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Title IX coordinator outlines grievance flow and roadshow; district launches Online Safety Hub for parents
Summary
Maria Fletcher, the district's Title IX coordinator, reviewed the grievance flowchart, grade-band patterns in reports and a recent safety roadshow targeting grades 3 and 6. Separately the district unveiled an Online Safety Hub for parents with app reviews, mental-health resources and social-media guidance.
Maria Fletcher, Litchfield Elementary School District's Title IX coordinator, presented the district's Title IX grievance process and recent prevention outreach at the Jan. 14 meeting and described how parents and staff should report incidents that may meet the Title IX threshold.
Fletcher outlined the district's process: when a staff member receives notice of possible sexual harassment or discrimination, investigation is paused while parents are notified and given options. Fletcher said parents of the alleged complainant decide whether to file a Title IX grievance; if they do, an external investigator is assigned, whose findings then go to a separate decision-maker to determine discipline and whether a Title IX label is added to a student record. Fletcher emphasized that supportive measures remain available to students regardless of the path chosen.
Fletcher reviewed incident patterns by grade band from the prior school year and said the most common reports were physical or verbal incidents; she noted that kindergarten-through-second grade incidents often involve inappropriate touching or curiosity-driven behavior, while middle-school incidents can involve exposure or more severe incidents. Fletcher said the district conducted a safety "roadshow" on Jan. 10 for third- and sixth-grade students (presented with Touchstone Behavioral Services and the Goodyear Police Department) that covered consent, personal space and the consequences for threats or harassment.
On communications and parent resources, the district's communications staff demonstrated the new Online Safety Hub available on the LESD website. The hub, curated by the district's website vendor, includes app reviews (for example, Roblox), mental-health articles, bullying support tools and guidance for parents on social media and gaming features. District staff said ParentSquare was used to notify parents about the hub and asked the board to help amplify the link in school newsletters and other communications.
Why it matters: The Title IX flowchart clarifies options for families and ensures investigations are handled by external investigators when required; the Online Safety Hub gives parents point-and-click resources for fast guidance about apps and online risks. Both efforts are positioned as preventive: clearer reporting procedures and age-appropriate education aim to reduce incidents or help students get timely help.
What comes next: Fletcher said she will continue to collect and report Title IX data with finer categories (e.g., bus incidents, social-media incidents) and the district will review survey results from the safety roadshow pilot to plan future sessions. Communications staff will run repeated outreach to make parents aware of the Online Safety Hub.
