The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced on June 28 that a male professor at the Takoma/Silver Spring campus of Montgomery College was terminated as part of the resolution of a sexual harassment investigation.
"The shameful underlying facts in this investigation – of a college professor subjecting his entire class to sexual harassment as a condition of instruction – are galling and categorically unacceptable under Title IX," said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon.
"I am deeply grateful to Montgomery College for swiftly responding with a thorough investigation and action to address the effects of the hostile environment created by the professor on the students in his class, and I appreciate the additional commitment Montgomery College made to fulfill its remaining obligation under Title IX to ensure that the discriminatory effects end for all its students," said Lhamon.
The investigation revealed that the professor had required students to remove their shirts and wear only their bras, "and then commenting on their bodies – ostensibly to demonstrate a medical assessment, despite the fact that the assessment did not require the clothing removal, or the bodily commentary," the release said.
The OCR investigation determined that Montgomery College had complied with the applicable requirements of Title IX by promptly and fairly investigating the harassment allegations against the professor. The college took appropriate steps to address the issue, including placing the accused professor on paid administrative leave and notifying him of the allegations, the release said.
Upon receiving reports of the harassment, Montgomery College's Title IX Coordinator promptly informed all students in the professor's class about the investigation and offered support in reporting the incident to the police, the release said. The college conducted interviews with students from the affected class and students from another section of the course, the department chair, and other witnesses, the release said. About three months after the initial report, the investigation confirmed that the professor's conduct had indeed created a hostile environment based on sex, the release said.
Montgomery College fired the professor and provided written notice of the investigation's outcome to the student who initially reported the harassment and offered support services, including counseling and academic assistance, to affected students, the release said. Also, several students in the class received tuition reimbursement, the release said.
Despite these measures to address the issue, OCR said it identified a Title IX compliance concern. Montgomery College failed to notify all affected students about the conclusion of the investigation, including the confirmation of a hostile environment and the steps taken to mitigate it. This lack of notification raised concerns about the potential persistence of a hostile environment for the affected students, the release said.
To address this concern, the agreement between Montgomery College and OCR requires that the college provide written notification to all students in the professor's class regarding the completion of the investigation. Also, the college is required to share the results of its 2022 Title IX climate survey with OCR and provide a narrative summary of the steps taken in response to any concerns raised by the survey. This information will allow OCR to assess whether further actions are necessary to ensure that students at Montgomery College can access education free from discrimination, the release said.
