Under the U.S. Department of Education, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) enforces the federal civil rights law known as Title IX. Title IX, or the Education Amendment of 1972, requires that “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” This policy extends to matters of admission, employment, athletics, and in access to, and participation in, its educational programs, services or activities.

• Sexual misconduct- Discrimination on the basis of sex that takes the form of sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual violence, domestic violence, dating violence, and sex-based stalking.

• Sexual harassment - Conduct on the basis of sex that satisfies one or more of the following:

1. A College employee conditions the provision of aid, benefit, or service of the College on an individual’s participation in unwelcome sexual conduct;
2. Unwelcome conduct that a reasonable person would consider to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the College’s education programs or activities; or
3. “Sexual assault,” “domestic violence,” “dating violence,” or “stalking” as defined in this policy.

• Sexual assault - Covers a wide variety of actions, including:

1. Any anal or vaginal penetration of another against that person’s will or without that person’s consent;
2. Any oral penetration of another by a sexual organ against that person’s will or without that person’s consent;
3. Any insertion of one’s genitals into another’s mouth, anus, or vagina against that person’s will or without that person’s consent;
4. Any attempt to make or the making of physical contact with another for the purpose of sexual gratification, against that person’s will or without that person’s consent; or
5. The use of physical force, coercion, intentional impairment, or threat of harm to commit any of these acts.

• Sexual violence - A form of sexual harassment consisting of acts such as sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual battery, rape, sexual coercion, etc.

• Domestic violence - An act of violence committed against an individual,

1. By a current or former spouse or intimate partner of that individual;
2. By a person with whom the alleged victim shares a child in common;
3. By a person who is cohabitating with or has cohabitated with the alleged victim as a spouse or intimate partner;
4. By a person similarly situated to a spouse under the domestic or family violence law of the jurisdiction in which the act of violence allegedly occurred; or

5. By any other person against the alleged victim, if the relationship is such that the alleged victim is protected from that person’s acts under Pennsylvania law regarding domestic or family violence.

• Dating violence - An act of violence committed by a person who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the alleged victim. Whether such a relationship existed must be determined by taking into consideration the relationship’s length, type, and frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship.

• Gender-based harassment - Unwelcome conduct based on a person’s actual or perceived sex, including slurs, taunts, threats, attacks, or stereotypes. Discrimination against someone who is pregnant, nursing or parenting falls under this category.

All members of the HACC community have the right…

• To a learning and working environment free from gender- or sex-based discrimination
• To report any incident of harassment, stalking, violence or other misconduct to HACC or to the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education
• To request a criminal investigation from local police
• To a prompt and equitable investigation, resolution and prevention of reoccurrence
• To receive support from an advisor during the investigation 
• To information about options, supportive measures the College can take, and the outcome of the investigation
• To respect, privacy and safety for both parties throughout the process
• To not be discouraged in your use of College resources, processes or support
• To report to the Title IX Coordinator if your rights have been violated
• To freedom from retaliation for exercising your rights.

You have these rights regardless of your race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, religion or any other protected class.

View our Title IX Rights and Resources brochure here . 

• An incident has negatively affected your or another’s academics or employment.
• You have concerns about your safety or the safety of your community.
• You need assistance and support, but you do not want to name the individual.
• You want protection to be put in place between you and the individual through a “No Contact Directive.”
• You would like to see the College take action and investigate the behavior of the individual.
• Remember: All members of the HACC community have a responsibility to maintain a safe campus environment. If you witness or learn of something, say something!

Any alleged violations of HACC’s Sexual Misconduct Policy should be reported as soon as possible following the incident. In compliance with requirements of the Office of Civil Rights, the College will take immediate and appropriate steps to eliminate any reported occurrences of sexual misconduct (sexual harassment, sexual assault, etc.), prevent recurrences, and appropriately address potential effects. This often includes the enacting of appropriate supportive measures to protect the complainant(s), respondent(s) and any other involved parties.

The Office of Inclusion and Diversity respects your right to privacy and the courage it can take to share your story or knowledge related to bias, discrimination, or a potential Title IX violation. HACC employees (with the exception of clinical counselors) cannot offer confidentiality when a concern is brought to their attention, due to federal laws and college policy. However, every attempt will be made to keep information private and to only share it with those who need to know in order for the College to take appropriate action.

Any individual may make a good faith report alleging violation of the College’s Sexual
Misconduct Policy. Reports should include as much detail as possible.

Students and employees may report via BIT report, or by directly contacting an appropriate member of the Title IX team. Title IX team contact information is listed under the "Who is Part of HACC's Title IX Team?" tab. Additionally, anyone (student, employee, community member, etc.) may make a report via the "Report a Title IX Concern" button on the Title IX webpage. 

In accordance with law, both electronic forms linked above offer the ability to make anonymous reports. We encourage reporters to include name and contact information, however, so that the College receives the most complete information and can follow up if needed for more information.

Once a report is received, someone will reach out to you privately. HACC's Title IX Coordinator is Dr. Armenta Hinton and she may be reached with questions at aehinton@hacc.edu or 717-780-2312.

1. The College receives a report or Formal Complaint about a possible Title IX violation.
2. The Title IX Coordinator or designee will conduct an initial assessment to gain a basic understanding of the nature and circumstances of the allegation and assess risk to the College community.
   1. The initial assessment may find that the alleged misconduct does not fall within the scope of Title IX; in which case, the matter will be handled according to the appropriate student or employee conduct policy.
3. Supportive measures and an explanation of rights are offered equitably to both the complainant and respondent.
4. If the complainant wishes to move forward with a formal investigation, a written Formal Complaint must be signed and an investigation and initiation of grievance procedures as outlined in the policy will begin. The Title IX Coordinator may also submit a Formal Complaint as deemed appropriate.
   1. As part of the investigation, the complainant, respondent, and any witnesses will be interviews and any additional evidence gathered and brought before a Hearing Board. Both the complainant and respondent will have access to an advisor.
   2. The preponderance of evidence standard (more likely than not) is the standard of evidence used to determine whether a violation of the policy has occurred.
5. If the wishes to move forward with an informal resolution process, both the complainant and respondent must voluntarily consent to informal resolution in writing. An informal resolution can be requested at any time, and the complainant or respondent may withdraw from the informal resolution at any time before its completion.
   1. The informal resolution process may not be utilized for situations involving allegations that a College employee engaged in sexual misconduct toward a student.
6. Both parties will be notified of the outcome in writing. If a violation was found to take place, the director of student conduct will meet with the student(s) or, for employees, the director of employee relations will meet with the employee(s) to discuss sanctions.

To learn more about your rights, or the College’s responsibilities under Title IX, you may contact the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at 1-800-421-3481 or ocr@ed.gov. If you wish to fill out a complaint form online directly through the Office for Civil Rights, you may do so here.

The Title IX coordinator and deputy coordinators have been identified by the College to have primary responsibility for the coordination of the College’s efforts to comply with, and carry out institutional obligations related to Title IX, which aims to prevent discrimination, on the basis of sex, in all operations of the College. This also includes the prevention of retaliation for the purposes of interfering with any aspect of the Title IX sex discrimination at HACC.

Title IX Coordinator
Armenta Hinton, VP for Engagement, Retention and Inclusion and Title IX Coordinator
Ted Lick Administration Building, 112E
aehinton@hacc.edu
cido@hacc.edu  
717-780-2312

Deputy Title IX Coordinator for Students
Dr. Courtney Allen, Director, Community Standards and Student Engagement
Governor George M. Leader Building, York Campus, Room 134F
caallen@hacc.edu
717-780-3279

Deputy Title IX Coordinator for Employees
Olajiwon McCadney, AVP for Diversity Studies and Intercultural Affairs
Clyde E. Blocker Hall, Room 106B
okmccadn@hacc.edu
(717)780-2613 

Deputy Title IX Coordinator for Accessibility, Allied Health and Nursing
Vicki Van Hise, AVP for Holistic Support and Engagement
Lancaster Campus Main Building, Room 332
vlvanhis@hacc.edu
717-358-2972

Investigator and Title IX Liaison
Briana Legerlotz, Coordinator, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging 
bjlegerl@hacc.edu

 

Title IX Representative for Accessibility, Allied Health and Nursing
Deborah Bybee, Coordinator, Student Access Services (SAS)
dabybee@hacc.edu

Title IX Liaison and Appeals Officer
Gina Crance, AVP for Student Engagement and Belonging
gcrance@hacc.edu

Clery Compliance Officer
Tom Long, Supervisor, Security
tvlong@hacc.edu

HACC Services

• Behavioral Intervention Team
• Free 24/7 Counseling Services - Mazzitti & Sullivan EAP Services, Inc.
• Office of Inclusion, Diversity and Belonging (Includes Title IX staff - learn about supportive measures we may be able to offer here.)
• Public Safety and Security Department
• Student Access (formerly Disability) Services

Off-campus

• YWCA Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-654-1211
• Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (pcadv.org)
• Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (pcar.org)
• Local hospitals and urgent care centers
• Local police

Online

• United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Know Your Rights Fact Sheet
• Nine Things to Know About Title IX Video
• Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Website
• What is Sex Discrimination?
• United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Title IX Questions & Answers
• What is Consent? (Tea Consent Video)

In compliance with 34 C.F.R. section 106.45(b)(10)(i)(D) of the 2020 regulations issued by the United States Department of Education for Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act of 1972, HACC has made publicly available the training materials used to train the College’s Title IX personnel regarding Title IX compliance, as well as HACC’s Sexual Misconduct Grievance Procedure. The College will continue to update this website to the extent necessary to comply with Title IX and its regulations.