How to Make a Report

CalArts is committed to providing safe and supportive spaces to faculty, staff, and students who have been impacted by discrimination, harassment, and/or sexual and relationship violence.  The Institute simultaneously strives to maintain a safe learning and living environment for all students in a manner that is consistent with state and federal laws. 

CalArts provides a variety of accessible ways for community members to report and voice concerns about alleged discrimination, harassment, sexual misconduct and retaliation. Reporting is the best way to make sure an individual receives the resources, support and accommodations available at CalArts and in Valencia more broadly.

All CalArts Employees, except confidential employees, are Responsible Employees and required to report to the Titel IX Coordinator. Making a report means telling a Responsible Employee what happened-in person, by phone in writing or by email or text.

What You Need to Know Before Reporting

It is important for the CalArts community to understand the following considerations when deciding how to proceed. 

You can choose to talk to a CalArts Confidential Resource as you navigate the best way to move forward for yourself including deciding whether you want to make a report. You have several confidential options at CalArts. 
 
Confidential Student Resource Advocate

CalArts has designated an employee as a Confidential Student Advocate. This means that they do not notify a Title IX Resource Coordinator when someone discloses, except where required by law.

CalArts Confidential Student Resource Advocate
Dr. Liz Peisner, AVP Health and Wellness
epeisner@calarts.edu<br>661.713.5325- Available 24/7

CalArts Licenced Counselors

Information disclosed to these resources is privileged and, absent special circumstances, generally may not be disclosed without your consent:

Licensed mental health clinicians providing diagnosis or treatment
Licensed medical professionals in the service of their license.

Click here for CalArts counseling options. 

California Institute of the Arts has partnered with REES (Respect, Educate, Empower Survivors)
to provide online reporting for sexual violence on campus.

REES allows members of our campus community to Create a Record of the incident and choose from multiple reporting options: Anonymous Report, Connect to My Campus, Report to Title IX, or Repeat PerpetratorIdentification (RPI).

REES can be accessed online anywhere, anytime. Go to https://reescommunity.com/campus
and select CalArts from the drop-down list.

REES provides information about campus and community-based resources
such as sexual assault centers, healthcare, and support services. Click here for additional information about REES

Privacy refers to the discretion that will be exercised by the Institute in the course of any investigation or disciplinary processes under this policy. Information related to a report of prohibited conduct will be shared with a limited number of employees who need to know in order to assist in the assessment, investigation, and resolution of the report and related issues. These employees receive training in how to safeguard private information and how to address the conduct. Information may be disclosed to participants in an investigation as necessary to facilitate the thoroughness and integrity of the investigation. In all such proceedings, the Institute will take into consideration the privacy of the parties to the extent reasonably possible. 

Private Title IX Coordinator

Information disclosed to these resources is shared only on a need-to-know basis and the Institute works to maintain the privacy of those involved:

  • Title IX Coordinator
  • Deputy Title IX Coordinator
  • Institute Diversity Officer
Responsible Employees-- Required Reporting

All CalArts employees (faculty, staff, administrators, and student employees identified as CSA'a) are Responsible Employees and are required to report any gender- or sex-based discrimination or harassment and discriminatory harassment based on a federally protected class (this is inclusive of all alleged incidents of sexual violence) to the Title IX Coordinator. The only exceptions to this requirement are those individuals who are designated as privileged and confidential resources.

Amnesty for Alcohol, Drug, Medication Use, or other Student Code of Conduct Violations

CalArts seeks to remove any barriers to reporting. The Institute will generally offer any student, whether the complainant or a third party, who reports allegations of discrimination, harassment, and/or sexual misconduct–or who serves as a witness in the investigation of such allegations–limited immunity from being charged for policy violations related to the personal ingestion of alcohol and/or other drugs (including medications), or other policy violations, provided that any such violation(s) were not egregious and did not, and do not, place the health and safety of any person at risk. The Institute may, however, choose to pursue educational interventions for those individuals, when deemed appropriate.

Retaliation against any individual for seeking assistance or bringing a discrimination, harassment, and/or sexual misconduct complaint through the processes described in this policy is strictly prohibited. Similarly, any person who participates or cooperates in any manner in an investigation or any other aspect of the process described herein shall not be retaliated against. The Institute recognizes that retaliation can take many forms (e.g., continued abuse or violence, public shaming and other forms of harassment, and slander or libel), may be committed by or against an individual or a group, and that the respondent or a third party may also be the subject of retaliation by other individuals, including the complainant. 

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (sometimes referred to as the Buckley Amendment), is a federal law that protects the privacy of education records of all students enrolled in schools beyond the high school level. Schools are required to maintain that privacy, primarily by restricting release of records and the access provided to those records. Under FERPA, education records are defined as records that are directly related to a student and are maintained by an education agency or institution or by a party acting for the agency or institution. The information may be recorded in any way, including, but not limited to, handwriting, print, computer media, videotape, audiotape, film, microfilm, microfiche, and e-mail.

Students may grant the Title IX Coordinator permission to release information about their records to a third party (including parents, step-parents, etc.) by completing the FERPA Authorization form. Please notice, you must complete a separate entry for each parent, family member, or other individual to whom you wish to grant access to information regarding your case.