Keith Schiebel, Plaintiff-Appellant v. Schoharie Central School District, Kristin Duguay, and David Blanchard, Defendants-Appellees* On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York Plaintiff-Appellant Keith Schiebel appeals the judgment of the district court dismissing his claim under Title IX. Schiebel alleges that Defendant-Appellee Schoharie Central School District discriminated against him on the basis of sex by conducting a Title IX investigation that found that he sexually harassed a student when he reached around her to retrieve supplies from a cabinet. We conclude that Schiebel plausibly alleges that the school district violated Title IX. The complaint states a Title IX claim under either of two theories. First, the allegations indicate that the school district was deliberately indifferent to the truth or falsity of the accusations against Schiebel because its investigation was so deficient as to constitute a sham and its decision was inexplicable. Second, the allegations indicate that the school district affirmatively discriminated on the basis of sex because the Title IX coordinator exhibited sex-based bias against Schiebel. We reverse the judgment of the district court and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. STEVEN MENSAHI, C.J. Plaintiff-Appellant Keith Schiebel appeals the judgment of the district court dismissing his claim under Title IX against Defendant-Appellee Schoharie Central School District (“SCSD”) and his claims under state law against Defendants-Appellees SCSD, Kristin DuGuay, and David Blanchard. Schiebel is a veteran agriculture educator. In 2021, he brought the “Mobile Maple Experience” — a trailer with educational programming about the maple syrup industry — to the SCSD campus. About a month later, SCSD Superintendent Blanchard informed Schiebel that the mother of a student had reported that Schiebel made her daughter feel uncomfortable during the program and that he would need to file Title IX paperwork. For several weeks thereafter, Schiebel asked to be informed of the specific allegations, and SCSD ignored his requests. When SCSD finally agreed to discuss the matter with Schiebel, the meeting lasted about twenty-five minutes. Schiebel alleges that DuGuay, the Title IX coordinator of SCSD, was “hostile and accusatory” throughout the meeting. When Schiebel arrived, DuGuay told him that “her back was to the wall and she was aware of the exits” because she was scared of him. DuGuay then informed Schiebel of the accusations against him: A student had said that, during the maple syrup program, Schiebel “reached around her with two hands and had touched her breast and buttocks.” Schiebel did not recall the complaining student or any such incident, but he said that it was possible that “he may have reached around a student at one point in the trailer to get something.” After Schiebel made this statement, DuGuay abruptly ended the meeting. Two weeks later, DuGuay determined that the sexual harassment allegation against Schiebel was well-founded. In a letter reporting the findings of her investigation, DuGuay explained that the student had “alleged conduct that, whether intentional or not…constitutes sexual harassment in violation of [school district] policy.” DuGuay decided that the harassment occurred because Schiebel “did not deny that he ‘may have reached around the Student’ while attempting to reach for cups and supplies.” As a sanction, the school district banned the Mobile Maple Experience from its campus for five years. Schiebel lost his job as a result of DuGuay’s letter. Schiebel appealed the decision to Blanchard, who upheld it. Schiebel then filed this lawsuit. He asserted a Title IX claim against SCSD, alleging that SCSD erroneously found that he committed sexual harassment because of its sex-based bias. He also asserted state law claims against SCSD, DuGuay, and Blanchard. The district court dismissed the Title IX claim, holding that although Schiebel had plausibly alleged that the finding was erroneous, he had not plausibly alleged that sex-based bias “was a motivating factor behind the erroneous finding.” Schiebel v. Schoharie Cent. Sch. Dist., 680 F. Supp. 3d 193, 202 (N.D.N.Y. 2023). The district court declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claims. We conclude that Schiebel has plausibly alleged that SCSD discriminated against him on the basis of sex in violation of Title IX. The complaint states a Title IX claim under either of two theories. First, the allegations indicate that the school district was deliberately indifferent to the truth or falsity of the accusations against him because its investigation was so deficient as to constitute a sham grievance process and its decision was inexplicable. Second, the allegations indicate that the school district affirmatively discriminated against Schiebel because the Title IX coordinator exhibited bias against Schiebel based on his sex. We reverse the judgment of the district court and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. BACKGROUND The complaint alleges the following facts. Keith Schiebel has been an agriculture educator and maple syrup industry professional for over thirty years. On behalf of the New York State Maple Producers Association (“NYSMPA”), Schiebel developed the Mobile Maple Experience, a “trailer with educational presentations that shows the history and practice of using maple sap to make syrup and other maple products.” App’x 16 ( 67). Schiebel designed and built the Mobile Maple Experience, wrote grant proposals and lobbied to secure funding for it, and contacted hundreds of educators and lawmakers to schedule visits of the Mobile Maple Experience to schools. Schiebel himself conducted the programming, transporting the mobile exhibit more than 10,000 miles with his truck to educate thousands of students and other participants. On June 2, 2021, Schiebel brought the Mobile Maple Experience to the SCSD campus on behalf of the NYSMPA. As part of the program, Schiebel directed ten high school students who made presentations for elementary school students. Many adults were present at the program, including the New York State Commissioner of Agriculture and Markets, two representatives from the Capital District Board of Cooperative Educational Services (“BOCES”), NYSMPA Executive Committee member Dwayne Hill, a school photographer, and more than thirty teachers and teachers’ assistants. All the student presenters remained for the entire event, and the “event was completed, with nothing but praise by the participants.” Id. at 17 ( 74). On June 28, almost a month later, SCSD Superintendent David Blanchard emailed Schiebel to request that he “[p]lease contact the Superintendent’s office at Schoharie regarding an issue a student addressed with the district while the Maple Experience was here on June 2nd.” Id. ( 77). Schiebel called Blanchard several times that day and the next but could not reach him. On June 29, Blanchard called Schiebel and, in a conversation that lasted less than three minutes, told him that (1) the mother of a student had reported that Schiebel made her daughter feel “uncomfortable,” (2) the mother “did not want any further action taken,” and (3) Blanchard was nevertheless required to file Title IX paperwork. Id. at 17-18 (
80-82).1 Blanchard then “abruptly ended the call” without informing Schiebel of the details of the alleged incident. App’x 18 (
