Schools
Boulder Valley School District's First-Ever Title IX Coordinator Aims To Ensure Every Student Feels Safe
"I'm listening to where the work needs to be done," Francis said.
December 9, 2021
While Boulder Valley School District’s new Title IX Coordinator has a tremendous amount of experience when it comes to the law and what the law has to say about discrimination – Elizabeth Francis is starting her role by sitting down and listening to students.
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“I’m listening to where the work needs to be done,” Francis said. “Students are identifying their needs and what needs to be done. They are often sharing what we [as adults] don’t see.”
It is part of the reason why one of the top priorities of the former Caplan & Earnest lawyer, who worked with school districts on a variety of employment litigation, including Title IX cases, was to stand up the Title IX Advisory Council and at least initially focusing its efforts on hearing from students across the district.
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What is Title IX? Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 protects people from discrimination based on sex in education
“The council will be an important element to the work that I am doing,” Francis said. “It will provide a lot of information about what our next steps should be.”
Francis is joining the district as students, staff and the community members continue to work through the aftermath of high profile criminal investigations into alleged off-campus sexual assaults and a series of Title IX complaints.
As she establishes this new role, Francis says her goal is pure and simple.
“My hope for the work is that students feel supported at school, teachers and administrators feel like they’re supporting students, and that conversations around what that means happen with a growth mindset .”
She says that BVSD has taken the first steps on a long road, by acknowledging that there is an issue.
“School districts should talk about it, name it, identify it, give it power and give it a space.” Francis said. “It is a partnership. There has to be a partnership between the students and the school, so that the school knows what students need and the students feel supported.”
A big part of her role is serving as BVSD’s Title IX Compliance Officer, which means that she is responsible for guiding educators through the process of investigating reports of sex-based harassment and discrimination, as well as educating everyone about Title IX, including statutory limitations it imposes on schools and the school district’s purview in this area.
“I think education is so important. When teachers or administrators call in, I use those one-on-one conversations as an opportunity for one-on-one training,” Francis said. “I know that I do my best when I have all of the information that I need to communicate effectively or to make informed decisions. Having someone who can provide that pool of information or provide those resources helps teachers and administrators do their jobs better, without feeling like they need to be focusing on issues that fall outside of their wheelhouse.”
While there is plenty more that the district can do in terms of educating students, staff and the community on this important topic, Francis also hopes to bring attention to resources already provided by the district.
“I want to make sure that everyone knows about all of the information made available to the community by the district,” Francis said. “There are so many resources that many people don’t know about.”
The district has created the Help for Students section, which is available at the top of every BVSD website, as well as a Sexual Violence and Harassment Prevention page. Both provide access to support hotlines and the form to report an incident.
“It is crucial that everyone knows what their Title IX rights are. That everyone knows what the process is. I want everyone to know my name and how to reach me,” Francis said.
Here is her contact information:
Elizabeth Francis
Equity Counsel/Title IX Coordinator
Boulder Valley School District
6500 Arapahoe Rd.
Boulder, CO 80301
720.561.8091
Returning to BVSD
Francis is a BVSD alum. After moving to Louisville when she was nine years old, she went to Coal Creek Elementary, Louisville Middle and graduated from Fairview High School.
“[Former Louisville Middle School Principal] Ginny Vidulich was my eighth grade English teacher,” Francis remembers fondly. “I grew up dancing with [Columbine Principal] Bianca Gallegos and I have a really strong, meaningful relationship with the district, personally.”
After living for a while in Chicago, she says there was no question that she wanted to return to Boulder Valley to raise her two children.
“After I had my son, it became really clear that not only did I want to come home to Colorado, but that I wanted to live in the BVSD school district,” explained Francis. “I wanted my children to feel like they could be themselves for as long as possible.”
“When we moved here [when she was nine], I was surrounded by kids with a more expansive understanding of the significance of authentic life choices. I really saw how it impacted us after graduation from high school,” Francis said. “Like so many kids that I grew up with, I felt like I could do anything. We had so much support from our community, so much emotional abundance, and we were encouraged to look at life differently.”
Her goal in returning to BVSD is to ensure that the inclusive, welcoming and safe image of the district is something that everyone experiences here in Boulder Valley.
“I have a really strong, meaningful relationship with the district,” Francis said. “I see the district as innovative, caring, and inclusive. I know that is not always how other people feel, but, moving forward, I am committed to working towards a safe and inclusive place for every student and staff member.”
This press release was produced by the Boulder Valley School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.