Title VI

Protecting Your Civil Rights is Good Business!

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects students from race, color and national origin discrimination. It extends to students who experience discrimination, including harassment, based on their actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics or citizenship or residency in a country with a dominant religion or distinct religious identity. Institutions have a responsibility to address discrimination against groups when the discrimination involves:

Race, color or national origin;
Racial, ethnic, or ancestral slurs or stereotypes;
A student’s skin color, physical features, or style of dress that reflects both ethnic and religious traditions; and
Where a student came from or is perceived to have come from, including discrimination based on a student’s foreign accent, a student’s foreign name, including names commonly associated with particular shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics, or a student speaking a foreign language.

Harassing conduct can be verbal or physical and does not need to be directed at a particular individual.

Differentiating between Title VI and Title IX
Title VI and Title IX are both federal civil rights laws that say schools receiving federal money can’t discriminate, but they protect against different kinds of discrimination. Title VI, passed in 1964, bans discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in any program that gets federal funding.

Title IX, passed in 1972, bans discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities that get federal funding, which is why it’s tied to things like equal access to sports, protection from sexual harassment, and fair treatment of pregnant and parenting students.

If this has happened to you or someone you know, you can get support via the BIAS Complaint Form.

How the Bias Committee functions

The SUNY Poly Bias Committee is comprised of offices from across the campus. Including:

Human resources
University Police
Office of DEIB
Student Affairs
Student Involvement

The committee meets regularly to review, explore and discuss referrals and then determines the best course (s) of action to move forward.

BIAS Complaint Form

View SUNY Poly's Nondiscrimination Notice.

Nondiscrimination Notice

What Happens After You Submit a Title VI Bias Complaint

View the official SUNY process used for Title VI complaints:
Title VI Complaint Process (opens in a new tab)

The form goes directly to the Title VI Coordinator who collaborates with the Bias Response Team to assess, refer or investigate the issues/concern/complaint. The Team does an initial review of the report. This normally takes place within two business days.
1. An email confirmation will be sent to the reporting individual, including written notice of available campus resources.
The report is assigned to the appropriate campus officials for investigation or follow up. Based on the details of the report, information may be shared with other offices to address specific concerns, such as campus safety.
The appropriate campus officials may investigate the reported incident. If an investigation takes place, the investigator will contact the reporting party, any witnesses, and any responding parties. Investigations are completed thoroughly and promptly.
If an official that is not the Title VI Coordinator conducts the investigation, the official will report back to the Title VI Coordinator on the status of the report and the outcome of the investigation.
The reporting and responding parties are notified of findings/outcomes.

Title VI Coordinator Responsibilities

Once a discrimination or harassment report is received, the Title VI Coordinator will:

Offer supportive measures to complainants;
Notify students who report conduct that may implicate Title VI of the institution’s policies and procedures;
Ensure there is a process for investigation and resolution of complaints consistent with obligations under both federal and state law;
Notify all students and employees of the institution’s policies and procedures for reporting discrimination and harassment each academic year; and
Deliver annual training to all students and employees to “ensure institutional compliance.”

Contact

If you’ve experienced or witnessed a Title VI incident, we invite you to share your concerns. For additional information or to report an incident, please contact your SUNY Poly Title VI Coordinator or visit SUNY Poly’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging website.