MANDATORY REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

Equal Opportunity & Title IX (EO/TIX) is committed to providing an environment free of sexual misconduct for its students, faculty, and staff. Faculty and staff members who have questions about their Title IX obligations towards their colleagues or students, or concerns about sexualized commentary in the classroom, may contact EO/TIX for assistance at OEOTIX@unt.edu.

With regard to employee obligations, employees (both faculty and staff) have a duty to report sexual misconduct, even if they are confidential employees. University policy defines confidential employees to include licensed professional mental health counselors and health care professionals working in those capacities for the University and the employees they supervise, sexual assault advocates as defined in section 420.071 of the Texas Government Code, and attorneys and employees in the UNT Student Legal Services Office and UNT System Office of General Counsel.  Pursuant to state law, confidential employees are required to report sexual misconduct without revealing names.

UNT employees are required to report sexual misconduct, per the following state legislation and University policies:

  • The Texas Education Code requires all employees of public and private higher education institutions, including those designated as confidential employees, to report sexual misconduct (i.e. dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, sexual coercion, sexual exploitation, sexual harassment, and stalking) against a student or employee to the institution’s Title IX Coordinator. Significantly, the bill requires that an institution terminate the employment of any non-student employee who fails to report sexual misconduct about which they become aware to the University Title IX Coordinator or a Deputy Title IX Coordinator. The law also creates a criminal offense for failure to report an incident or making a false report.
  • Employees are also obligated to report sexual misconduct under UNT Policy 16.005 (Prohibition of Sexual Misconduct, which includes dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, sexual coercion, sexual exploitation, sexual harassment, stalking, failure to report, and retaliation), which states:
    • Employees who, in the course and scope of their authorized duties, witness or receive information regarding the occurrence of an incident that the employee reasonably believes constitutes sexual misconduct and is alleged to have been committed by or against a person who was a student enrolled at or an employee of the institution at the time of the incident shall promptly report the incident to the Title IX Coordinator in Equal Opportunity & Title IX or a deputy Title IX coordinator. The report must include all information concerning the incident known to the reporting person that is relevant to the investigation and, if applicable, redress of the incident, including whether an alleged victim has expressed a desire for confidentiality in reporting the incident. Students and other individuals, including guests of the University, are strongly encouraged to report sexual misconduct to the Title IX Coordinator in Equal Opportunity & Title IX or a deputy Title IX coordinator.

HOW TO REPORT SEXUAL MISCONDUCT & TITLE IX INCIDENTS

Employees may report sexual misconduct by filling out the Sexual Misconduct & Title IX Reporting Form, or by contacting EO/TIX via email (OEOTIX@unt.edu) or phone (940-565-2759). No UNT employee should promise anyone complete confidentiality for disclosures of alleged incidents (Confidential Reporters are not required to provide names or other identifying information, but are still required to submit a report; if you are unsure about whether or not this applies to you please reach out to our office). The University will ensure the privacy of individuals involved in these kinds of situations (by ensuring any documents are secured, and not sharing the information with officials who do not need to know), but you cannot agree that you will not report misconduct to appropriate University officials.

If you need to report an incident that does not involve sexual misconduct please utilize our Equal Opportunity Reporting Form on the File a Complaint section of our website.