June 23, 2022 was the 50th anniversary of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in federally-funded educational programs and requires schools to give women and girls equal opportunities and benefits. There has been both significant progress and periods of backlash in the five decades since Title IX was passed into law.
Recent developments underscore the battle.
On the 50th anniversary, the U.S. Department of Education published the long-awaited proposed rules on sexual harassment in education, taking the first step to rolling back the 2020 Trump/DeVos regulations that subverted the intent of Title IX, which is to achieve equality. Instead of encouraging appropriate responses to sexual harassment in schools, the Trump/DeVos rules, currently in effect, require schools to ignore complaints and deter students from reporting sexual harassment and eliminating a decade of progress.)
Students will unfortunately have to suffer under the Trump/DeVos rules for some undetermined time as proposed rules always have to go through a comment and review period. This comment period ends in June, after which the Department of Education will review all of the comments and publish a final rule.
However, now there’s another threat: On July 16, a federal judge temporary blocked the Education Department’s new Title IX guidance. Eastern District of Tennessee Judge Charles Atchley said the agency’s guidance “directly interferes with and threatens Plaintiff state’s ability to continue enforcing their state laws” that restrict transgender people from playing on sports teams and using certain bathrooms.
The plaintiffs, a coalition of 20 Republican Attorneys General led by Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery, are also arguing that forcing school administrators to use pronouns that correspond with a students’ gender identity violates their First Amendment rights, among other additional claims.
The next step after the preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the Biden Administration’s Title IX rules is unclear. Judge Atchley said in his ruling that further decisions could be made by his court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court.
More than Athletics & Sexual Harassment
In June, the media frequently focused on athletics under Title IX, diving into the histories of those who paved the way for girls and women to engage in sports, while listing all the ways that girls and women have been deprived of equality in sports. In our work in this arena, we have observed that many schools simply ignore their obligations to achieve equal opportunity.
To be sure, athletics and harassment are central targets of Title IX. But Title IX touches all aspects of school programs, including admissions; parental, family, and marital status; pregnancy and related conditions; discipline; benefits or services; employment; and all school activities, including athletics; and classes: single sex, STEM, and Technical.
On this anniversary, and as we once again encounter a legal battle over the meaning and scope of Title IX, we should reflect on the progress, and lack of progress, in achieving equity in all the educational realms governed by Title IX.
More Progress Needed for Black Girls, Girls of Color, and LGBTQIA+ Students
Title IX at 50, a publication of the National Coalition For Women and Girls in Education, of which the Women’s Law Project is a proud member, does just that. It also appropriately focuses on the impact of Title IX on Black girls, other girls of color and LGBTQI+ children.
While recognizing the progress that has been made, this report homes in on the important lack of equality that remains, including the lack of progress overcoming barriers to school for pregnant and parenting students; the persistence of sex-segregated schools, classes, and activities, despite any evidence of benefit and perpetuation of inequity; and the inequitable treatment and discipline to which girls of color and LGBTQI+ students are subjected. It highlights the opportunity Title IX provides to support girls and to take affirmative action to eliminate historical discrimination that results in the underrepresentation of women.
More must be done. In addition to strengthening policy and government enforcement of Title IX, we need to motivate schools to address the inequities. Parents, students, and communities can make change. Our children deserve to learn in safe and supportive environments that teach equality by example and prepare them equally for their future.
Women’s Law Project is a public interest law center in Pennsylvania devoted to advancing and defending the rights of women, girls, and LGBTQ+ people in Pennsylvania and beyond. As a non-profit organization, we can not do this work without you. Please consider supporting our work.
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