Policy, version 2.3.26 | West Chester Title IX lawyer guide |
| Rowan University | Title IX Sexual Harassment/Sexual Assault Policy, plus the Student Sexual Misconduct and Harassment Policy for conduct outside Title IX | Rowan Title IX lawyer guide |
| University of Delaware | Non-Discrimination, Sexual Misconduct, and Title IX Policy, under Appendix B or Appendix C | University of Delaware Title IX lawyer guide |

Temple’s own homepage describes Temple as Philadelphia’s public R1 university, and its sexual misconduct policy is issued through the university secretary’s policy library. West Chester University’s contact page gives its address in West Chester, PA 19383, in Chester County. Rowan University’s contact page gives its address as Glassboro, New Jersey 08028, in Gloucester County, across the Delaware River from Philadelphia. The University of Delaware’s civil rights office page gives its office address as 305 Hullihen Hall, Newark, DE 19716, in New Castle County, within the Philadelphia area.

Rowan runs two university-wide sexual misconduct policies through its Office of Student Equity and Compliance. The Title IX policy covers conduct on the basis of sex within Rowan’s education program or activity, and the Student Sexual Misconduct and Harassment Policy covers student respondents outside that scope. Both were last revised February 3, 2026. Delaware’s policy routes a student case under Appendix C when the allegation meets the covered Title IX tests, and under Appendix B when it does not, and a dismissal under Appendix C can leave an Appendix B route open for the same conduct.

Pennsylvania law that applies to Philadelphia campus cases

Two Pennsylvania statutes add requirements on top of each school’s own policy. Both apply to postsecondary institutions in the Commonwealth, including the Philadelphia-area schools listed above. Each quote below is from the official session-law text on the Pennsylvania General Assembly website.

Pennsylvania has no single statewide definition of consent for campus cases. Instead, the statute requires each school to adopt its own, as quoted below. This section says nothing about respondent rights or transcript notations, because these statutes create none of those kinds.

Required sexual misconduct policy

Article XX-J of the Public School Code of 1949, added by Act 16 of 2019, requires every covered institution to adopt a policy. Section 2001-J defines the schools covered: "Postsecondary institution." means "An institution located within this Commonwealth that is authorized to grant an associate or higher academic degree." Section 2002-J then states: "A postsecondary institution shall adopt a clear, understandable written policy on sexual harassment and sexual violence that informs victims of their rights under Federal and State law, including the crime victims bill of rights." The Department of Education publishes a model policy that a school may adopt as its own.

Amnesty for good faith reports

Section 2002-J requires an amnesty provision in that policy. It states: "The sexual harassment and sexual violence policy under subsection (a) shall include a provision that a witness or victim of an incident of sexual harassment or sexual violence who reports the incident in good faith will not be sanctioned by the institution for admitting in the report to a violation of the institution’s student conduct policy on the personal use of drugs or alcohol." If you reported what happened to you, or you witnessed something and reported it in good faith, the school cannot use your own admission of personal drug or alcohol use in that report to sanction you under its conduct policy.

Anonymous online reporting

Section 2003-J requires each school to run an online system for complaints from students and employees, and the system must allow anonymous reports. It states: "A postsecondary institution shall establish and maintain an online reporting system to receive complaints of sexual harassment and sexual violence from students and employees. A report shall be investigated through the process established in the postsecondary institution’s sexual harassment and sexual violence policy. A postsecondary institution may not fail or refuse to investigate an anonymous report because it is anonymous." The same section adds: "The online reporting system shall permit anonymous reports, which shall be investigated in accordance with subsection (a)." A complaint against you may therefore begin as an anonymous online report, and the school must still run it through the process in its policy. The system must also tell reporters who will receive and have access to their reports, how the information will be used, and where to find on-campus and off-campus victim services, and it must limit access to the collected data to authorized individuals through role-based access.

Each school must define consent

Article XX-G of the Public School Code, expanded by Act 55 of 2022, requires each college to define consent in its own rules. Section 2003.1-G states: "Each institution of higher education and private licensed school shall adopt a definition of consent as part of the institution’s or school’s code of conduct or sexual misconduct or harassment policy." Because the definition lives in your school’s policy rather than in a statewide text, check the version named in your notice for the exact definition that applies to your case.

Prevention education and victim information

Section 2003-G requires each school to establish an education program for all students, developed or implemented in consultation with a local rape crisis center and domestic violence program. The program must cover sexual violence, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking, consent, drug and alcohol facilitated violence, risk education, where and how to get assistance, and the confidential resources available. Schools must also publish a concise written notification of rights, accommodations and protective measures on a publicly accessible website, covering counseling, health care, victim advocacy, legal assistance, reporting options, protection orders, crime victims compensation, and academic, living, transportation and working changes.

Accommodations regardless of police reporting

Section 2003-G requires schools to provide accommodations or protective measures as necessary and reasonably available at the victim’s request. It states: "An institution and a school shall make accommodations or provide protective measures, as necessary and reasonably available, at the victim’s request, regardless of whether the victim chooses to report the crime to campus police or local law enforcement and regardless of where an incidence occurred." A campus case can therefore move forward with schedule, housing or no-contact changes even when no police report has been filed.

Partnerships with rape crisis and domestic violence programs

Section 2007-G requires each school to enter into or update at the next renewal and maintain a memorandum of understanding with at least one rape crisis center and one domestic violence program. The partnerships cover policy development, an off-campus option for free and confidential services including counseling, help with reporting options, legal assistance, protection orders, crime victims compensation and forensic exams, notice of those services on and off campus, cross-training on each side’s procedures, and the education program described above.

What to check first in your case

Three things decide everything else: the notice, the deadline printed in it, and the policy version it names. Read the notice the day it arrives, note the exact date each response is due, and keep every email header and portal message that shows when each item was sent. Clocks in these cases can run from the date the school sent an item, not the date it was opened.

For Rowan cases, the reviewed Rowan guide copies these clocks exactly from the two Rowan policies, and each belongs to the trigger stated with it:

  • Evidence review. The Title IX policy states: "Each party may respond to the investigator in writing, within ten (10) calendar days of receipt of the evidence." The trigger is receipt of the gathered evidence.
  • Investigation report response. The policy states: "The parties may choose to provide a written response to the Investigation Report, which must be submitted to the investigator within ten (10) calendar days of receipt." The trigger is receipt of the final Investigation Report, and each side then receives the other’s response.
  • Hearing scheduling. The policy states: "A Hearing should be scheduled by the Office of Community Standards no later than thirty (30) calendar days after receipt of the final Investigation Report." The trigger is receipt of the final report, and witness requests go to the Assistant Dean of Students or designee at least seven (7) calendar days before the hearing.
  • Written determination. The policy states: "Within fourteen (14) calendar days following the Hearing, the decision-maker(s) will issue a written determination regarding responsibility, and Disciplinary Sanctions and/or Remedies (if applicable)."
  • Appeal of a dismissal or a responsibility determination. The policy states: "An appeal must be in writing, and filed within seven (7) calendar days of the date of the letter informing the parties of the dismissal decision; or the determination regarding responsibility, including any imposition of Disciplinary Sanctions, if applicable." The trigger is the date of the letter, and sanctions are deferred during the appeal.
  • Cross-examination at a Title IX hearing is done only through advisors, and it must be live. The policy states: "must be done directly, orally and in real time." If you have no advisor, the University provides one for the hearing under the Title IX policy.
  • Interim suspension under the Student Code of Conduct takes effect immediately, and a student who wants to return must act fast. The Code states that "the student is required to make an appointment to meet with a designated administrator within five (5) business days from the effective date of suspension." The trigger is the effective date of the suspension.

For University of Delaware cases, the reviewed Delaware guide copies these clocks exactly from the September 2026 full policy, and each belongs to the trigger stated with it. Under that policy, the word Days means business days when university offices are open. The policy states: "This does not include weekends, holidays or inclement weather days when University offices are closed."

  • Draft report response. The policy states: "each party has the opportunity to provide a written response no later than 10 days after receiving the draft investigative report." The trigger is receiving the draft report.
  • Final report and hearing preparation. The policy states: "The final Investigative Report shall be provided to the parties at least 10 days prior to the hearing via a protected, read-only server and the parties have the opportunity to provide a written response at least 3 days before the hearing." The report lead time runs forward from sending, while your response runs backward from the hearing date.
  • Hearing scheduling. The policy states: "The hearing shall be scheduled no less than ten (10) days from the date of the Notice of Hearing." The trigger is the date of the Notice of Hearing.
  • Appeal of a merits or sanction outcome. The policy states that a complainant or respondent "may appeal the decision and/or sanctions by submitting an appeal request to the Director in writing within 5 days of the date on which the finding of not responsible or the sanctioning decision was sent." The trigger is the date the decision was sent, and the dismissal provisions do not clearly state the same trigger, so a dismissal appeal needs written clarification from the civil rights office at once.
  • Advisor roles depend on the appendix. At Appendix C hearings, "the Advisor is permitted to ask relevant questions of the other party and witnesses, but may not otherwise address the Hearing Officer, other party, or witnesses." Under Appendix B, questions go through the hearing officer instead, so confirm which appendix your notice names before preparing.

For Temple and West Chester cases, use the deadline in your own notice and the school guide linked above, and confirm the governing version with the Title IX office in writing before you act. Do not borrow a deadline from another school’s policy.

One rule holds across these cases. You are presumed not responsible until the process ends in a finding, and the decision standard is whether a violation more likely than not occurred. The Rowan policy applies a preponderance of the evidence standard, meaning "more likely than not" that a violation occurred, and Delaware’s policy likewise requires that "it is more likely than not, based on all the relevant evidence" that the respondent violated the policy before any finding of responsibility.

Campus cases and criminal cases

A campus disciplinary case and a criminal case are separate proceedings with separate decision makers and separate standards, even when they arise from the same incident. The school will not necessarily wait for police or prosecutors, and a criminal outcome does not dictate the campus result.

Pennsylvania law keeps the two systems distinct while connecting them on the victim’s terms. The notification each school must publish covers how to report to campus authorities and to local law enforcement, and accommodations are available whether or not a police report is filed. Because statements given to campus investigators can reach criminal investigators, and because a school case can move while a criminal matter is still open, get legal advice before giving a written or recorded account to anyone.

More guides for Pennsylvania schools: Pennsylvania Title IX lawyer guides

See all states: Title IX lawyers by state

Legal Review: Reviewed by Attorney T. Matthews, Esquire

Disclaimer

This page is general educational information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by any college named on this page. Policies and statutes change, so confirm every deadline against your own notice and the currently posted documents, and with the school’s Title IX office.

Sources

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