USDOE Announces Virtual Public Hearings on Title IX (Sexual Discrim./Harassment) | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog

USDOE Announces Virtual Public Hearings on Title IX (Sexual Discrim./Harassment) | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog

USDOE Announces Virtual Public Hearings on Title IX (Sexual Discrim./Harassment)

The U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) Office for Civil Rights announces a number of virtual public hearings related to Title IX (“Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance”) scheduled in June 2021.

Hearing dates are as follows:

• June 7, 2021, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST
• June 8, 2021, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST
• June 9, 2021, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. EST
• June 10, 2021, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. EST
• June 11, 2021, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST

Details below are from the May 20, 2021 Federal Register (reorganized to promote ease of reading):

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announces a virtual public hearing to gather information for the purpose of improving enforcement of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX). OCR seeks comments from the public at the hearing on steps the Department can take to ensure that schools are providing students with educational environments free from discrimination in the form of sexual harassment, which encompasses sexual assault and other forms of sexual violence; to ensure that schools have grievance procedures that provide for the fair, prompt, and equitable resolution of reports of sexual harassment and other sex discrimination, cognizant of the sensitive issues that are often involved; and to address discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in educational environments. This notice provides information to members of the public regarding the hearing and OCR’s request for live and written comments, and sets forth the dates and times, agenda, and instructions for attending this public hearing.

BACKGROUND

OCR is conducting this hearing pursuant to Executive Order 14021, Guaranteeing an Educational Environment Free from Discrimination on the Basis of Sex, Including Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity, published in the Federal Register on March 11, 2021 (86 FR 13803), which directs the Secretary of Education to review the rule entitled “Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance,” published in the Federal Register on May 19, 2020 (85 FR 30026), and other agency actions that are or may be inconsistent with governing law, including Title IX, and the Executive order. This hearing is also a step toward fulfilling the directives of Executive Order 13988, Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation, published in the Federal Register on January 25, 2021 (86 FR 7023). …

AGENDA

This public hearing is part of OCR’s review of the Title IX regulations, CONTINUE READING: USDOE Announces Virtual Public Hearings on Title IX (Sexual Discrim./Harassment) | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog

Push to bar trans students from school sports hits legal roadblock | Salon.com

Push to bar trans students from school sports hits legal roadblock | Salon.com

Push to bar trans students from school sports hits legal roadblock

Judge tosses suit trying to block trans athletes

On Sunday, a federal judge threw out a Connecticut lawsuit that sought to bar transgender athletes from participating in high school girls' sports teams.

The suit, brought by four cisgender runners — Selina Soule, Chelsea Mitchell, Alanna Smith, and Ashley Nicoletti – was filed against the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC), a governing state body which sets the requirements for student athletic participation. The suit alleges that "CIAC policy puts non-transgender girls at a competitive disadvantage in girls' track and, as a result, denies them rights guaranteed by Title IX." The plaintiffs specifically claim to have been deprived of titles and opportunities as a result of their competitive disadvantage, according to AP News. 

The presiding judge over the case, U.S. District Judge Robert Chatigny, dismissed the suit because the two transgender athletes – who the plaintiffs allege held a competitive advantage – have since graduated from high school.

"I conclude that the request to enjoin enforcement of the CIAC policy has become moot due to the graduation of Yearwood and Miller, whose participation in girls' track provided the impetus for this action," Chatigny wrote. "There is no indication that Smith and Nicoletti will encounter competition by a transgender student in a CIAC-sponsored event next season."

Chatigny argued that the plaintiffs were no longer harmed by the damages they brought forth, seeing as they were no longer competing against transgender athletes. "If it turns out that a transgender student does register to compete in girls' track next season," the judge added, "Smith and Nicoletti will be able to file a new action under Title IX along with a motion for a preliminary injunction." CONTINUE READING: Push to bar trans students from school sports hits legal roadblock | Salon.com

Let’s Talk about Title IX - ED.gov Blog

Let’s Talk about Title IX - ED.gov Blog

Let’s Talk about Title IX

What is Title IX?

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”) is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on sex in any federally funded education program or activity. In other words, schools that receive federal funds are legally required to protect students against sex discrimination. Experiencing sex discrimination in any form can derail a student’s opportunity to learn, participate, and thrive in and outside of the classroom. Sex discrimination, including sexual harassment and sexual violence, is a threat to equal access to educational environments for students of all ages.

Why are we talking about it?

President Biden’s 2021 Executive Order on Guaranteeing an Educational Environment Free from Discrimination on the Basis of Sex, Including Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity requires ED to review and reconsider all Title IX regulations, including amendments made in 2020. ED is also required to issue new guidance and regulations as needed.

“Sexual harassment and all other forms of sex discrimination, including in extracurricular activities and other educational settings, threaten access to education for students of all ages. As Secretary, I will work to ensure all students—no matter their background, who they are, or how they identify—can succeed in the classroom and beyond. No matter the educational setting, students should feel safe and be able to focus on learning.” – Secretary Miguel Cardona

How will ED support the executive order? 

ED’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is taking action. As part of its comprehensive review of ED’s Title IX regulations, OCR will:

• Host an upcoming public hearing (dates TBD) and invite those interested in sharing their views on the issue of sexual harassment at schools.
• Issue a Q&A document to clarify how OCR interprets schools’ existing obligations under the 2020 amendments to the Title IX regulations.
• Post a notice of proposed rulemaking, which gives the public an opportunity to submit feedback.

No matter the educational setting, students should feel safe and be able to focus on learning. Let’s break down how OCR’s review of Title IX ensures that:

• OCR’s comprehensive review of ED’s Title IX regulations includes gathering feedback.
• This feedback will help OCR to determine whether changes need to be made to ED’s Title IX regulations (and any related agency actions) to fulfill President Biden’s commitment to guaranteeing educational environments that are free from sex discrimination, including based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
• This feedback will also help OCR fulfill the Department’s commitment to ensuring equal and nondiscriminatory access to education for students at all educational levels. In implementing the EO, OCR is also focused on ensuring that students who have experienced discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity have their legal rights fully met.

Where to find more information about the upcoming public hearing:

• OCR’s News Room (http://www.ed.gov/ocr/newsroom.html)
• Updates will include dates, times, and how to register to participate and speak.
• Follow @EDCivilRights and @USEdGov on Twitter for the latest updates.

Let’s Talk about Title IX - ED.gov Blog

Biden executive order is first step to reverse Betsy DeVos’s sexual assault rules - Vox

Biden executive order is first step to reverse Betsy DeVos’s sexual assault rules - Vox

Betsy DeVos’s sexual assault rules have already hurt survivors

Biden just took the first step to reverse them

Last fall, as students around the country were adjusting to the beginning of a school year in the midst of a pandemic, something else changed too: the rules for K-12 schools, colleges, and universities handling reports of sexual harassment and assault.

A new Trump administration regulation that went into effect last August raised the bar for what constitutes sexual harassment, allowed students who report harassment or assault to be directly cross-examined, and allowed schools to use a standard of evidence that many saw as more favorable to the accused. At the time, survivors and their advocates were deeply concerned that the new rules would discourage survivors from reporting and make it easier for schools to let harassment and assault slide.

Now President Biden has taken his first step toward reversing the rule, signing an executive order on Monday directing the Department of Education to review the issue. “It is the policy of my Administration that all students should be guaranteed an educational environment free from discrimination on the basis of sex, including discrimination in the form of sexual harassment, which encompasses sexual violence,” the order, signed on International Women’s Day, states.

But reviewing and reversing the Trump administration rule could take months or even years. And in the meantime, advocates say the rule has already harmed survivors at schools across the country. For example, many are now barred from filing a formal complaint because they experienced harassment off campus, because their harasser has graduated, or because what they experienced does not meet the new, stricter standards set forth by the Trump CONTINUE READING: Biden executive order is first step to reverse Betsy DeVos’s sexual assault rules - Vox

Betsy DeVos' Legacy: Transforming How The Education Department Treats Civil Rights | HuffPost

Betsy DeVos' Legacy: Transforming How The Education Department Treats Civil Rights | HuffPost

Betsy DeVos’ Legacy: Transforming How The Education Department Treats Civil Rights

The Education Department has been slow to investigate complaints of discrimination related to COVID-19, HuffPost has learned. Employees say it’s part of a pattern of disorganization that has emerged under Trump.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has spent months failing to make meaningful progress on urgent complaints of education discrimination relating to COVID-19, even as the pandemic continues to turn schools upside down and put vulnerable students at an even further disadvantage, according to multiple sources.  

In September, employees in at least some of the department’s regional offices were informed that civil rights complaints specific to COVID-19 ― such as for children who have not been receiving accommodations for their disability during remote learning ― would require scrutiny from the highest levels of management, a development that would substantially slow the pace by which any of these complaints could get resolved. 

A parent and an advocate have also been given the message that coronavirus-related complaints are unlikely to be addressed in the near future. After disability rights advocate Marcie Lipsitt filed several complaints on behalf of families whose children with disabilities were not receiving appropriate services from their school during shutdowns, she received a call from a department attorney informing her that complaints referencing COVID-19 were receiving greater scrutiny than non-coronavirus complaints and rewriting them without references to the pandemic could help them get processed faster. 

HuffPost has also reviewed an email from regional management to a group of employees telling them that COVID-19 complaints are requiring additional review from headquarters. Still, the Education Department has denied that such levels of scrutiny are taking place. 

“This information is categorically false and represents the viewpoint of a low-level employee CONTINUE READING: