{"id":725655,"date":"2024-04-19T05:01:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-19T09:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/?post_type=article&#038;p=725655"},"modified":"2024-04-19T09:51:17","modified_gmt":"2024-04-19T13:51:17","slug":"title-ix-regulation-sexual-harassment-biden-transgender","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/title-ix-regulation-sexual-harassment-biden-transgender\/","title":{"rendered":"Title IX Rewrite Focuses Law on Victims, Including LGBTQ Students"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The U.S. Department of Education on Friday restored protections for students against sexual harassment and assault that many advocates argued were lost under the previous administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/EMBARGOED-Title-IX-Fact-Sheet.pdf\">Title IX rule<\/a>, which goes into effect Aug. 1, requires districts to promptly investigate complaints, even if they occur off school grounds, and to extend those protections to LGBTQ students. Districts must also train school employees about their obligations to address sex discrimination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"inline_story shortcode simple\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/controversy-over-ed-dept-title-ix-overhaul-expected-to-fuel-further-delays\/\"><figure style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/joe-biden-title-ix-sports.png);\"><\/figure><div><span class=\"sans related_tag\">Related<\/span><h4 class=\"sans\">Controversy Over Ed Dept. Title IX Overhaul Expected to Fuel Further Delays<\/h4><\/div><\/a><\/aside>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201dThese regulations make crystal clear that everyone can access schools that are safe,&nbsp;welcoming and that respect their rights,\u201d said Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. \u201cTitle IX&#8217;s prohibition of sex discrimination includes all forms of sex discrimination. No one should have to give up their dreams of attending or finishing school because they&#8217;re pregnant. No one should face bullying or discrimination just because of who they are or who they love.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<span class=\"cta_snippet\"><hr><p><em>Help fund stories like this. <\/em><a class=\"arrow\" href=\"https:\/\/the74.fundjournalism.org\/donate\/?campaign=701Jw00000NwyRbIAJ\"><strong>Donate now!<\/strong><\/a><\/p><hr><\/span>\n\n\n\n<p>Left unresolved, however, is a second, and more controversial, rule that applies to transgender students\u2019 participation in school sports, which some observers speculate the administration is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/education\/2024\/03\/28\/title-ix-trans-athletes-biden\/\">pushing<\/a> until after the election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That did not dampen partisan objections to what they did include, which is expected to fuel a new wave of litigation. Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx, who chairs the House education committee, questioned the inclusion of transgender students under Title IX and said the rewrite rolls back protections for women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis final rule dumps kerosene on the already raging fire that is Democrats\u2019 contemptuous culture war that aims to radically redefine sex and gender,\u201d she said in a statement. \u201cThe rule also undermines existing due process rights, placing students and institutions in legal jeopardy and again undermining the protections Title IX is intended to provide.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>President Joe Biden pledged to overhaul Title IX even before he won the 2020 election, when he said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/19pdf\/17-1618_hfci.pdf\">a Supreme Court opinion<\/a> that prevents discrimination against LGBTQ employees on the job guarantees students the same protections at school. But it took over two years for the department to release an initial draft describing its new approach. A proposed rule concerning trans students\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/anti-trans-sports-bans-in-schools-would-violate-federal-law-under-biden-proposal\/\">participation in sports<\/a> followed in early 2023, but has yet to be sent to the White House for final review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Officials have attributed the delays on both rules to the hundreds of thousands of comments it received from the public. But there\u2019s also been intense backlash from Republicans, who say allowing transgender women to compete on teams consistent with their gender identity upends the original goal of Title IX.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"inline_story shortcode simple\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/new-research-looks-for-ways-to-reduce-sexual-harassment-and-assault-in-schools\/\"><figure style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Stop-Sexual-Assault-in-Schools.jpg);\"><\/figure><div><span class=\"sans related_tag\">Related<\/span><h4 class=\"sans\">New Research Looks for Ways to Reduce Sexual Harassment and Assault in Schools<\/h4><\/div><\/a><\/aside>\n\n\n\n<p>Advocates and <a href=\"https:\/\/democraticwomenscaucus.house.gov\/sites\/evo-subsites\/democraticwomenscaucus.house.gov\/files\/evo-media-document\/dwc.cec-title-ix-letter-11.29.2023.pdf\">Democrats<\/a> in Congress argued the delay left victims at risk and discouraged some students from reporting incidents because they thought schools wouldn\u2019t respond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"999\" height=\"656\" src=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/title-ix-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-725675\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/title-ix-2.jpg 999w, https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/title-ix-2-300x197.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/title-ix-2-761x500.jpg 761w, https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/title-ix-2-196x129.jpg 196w, https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/title-ix-2-768x504.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 999px) 100vw, 999px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pipa, a Know Your IX student activist, spoke in December as students, parents, educators and advocates gathered in front of the White House to press the Biden Administration to release the long-awaited final Title IX rule (Photo by Leigh Vogel\/Getty Images for National Women&#8217;s Law Center)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFor many students, a weakened Title IX harassment rule is all they\u2019ve known through their college and high school experience,\u201d said Shiwali Patel, a senior counsel at the National Women\u2019s Law Center. \u201cExtremist politicians have increasingly attacked the rights of LGBTQI+ students, especially, transgender, nonbinary, and intersex students, attempting to codify discrimination through legislation and other policies.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Friday, advocates welcomed the end of this first phase. Even so, many school districts might not be prepared to take the proactive approach that the rule requires.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"inline_story shortcode simple\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/women-who-fought-for-title-ix-50-years-ago-divided-over-transgender-inclusion\/\"><figure style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/transgender-athletes-Title-IX.jpg);\"><\/figure><div><span class=\"sans related_tag\">Related<\/span><h4 class=\"sans\">Women Who Fought for Title IX 50 Years Ago Divided Over Transgender Inclusion<\/h4><\/div><\/a><\/aside>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s jaw-dropping to see things are still lax and so backwards,\u201d said Sandra Hodgin, founder and CEO of Title IX Consulting Group, a Los Angeles-based firm. Some districts, she said, have outdated policies or don\u2019t inform students how to file a grievance.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Districts will have to act fast, she said, to ensure they have a Title IX coordinator who is up to speed on the new requirements and can \u201chelp them navigate all of it.\u201d She noted a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/education\/2023\/10\/03\/liberty-university-clery-act\/\">recent investigation<\/a> that found Liberty University, a Christian college, discouraged students from reporting sexual violence. \u201cK-12 systems are going to be looking at things like that and hopefully say to themselves, \u2018We don&#8217;t want to be that example.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to requiring districts to promptly investigate any \u201csex-based hostile environment\u201d in education programs both in and outside of school, the revised rule also removes the requirement for live hearings with cross-examination for sexual misconduct investigations. Former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos added <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/05\/06\/politics\/education-secretary-betsy-devos-title-ix-regulations\/index.html\">that provision<\/a> to protect the due process rights of male students who argued they\u2019d been unfairly accused of harassment or misconduct.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Catherine Lhamon, assistant secretary of education for civil rights, dismissively noted the 2020 rule required schools to be \u201cno more than not deliberately indifferent\u201d to harassment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Biden administration has expected districts to comply with its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/presidential-actions\/2021\/03\/08\/executive-order-on-guaranteeing-an-educational-environment-free-from-discrimination-on-the-basis-of-sex-including-sexual-orientation-or-gender-identity\/\">executive order<\/a> applying Title IX protections to LGBTQ students even as Republican states filed litigation challenging that interpretation. Twenty-two states sued in 2022 over guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees school nutrition, stating that programs receiving federal funds must follow <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/biden-education-lawsuits-discrimination-gender-identity-794c13d7a136614c8daea5add4db76aa\">civil rights laws<\/a> or risk being reported to the Department of Justice.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Max Eden, a research fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said he expects \u201clawsuits from state attorneys general within days, or at longest weeks.\u201d Some, he said, will challenge the administration\u2019s decision to extend Title IX\u2019s protections to include gender identity. <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/education\/3636741-biden-administration-threatens-free-speech-with-title-ix-gender-identity-rule\/\">Others argue<\/a>&nbsp;the rule could violate free speech if an offensive comment or a teacher\u2019s refusal to use a preferred pronoun, for example, is perceived as discrimination. In a Thursday call with reporters, a senior administration official said if such a situation \u201climits or denies [a student\u2019s] access to education,\u201d the person\u2019s behavior could create a hostile environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sasha Buchert, a senior attorney for Lambda Legal, an LGBTQ advocacy organization, however, said fear of litigation shouldn\u2019t prevent school officials from following the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf I was their council, I would remind them that they\u2019re on the wrong side of the law if they decide to discriminate against LGBTQ students,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you want to protect your school against liability, the smart thing to do would be to not choose to discriminate.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a decision this week, a federal appeals court agreed with the Biden administration\u2019s interpretation that Title IX&nbsp;protections for LGBTQ students can apply to athletics. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit blocked West Virginia\u2019s law banning trans students from playing on teams consistent with their gender identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wp.api.aclu.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Document.pdf\">The case<\/a> focuses on Becky Pepper Jackson, a 13-year-old transgender girl and middle school track athlete, who has identified as a girl since third grade.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last year, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrissey asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the state\u2019s Save Women\u2019s Sports Act to go into effect, but the court put it on hold. Buchert said she wouldn\u2019t be surprised if Morrissey appeals the Fourth Circuit ruling as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/GettyImages-1483600301.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-725674\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/GettyImages-1483600301.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/GettyImages-1483600301-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/GettyImages-1483600301-750x500.jpg 750w, https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/GettyImages-1483600301-193x129.jpg 193w, https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/GettyImages-1483600301-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Last year, track and field athlete Selina Soule spoke during an event outside the U.S. Capitol celebrating the House passage of the Protection Of Women And Girls In Sports Act. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In its Title IX draft for sports, the education department attempted to carve out a compromise, avoiding an across-the-board inclusion of trans students on teams consistent with their gender identity. But it didn\u2019t also didn\u2019t ban such policies outright. The draft states that schools and colleges could limit transgender students\u2019 participation in specific sports \u2014 particularly at the more competitive high school and college levels. But in the elementary grades, and likely into middle school, most students would be able to play sports consistent with their gender identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Buckert said advocates hope the department will \u201cissue a strong rule that provides clarity about where the department stands on those issues.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"999\" height=\"666\" src=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Marjorie-Taylor-Greene-and-Georgia.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-725672\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Marjorie-Taylor-Greene-and-Georgia.jpg 999w, https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Marjorie-Taylor-Greene-and-Georgia-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Marjorie-Taylor-Greene-and-Georgia-750x500.jpg 750w, https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Marjorie-Taylor-Greene-and-Georgia-194x129.jpg 194w, https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Marjorie-Taylor-Greene-and-Georgia-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 999px) 100vw, 999px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and James Comer of Kentucky spoke during a House Oversight Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services in December. The hearing focused on the Biden administration&#8217;s proposed rule changes to Title IX to redefine the definition of sexual discrimination to include gender identity. (Photo by Drew Angerer\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hcz8s7FIlOI\">Donald Trump<\/a>, the Republican presidential nominee, has said he won\u2019t \u201callow men in women\u2019s sports.\u201d If he wins, some observers wouldn\u2019t be surprised to see him rescind any attempt by the Biden administration to allow trans students to compete in sports consistent with their gender identity.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re looking at a very polarized Title IX conversation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. Department of Education on Friday restored protections for students against sexual harassment and assault that many advocates argued were lost under the previous administration. The new Title IX rule, which goes into effect Aug. 1, requires districts to promptly investigate complaints, even if they occur off school grounds, and to extend those protections [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":725656,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[190],"tags":[1203,899,1103,2998,1174,1025],"series":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/725655"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/725655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":725718,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/725655\/revisions\/725718"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/725656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=725655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=725655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=725655"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=725655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}