another promising idea comes from two former prosecutors, gina smith and leslie gomez. both of them have spent their careers specializing in sexual misconduct cases. they propose a regional center model and it is being explored by a number of states today including right here in virginia. the model sets up a voluntary center were professionally trained experts handle title ix investigations and adjudication. it looks something like this. in partnership among states and their attorney general, participating schools refer to the center any title ix incident which rises to a criminal level. the center cooperates with local law enforcement and has access to resources to collect and preserve forensic evidence, facilitate but never require criminal prosecution, and apply their investigative techniques to gather and evaluate all relevant evidence to determine whether sexual misconduct occurred. this ensures that students are not charged by school-based tribunals on the basis of hearsay or in the evidence. this model allows educators to focus on what they do best, educate. thes