Free Speech, Civil Rights, and Hostile Environment/Harassment: Navigating Title VI, Title VII, and Title IX Investigations on Campus

Please note: This training can be found on our Benchmark Learning Management System. To register, create your account or log in here, then either search for your desired training under “Available Training” or return to this page and click "Register" below to be taken directly to the event page. For more information or help, please refer to this page. 

Course Description:

The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) is pleased to announce that it will host "Free Speech, Civil Rights, and Hostile Environments/Harassment: Navigating Title VI, Title VII, and Title IX Investigations on Campus" training. This 3-day intensive course will be presented by Professor of Law and practicing attorney Peter Lake, an expert on Title IX and a well-known scholar in higher education law and policy.

College and university administrators face increasing challenges at the intersection of free expression and civil rights enforcement. Title VI, Title VII, and Title IX complaints often involve speech, protest, classroom discourse, social media, and interpersonal expression—raising difficult questions about when protected speech crosses the line into actionable hostile environment/harassment; and when institutional response is required. Compliance is further complicated by unresolved legal issues, including the use of bias response teams on campus.

This intensive three-day training provides Title IX coordinators, civil rights compliance staff, student conduct professionals, campus leaders, and others with a practical, operational compliance-grounded framework for evaluating complaints involving speech. Participants will explore the hostile environment/harassment standards under Title VI, Title VII, and Title IX, understand how First Amendment/free expression principles impact institutional action, and develop investigation strategies that are fair, defensible, and compliant.

Through case-law and regulatory analysis, interactive discussions, and in-depth case studies, participants will leave with clearer decision-making tools and increased confidence in handling complex investigations.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this three-day training, participants will be able to:

1. Explain the legal foundations of free expression rights in higher education, including distinctions between public and private institutions.
2. Define and apply the hostile environment/harassment standards under Title VI, Title VII, and Title IX, including analysis of the impact of severity, pervasiveness, and objective offensiveness—and the presence of protected expression.
3. Distinguish protected expression from actionable harassment, even when speech is offensive, inflammatory, or politically sensitive.
4. Assess institutional and employee obligations to respond to reports involving speech, protest, classroom content, or online expression that implicates institutional compliance obligations.
5. Conduct sound investigations that respect due process, free expression rights, and academic freedom.
6. Analyze real-world case studies to identify compliance risk, investigative pitfalls, and promising practices.
7.  Develop and then utilize enhanced skills in drafting investigation findings and rationales that explain decisions involving free expression and civil rights compliance considerations in the context of institutional policies.

Who Should Attend?

This three-day intensive training class is designed for Title IX coordinators, deputy Title IX coordinators, Title IX investigators, Title IX decision-makers, civil rights compliance staff, campus conduct administrators, residence life administrators, mediators, and campus police and campus security administrators and officers who have responsibility for conducting, assisting, or overseeing Title IX investigations and compliance on their Virginia college campuses.  

Partial In-service Credit:

Partial In-service Credit (PIC) is available for law enforcement and campus security officers.

Transportation, Lodging, and Meals:

Participants are responsible for their transportation, meals, and lodging arrangements and related expenses.  

Training Time and Details:

Registration begins at 8:30 am.

Training runs from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm each day.

Cost and Registration:

There is no registration fee to attend this training; however, pre-registration is required.

Please note that the DCJS registration system does not have the capacity to sort eligible from ineligible registrants. Therefore, anyone who registers will receive a confirmation. It is the responsibility of the DCJS-assigned course coordinator to review the roster and make a final determination on acceptance into the course. Denied registrants will be notified via the email address provided during registration.