When a Title IX complaint is filed, schools must also offer supportive measures to every Title IX complainant and respondent, and supportive measures often include no contact orders. See 34 C.F.R. § 106.30(a); 34 C.F.R. 106.44(a). Supportive measures are non-punitive individualized services intended to restore and preserve equal access to education and to promote safety.
What is a Title IX No Contact Order?
A Title IX no contact order, or NCO, is an administrative directive issued by a school to ensure that students or employees identified in a Title IX complaint have no direct or indirect contact with one another. Both the complainant and the respondent can request a no contact order. The purpose of a no contact order is to protect both impacted individuals and to prevent unwanted contact.
No contact orders typically prohibit direct contact, as well as telephonic, electronic or third-party communications between the parties involved. No contact orders may also limit access to certain school facilities, activities or events. Sometimes no contact orders modify course schedules, work schedules, and housing assignments. No contact orders can also restrict access to parts of campus except for required academic or work activities.
No contact orders are intended to ensure an educational environment that is safe and conducive to learning. NCOs are often easier to manage at larger universities versus smaller campuses, where students are more likely to have overlapping class schedules and dining and recreation spaces may be more limited.
How Do Title IX No Contact Orders Differ from Protective Orders?
No contact orders are different from protective orders, sometimes called restraining orders. A protective order is a court order, issued by a judge following a petition and, typically, a police report or independent court filing with evidence. It is a civil remedy, not an administrative one, and it exists entirely outside the school’s or university’s Title IX process.
State law determines who can obtain a protective order and on what showing, so the details vary by jurisdiction. In Ohio, for example, civil protective orders for an individual over the age of eighteen fall into one of two categories. A domestic violence civil protection order under R.C. § 3113.31 requires a qualifying relationship between the parties (the respondent must be a family or household member) and a showing of domestic violence or the threat of it. For an individual without that type of qualifying relationship, a civil stalking protection order and civil sexually oriented offense protection order may be available under R.C. § 2903.214. This type of order typically addresses conduct such as menacing by stalking or a sexually oriented offense. This distinction is particularly important for Title IX context because many complainants and respondents don’t live together but still desire a legally binding separation order. Most states offer some version of both types of orders, though the names, standards, and procedures differ. Regardless of category, protective orders follow a court process rather than a school’s administrative one.
Are Title IX No Contact Orders Punitive?
Under Title IX, no contact orders are considered a “supportive measure” and are not intended to be punitive or disciplinary in nature. While no contact orders are not a punitive measure, they sometimes look more like a punishment than a tool to preserve equal access to education. For example, a student athlete may have limited access to school training facilities, and a student’s ability to register for a specific class may be impeded. At times students attempt to take advantage of no contact orders for ulterior motives.
We have seen instances in which students weaponize no contact orders by filing false reports claiming the other student violated the order. A violation of a no contact order is serious beucase it can lead to formal student discipline.
Ultimately, schools walk a very fine line between imposing boundaries that will benefit and support the parties involved and preventing those involved from partaking in and enjoying school or university facilities, activities, and events.
For more information on Title IX no contact orders and their implications, please contact Student & Athlete Defense attorneys Susan Stone (scs@kjk.com; 216.736.7229) or Kristina Supler (kws@kjk.com; 216.736.7217).