57. Create and share information about internal civil rights complaint processes
Here’s what state government can do:
- State legislatures should consider providing protections from discrimination beyond those provided under federal law.
- States should establish an agency that provides oversight and enforcement of state civil rights laws.
- State legislatures should require all higher education institutions to have a student complaint process to support compliance with state nondiscrimination law.
- State legislatures and higher education coordinating agencies should require higher education institutions to audit existing student complaint processes regarding student discrimination/harassment based on sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, sex characteristics, and pregnancy), race, color, national origin, ethnicity, or disability on their campuses.
Here’s what institutional leaders can do:
- Higher education institutions should have a complaint process in line with their campus policy prohibiting discrimination.
- Higher education institutions should have a website and hotline dedicated to receiving complaints that is fully accessible to all students and provides the option for students to remain anonymous.
- Higher education institutions should audit existing complaint processes regarding discrimination.
Every student has the right to an education free from discrimination. By establishing and strengthening the student complaint process, higher education institutions can work to ensure that civil rights are protected and upheld for all members of the campus community, regardless of their race, sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, sex characteristics, and pregnancy), disability, or any other protected characteristic. Additionally, higher education institutions should audit their existing complaint processes to better understand or improve:
- How these reports are handled and resolved through the complaint process, including reports of microaggressions or psychological impacts of discrimination/harassment.
- How higher education institutions monitor compliance of individuals found to have violated campus policies on discrimination and harassment, including how violations intersect with faculty senate/tenure systems. The audit should also explore ways to improve student accessibility and navigation of the complaint process, especially considering that many reports of discrimination based on sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, sex characteristics, and pregnancy), race, color, ethnicity, national origin, or disability on their campuses go unreported.