Blog - Title IX Tips

Now What? OCR Just Delayed Two Major Title IX Rules… Here’s Your Gameplan

May 26, 2023

in: 2023 Regulations

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights announced today that two major amendments to the regulations implementing Title IX will not be finalized until October 2023 at the earliest. The Title IX grievance procedure rule, which was proposed on June 23, 2022, would dramatically alter the process that schools, colleges, and universities must use for sexual harassment and other sex discrimination complaints under Title IX. The Title IX gender identity and athletics rule, proposed on April 6, 2023, would implement a new test for schools that wish to limit student participation in athletics based on gender identity. The result of today’s announcement is that the sexual harassment grievance procedure requirements implemented under the Trump administration in 2020 will remain in effect for at least the first semester of the 2023 academic year. Moreover, uncertainty will remain with respect to OCR’s enforcement of Title IX against schools that limit the participation of transgender students in athletics.

June Certification for K-12 Title IX Administrators: 2022-2023 Wrap-Up

May 3, 2023

in: Events, Training, Webinar

The 2022-2023 school year is (almost!) a wrap. There are big changes on the horizon for Title IX, but many things remain the same. Join your Thompson & Horton Title IX team June 13, 2023, 11:00 a.m. to 4 p.m. Central (12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern; 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Pacific) for a fast-paced, interactive live certification training covering all the hot topics K-12 Title IX coordinators, deputy coordinators, and administrators need to know as the school year comes to an end. Keep reading for more information or Register here!

ED Department Proposes Title IX Amendment Prohibiting Outright Bans on Transgender Athlete Participation

April 7, 2023

in: 2023 Regulations, Transgender Issues

By Jackie Gharapour Wernz and Kendra Yoch

On April 6, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education proposed an amendment to Title IX prohibiting categorical bans on transgender athletes’ participation in school sports. If adopted, the proposed rule would override the laws of twenty states, including Texas, that require students to participate on the sports team matching their sex assigned at birth. The proposal would implement a new test for such rules, balancing the objectives of schools in limiting transgender student participation against the potential for harm to students whose opportunity to participate is denied. What should your school, college, or university know about the proposed rule now?

Collaboration for the Win! Title IX and Special Education in K-12

March 30, 2023

in: Events, Special Education, Training, Webinar

Assuming they are finalized as proposed, the new Title IX rules will for the first time require ongoing “consultation” between the Title IX Coordinator and special education team when a party to a Title IX complaint is a student receiving special education or related services. But if you work in Title IX or special education in K-12 public schools, “collaboration” should already be a part of your vocabulary in this context. There are so many complex issues at the intersection of Title IX and special education that make collaboration between Title IX and special education teams essential. Are you doing all you need to do to protect your educational institution from legal risks involving Title IX and special education?

Watch our complimentary webinar to find out! Keep reading for more information.

Does Title IX Apply to Gender Disparity in NIL Compensation?

March 6, 2023

in: Policies and Procedures, Uncategorized

By Matthew A. Reed, Counsel, Thompson & Horton

Amateurism in intercollegiate athletics is dying. A combination of state legislation and federal court orders has resulted in a largely unregulated “Wild West” environment in which college athletes have gained an unprecedented ability to capitalize on their status by receiving payments for use of their names, images, and likenesses (“NIL”). Not surprisingly, most NIL payments seem to be flowing to men. What responsibility do educational institutions have to ensure gender equity in NIL payments to athletes in their sports programs?

Not So Fast: OCR’s Fact Sheet on DEI Efforts is Only Half the Story

February 6, 2023

in: In the News, Office for Civil Rights

On January 31, 2023, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights released a fact sheet clarifying that diversity, equity, and inclusion training and similar activities “are not generally or categorically prohibited” under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The OCR fact sheet provides a list of activities, such as DEI training, training on the impacts of racism or systemic racism, cultural competency and other nondiscrimination training, and using specific words, such as equity, discrimination, inclusion, diversity, systemic racism, or similar terms in school policies, programs, or activities. It says that Title VI does not “categorically” prohibit such activities and that deciding if there is a violation requires assessing the totality of the circumstances in each particular case.

According to OCR’s press release, it issued the fact sheet “in response to confusion regarding the legality of [DEI] activities in schools.” Although OCR does not elaborate, stories about the importance of conservative activism around how school teach racism abound. The issues are similar in the Title IX realm, with a small but mighty contingent of challengers to programs for girls such as coding camps, scholarships, grants, and mentorships claiming that such programs, which are aimed to remediate past and current discrimination against women in various spaces, are discriminatory against men.

Does OCR’s fact sheet remove the confusion? Not even close. Keep reading to find out why.