Title IX complaints

The University of Texas System has received your request for information and will respond in a timely manner as required by Section 552.221 of the Texas Government Code. System’s hours of normal operation are from 8:00am to 5:00pm Monday through Friday. If your request was submitted after business hours (after 5 pm but before midnight) it is considered received the next business day.

Good Morning,

The University of Texas System ("UT System") has received your below request for the following information:

any and all records maintained under Title IX of sexual harassment, stalking, misconduct or assault from August 2013 - present. Requested records include but are not limited to: formal or informal complaints, violations, investigations, findings of facts, disciplinary records, disciplinary proceedings, emails, correspondence, meeting notes and documentation, etc.

It is not clear from your request whether you seek records concerning Title IX matters at UT System, it's institutions, or all of the above. Please note UT System and its institutions are separate legal entities and each maintains their own information. To the extent you seek the records of one or more institutions, you will have to submit your request directly to that institution. Please visit Open Records | The University of Texas System (utsystem.edu)<https://www.utsystem.edu/offices/general-counsel/open-records> for instructions as to how and where to submit your request(s).

To the extent you seek information concerning complaints made to or investigations conducted by UT System, we require additional guidance in order to process your request. As written, your request seeks all information related to certain Title IX reports and investigations for the past 10 years. The breadth of this request will require a lengthy manual search of physical records and email accounts of every individual who may have been in a position to make, receive, or investigate Title IX complaints. This search will be costly and time consuming. To make your request less costly and allow for a quicker production of documents, I suggest altering your request in the following ways:

* Shorten your time frame.
* Exclude "informal" complaints. It's not clear what this means or how one would begin a search for such complaints. In the alternative, provide a detailed definition of "informal" complaints.
* Limit your request to formal complaints, outcomes, investigation reports, and records of disciplinary action. Searching for "emails, correspondence, meeting notes and documentation, etc." will require a manual search of the physical records and the email accounts of every individual who may have been in a position to make, receive, or investigate Title IX complaints in the past 10 years. Such a search will account for the bulk of the time and costs associated with your request as written.
* In the alternative, provide a finite list of the types of documents you seek and limit
* With respect to investigation reports, limit your request to the introduction/background and findings portions of the reports. The identifying information of complainants and witnesses are confidential by law and must be redacted prior to production. Redacting such information throughout a report will result in considerably more time and expense than redacting information only from discrete sections.

Using the suggested parameters will result in a more focused search, allow us to more promptly identify the information you seek, and reduce or eliminate the costs associated with this request.

Please note that if you do not respond to this request for clarification in writing within 61 days from the date of this letter, your request will be considered withdrawn. See TEX. GOV'T CODE § 552.222(d)-(e).

Without additional clarification from you, we are unable to process your request further. Upon receipt of your written clarification, we will review any responsive documents for release in light of any applicable exceptions under the Texas Public Information Act. We will respond to your clarification within a timely manner as required by law. See City of Dallas v. Abbott, 304 S.W.3d 380 (Tex. 2010).

Please send your clarification by responding to this email. You may also reply in writing to the address in the signature block below.
Best,

Jennifer Burnett
Assistant General Counsel & Public Information Coordinator
Office of the General Counsel
The University of Texas System
210 West Seventh Street
Austin, Texas 78701
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The University of Texas System has received your request for information and will respond in a timely manner as required by Section 552.221 of the Texas Government Code. System’s hours of normal operation are from 8:00am to 5:00pm Monday through Friday. If your request was submitted after business hours (after 5 pm but before midnight) it is considered received the next business day.

Good Morning,

Thank you for your response to my inquiry. I appreciate your willingness to help us facilitate your request. However, I do require additional information .

They list of terms you've provided indicate that you seek information that involves the Texas legislature in some capacity. Is it accurate to state that you seek formal Title IX complaints made to or investigated by UT System from August 1, 2013, to August 28, 2023, in which a member or employee of the Texas legislature is a complainant or respondent? To the extent any such complaints or investigations exist, is it accurate that you seek those complaints and related outcomes, investigation reports, and records of disciplinary action? If you seek other documents, please provide a finite list of the types of documents you seek.

Please note that if you do not respond to this request for clarification in writing within 61 days from the date of this letter, your request will be considered withdrawn. See TEX. GOV'T CODE § 552.222(d)-(e).

Without additional clarification from you, we are unable to process your request further. Upon receipt of your written clarification, we will review any responsive documents for release in light of any applicable exceptions under the Texas Public Information Act. We will respond to your clarification within a timely manner as required by law. See City of Dallas v. Abbott, 304 S.W.3d 380 (Tex. 2010).

Please send your clarification by responding to this email. You may also reply in writing to the address in the signature block below.
Best,

Jennifer Burnett
Assistant General Counsel & Public Information Coordinator
Office of the General Counsel
The University of Texas System
210 West Seventh Street
Austin, Texas 78701
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Good Morning,

Your request is pending your response to my September 8, 2023 inquiry. That correspondence is attached for your convenience.
Best,

Jennifer Burnett
Assistant General Counsel & Public Information Coordinator
Office of the General Counsel
The University of Texas System
210 West Seventh Street
Austin, Texas 78701
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Good Afternoon,

The University has performed a diligent search and has determined we do not maintain any information responsive to your request.
Best,

Jennifer Burnett
Assistant General Counsel & Public Information Coordinator
Office of the General Counsel
The University of Texas System
210 West Seventh Street
Austin, Texas 78701
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Good Morning,

As you may know from publicly available records, the investigation at issue was conducted by The University of Texas at Austin (“UT Austin”), not The University of Texas System (“UT System”). To the extent UT System maintains any information, it does so in a privileged capacity as legal counsel for UT Austin. Please submit your request directly to UT Austin. For information about how to send your request, please visit: Open Records Request | Legal Affairs (utexas.edu)<https://legal.utexas.edu/open-records-request>.
Best,

Jennifer Burnett
Assistant General Counsel & Public Information Coordinator
Office of the General Counsel
The University of Texas System
210 West Seventh Street
Austin, Texas 78701
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