LSU ignored Title IX reports about sexually offensive comments an LSU law adjunct instructor made in the classroom, allowing him to remain in the classroom for another semester — when more Title IX reports were filed against him.
Records show Franz Borghardt, a Baton Rouge criminal law attorney, was allowed to remain in the classroom despite multiple reports to the school’s Title IX office about his comments, including one that the university never followed up on in apparent contradiction with its own policy.
Title IX is the section of federal law that deals with sex-based discrimination in educational settings, including instances of sexual harassment and sexual violence.
According to a Title IX report shared with the Illuminator by a student in his class, Borghardt is alleged to have made several sexist remarks in a spring 2024 class. They include referring to a 19-year-old woman who accused a police officer Borghardt represented of kidnapping, malfeasance and groping as a “hoe” or a “whore.” The report said Borghardt used a singing voice when he said this and also referred to the woman as “ghetto.”
The report added that Borghardt said dressing up a separate client for a court appearance was akin to “putting lipstick on a pig” and that the woman had “resting bitch face.”
“Everyone should feel safe in their educational environment,” Borghardt told the Illuminator in a statement. “All Title IX claims should be thoroughly vetted and the well being of students should always come first.”
Borghardt did not say whether he made the comments alleged in the report.
“I love teaching at LSU law and hope that all claims of misconduct are and have been investigated rigorously,” he added.
The student who made the complaint asked not to be identified, citing a fear of retaliation. Her allegations, which the Illuminator has reviewed, were forwarded to LSU’s Title IX office by a mandatory reporter, who is not identified in the report. Most employees at universities are mandatory reporters, meaning they are required by law to report anything they believe to be a Title IX offense.
Todd Manuel, who leads LSU’s Title IX office, assured state legislators at a December panel meeting on power-based violence on college campuses that all Title IX and power-based violence reports are followed up on within 24 to 48 hours. Power-based violence is defined in state law as “any form of interpersonal violence intended to control or intimidate another person through the assertion of power over the person.” The term encompasses Title IX concerns but also includes other offenses that do not rise to the level of a Title IX offense.
What’s in a name?
An incident report is the first notification a Title IX office receives that an offense may occur. It does not trigger an investigation. Only a formal complaint, which requires additional action from the complainant beyond an incident report, can do so.
Todd Manuel, who leads LSU’s Title IX office, told legislators in December that all reports are followed up on within 24-48 hours and specifically delineated between an incident report and a complaint.
According to documents LSU submitted to the Board of Regents, LSU received hundreds of reports in 2024 but received just five Title IX complaints and 14 power-based violence complaints.
Manuel said most reports do not end up as complaints because the students are not responsive to outreach from his office.
The student who complained about Borghardt’s conduct said she didn’t hear from anyone with LSU’s Title IX office until she reached out to them six months later seeking an explanation.
An employee from the Title IX office then responded to the student, saying its case manager reaches out to individuals who have experienced harm as defined under the LSU System’s policy on Title IX and power-based violence. But it was determined her allegations did not rise to that level.
The Title IX worker told the student the office “specifically takes on cases that include elements related to sex-based discrimination, sexual harassment that is severe, pervasive and objectively offensive, sexual assault, dating/domestic violence, and stalking.”
In an interview, the student said she believes Borghardt’s comments amount to sexual harassment. According to the United Nation’s Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, sexual harassment includes sexual jokes and comments.
The Title IX office’s decision not to reach out to the student conflicts with campus policy, which requires a formal complaint to be filed to determine whether the allegations meet the criteria to be considered as a potential Title IX or power-based violence violation. The office never afforded the student the opportunity to file a formal complaint, instead sharing her allegations with the law school’s dean.
According to the policy, when a report is filed, the Title IX coordinator will provide the complainant with information and help with reporting options, including how to file a formal complaint. The incident report does not trigger an investigation, the policy states. Only a formal complaint can do this.
The policy states that formal complaints will be reviewed, and only then will a determination be made as to whether the offense meets the criteria to be considered a Title IX complaint.
If the alleged behavior doesn’t meet the threshold for a Title IX investigation, the office passes along the concerns to a department or unit leader who employs the accused person, the employee told the law student.
In a statement to the Illuminator, LSU spokesman Todd Woodward said the university didn’t violate its Title IX policy with its response to the report.
“It was a performance management issue that is handled by the department leadership and HR,” Woodward said. “The Title IX office referred the matter back to the dean. That is why there was no contact with the students.”
It’s also questionable as to whether the university properly documented this student’s complaint in legally required reports.
Its Title IX coordinator’s biannual report, which each college and university is required to submit to the Louisiana Board of Regents, lists basic information about alleged incidents reported to the campus Title IX office. The two reports from the same day the student’s report against Borghardt was filed have their status listed as “Closed – Complainant Not Currently Enrolled,” meaning her report was either listed improperly or not recorded at all. The student complainant in this case is still enrolled at LSU.
Woodward did not respond to a question about this inconsistency.
According to Woodward, after the initial complaint in Spring 2024, Borghardt was warned that “any further misconduct of this nature would result in dismissal.”
Despite this warning, more complaints came in about Borghardt. After these subsequent complaints, Borghardt was informed he would not be invited back to teach at LSU, Woodward said. However, he is still listed as an adjunct on LSU’s website, though the Illuminator confirmed he is not teaching a class this semester.
At least two complaints were filed last fall by mandatory reporters with whom another student confided about a phone call she had with Borghardt and several text messages he reportedly sent her.
“At the end of the call, he said, ‘you’re amazing’ …” the faculty member wrote in the report. “After the call ended, texted [the student] saying ‘yes you are amazing,’ ‘I just don’t get the luxury of favorites,’ and ‘Now in Dec, I get favorites.’ The interaction left [the student] very uncomfortable and worried about whether and how to respond and the effect on her grade.”
The student, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation, said the Title IX office followed up with her about the reports. The student said she filed a formal complaint, after which the Title IX office determined it did not rise to the level of a Title IX offense.
That LSU gave Borghardt, an adjunct instructor, a warning after he allegedly made profane and sexually offensive remarks in the classroom struck a nerve with some LSU law students.
This semester, LSU removed tenured law professor Ken Levy from the classroom after he made profane comments critical about Gov. Jeff Landry in the classroom.
Levy was suspended from teaching duties within days of making the comments and was not given the same warning Borghardt received. Levy is currently suing the university over his removal.
Jill Craft, Levy’s attorney, criticized LSU for the difference in treatment in an interview with the Illuminator.
“A side-by-side comparison really illustrates how politically motivated [Levy’s] removal from teaching appears to be,” Craft said.
LSU President William Tate testified during a hearing in Levy’s case earlier this month that he made the decision to remove him from the classroom. When questioned after an LSU Board of Supervisors meeting earlier this month by a reporter about the disparate treatment Borghardt and Levy received, Tate said he did not know who Borghardt was but that he would look into why he wasn’t removed sooner.
Levy’s removal was met with outrage by his students, many of whom protested his suspension and testified in his defense during a court hearing in February. Several dozen protesters attended a rally in Levy’s defense in January. Kristen Graham-Winkles was among the law students who came to his defense.
“That’s enraging. It shows exactly where their values are, and it’s not with the students,” Graham-Winkles said in an interview with the Illuminator about the complaints against Borghardt.
