Section 132R-04-130. Student disciplinary committee process.

(1) Student disciplinary committee process.

(a) The committee chair shall serve all parties with written notice of the hearing not less than seven days in advance of the hearing date, as further specified in RCW 34.05.434 and WAC 10-08-040 and 10-08-045. To the extent there is a conflict between these rules and chapter 10-08 WAC, these rules shall control. The chair may shorten this notice period if both parties agree, and also may continue the hearing to a later time for good cause.

(b) The committee chair is authorized to conduct prehearing conferences and/or to make prehearing decisions concerning the extent and forms of any discovery, issuance of protective orders, and similar procedural matters.

(c) Upon request filed at least five days before the hearing by either party or at the direction of the committee chair, the parties shall exchange, no later than the third day prior to the hearing, lists of potential witnesses and copies of potential exhibits that they reasonably expect to present in their respective cases. Failure to participate in good faith in such a requested exchange may be cause for exclusion from the hearing of any witness or exhibit not disclosed, unless the party can show good cause for such failure.

(d) The committee chair may provide to the committee members in advance of the hearing copies of (i) the conduct officer's notification of imposition of discipline (or referral to the committee) and (ii) the notice of appeal (or any response to referral) by the respondent. If doing so, however, the chair should remind the members that these "pleadings" are not evidence of any facts they may allege.

(e) The parties may agree before the hearing to designate specific exhibits as admissible without objection and, if they do so, whether the committee chair may provide copies of these admissible exhibits to the committee members before the hearing.

(f) The vice-president of instruction and student services (or designee) shall provide reasonable assistance to the respondent, upon request, in obtaining relevant and admissible evidence that is within the college's control.

(g) Communications between committee members and other hearing participants regarding any issue in the proceeding, other than procedural communications that are necessary to maintain an orderly process, are generally prohibited without notice and opportunity for all parties to participate; any improper "ex parte" communication shall be placed on the record, as further provided in RCW 34.05.455.

(h) Each party may be accompanied at the hearing by a nonattorney assistant of his or her choice. A respondent may elect to be represented by an attorney at his or her own cost, but will be deemed to have waived that right unless, at least four business days before the hearing, written notice of the attorney's identity and participation is filed with the committee chair with a copy to the student conduct officer. The committee will ordinarily be advised by an assistant attorney general. If the respondent is represented by an attorney, the student conduct officer may also be represented by a second, appropriately screened assistant attorney general.

(2) Student disciplinary committee hearings - Presentation of evidence.

(a) Upon the failure of any party to attend or participate in a hearing, the committee may either (i) proceed with the hearing and issuance of its order or (ii) serve an order of default in accordance with RCW 34.05.440.

(b) The hearing will ordinarily be closed to the public. However, if all parties agree on the record that some or all of the proceedings should be open, the chair shall determine any extent to which the hearing will be open. If any person disrupts the proceedings, the chair may exclude that person from the hearing room.

(c) The chair shall cause the hearing to be recorded by a method that he or she selects, in accordance with RCW 34.05.449. That recording, or a copy, shall be made available to the respondent upon request. The chair shall assure maintenance of the record of the proceeding that is required by RCW 34.05.476, which shall also be available upon request for inspection and copying by the respondent. Other recording shall also be permitted, in accordance with WAC 10-08-190.

(d) The chair shall preside at the hearing and decide procedural questions that arise during the hearing, except as overridden by majority vote of the committee.

(e) The vice-president of instruction and student services or a designee (unless represented by an assistant attorney general) shall present the case for disciplinary action. The facts justifying any such action must be established by a preponderance of the evidence.

(f) All testimony shall be given under oath or affirmation. Evidence shall be admitted or excluded in accordance with RCW 34.05.452.

(3) Supplemental sexual misconduct procedures. Both the respondent and the complainant in cases involving allegations of sexual misconduct shall be provided the same procedural rights to participate in student discipline matters, including the right to participate in the initial discipline action and to appeal the student conduct officer's disciplinary order.

Application of the following procedures is limited to student conduct code proceedings involving allegations of sexual misconduct. In such cases, these procedures shall supplement the student disciplinary procedures. In the event of conflict between the sexual misconduct procedures and the student disciplinary procedures, the sexual misconduct procedures shall prevail.

(4) Supplemental definitions. For purposes of student conduct code proceedings involving sexual misconduct, the following definitions apply:

(a) The "complainant" is the alleged victim of sexual misconduct. Complainant also refers to the college when the college files the complaint.

(b) "Sexual misconduct" is a sexual or gender-based violation of the student conduct code including, but not limited to:

(i) Sexual activity for which clear and voluntary consent has not been given in advance;

(ii) Sexual activity with someone who is incapable of giving valid consent because, for example, she or he is underage, sleeping or otherwise incapacitated due to alcohol or drugs;

(iii) Sexual harassment;

(iv) Sexual violence which includes, but is not limited to, sexual assault, domestic violence, intimate violence, and sexual- or gender-based stalking;

(v) Nonphysical conduct such as sexual- or gender-based digital media stalking, sexual- or gender-based online harassment, sexual- or gender-based cyberbullying, nonconsensual recording of a sexual activity, and nonconsensual distribution of a recording of a sexual activity.

(5) Supplemental complaint process. The following supplemental procedures shall apply with respect to complaints or other reports of alleged sexual misconduct by a student.

(a) The college's Title IX compliance officer shall investigate complaints or other reports of alleged sexual misconduct by a student. Investigations will be completed in a timely manner and the results of the investigation shall be referred to the student conduct officer for disciplinary action.

(b) Informal dispute resolution shall not be used to resolve sexual misconduct complaints without written permission from both the complainant and the respondent. If the parties elect to mediate a dispute, either party shall be free to discontinue mediation at any time. In no event shall mediation be used to resolve complaints involving allegations of sexual violence.

(c) College personnel will honor requests to keep sexual misconduct complaints confidential to the extent this can be done without unreasonably risking the health, safety and welfare of the complainant or other members of the college community or compromising the college's duty to investigate and process sexual harassment and sexual violence complaints.

(d) The student conduct officer, prior to initiating disciplinary action, will make a reasonable effort to contact the complainant to discuss the results of the investigation and possible disciplinary sanctions and/or conditions (if any) that may be imposed upon the respondent if the allegations of sexual misconduct are found to have merit.

(e) The student conduct officer, on the same date that a disciplinary decision is served on the respondent, will serve a written notice informing the complainant whether the allegations of sexual misconduct were found to have merit and describing any disciplinary sanctions and/or conditions imposed upon the respondent for the complainant's protection, including disciplinary suspension or dismissal of the respondent. The notice will also inform the complainant of his or her appeal rights. If protective sanctions and/or conditions are imposed, the student conduct officer shall make a reasonable effort to contact the complainant to ensure prompt notice of the protective disciplinary sanctions and/or conditions.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 28B.50.140. WSR 16-15-011, § 132R-04-130, filed 7/8/16, effective 8/8/16. Statutory Authority: RCW 28B.50.140 and chapter 34.05 RCW. WSR 03-15-063, § 132R-04-130, filed 7/14/03, effective 8/14/03; Order 69-4, § 132R-04-130, filed 12/5/69.]

RCW 28B.50.140. WSR 16-15-011, § 132R-04-130, filed 7/8/16, effective 8/8/16. Statutory Authority: RCW 28B.50.140 and chapter 34.05 RCW. WSR 03-15-063, § 132R-04-130, filed 7/14/03, effective 8/14/03; Order 69-4, § 132R-04-130, filed 12/5/69.

Rules

10-08-040,10-08-045,10-08,10-08-190,