The Biden Administration has extended the reach of famous civil rights law Title IX to provide more protections and support for LGBTQ+ students, survivors of sexual assault, and pregnant and parenting students.
Title IX was first passed into law in 1972 under President Richard Nixon. Initially, the law sought to address discrimination on the basis of gender in education. Since then Title IX has seen vast changes to address sexual harassment, discrimination, and misconduct in national educational institutions. And today it continues to expand. The U.S. Department of Education’s newest rules guarantee protections to LGBTQ+ students who face discrimination on the basis of their gender identity or sexual orientation. Under the new changes, refusing to use a student’s preferred pronouns could be considered a Title IX violation.
LGBTQ+ advocacy organization The Trevor Project’s Director of Law and Policy, Casey Pick, said “The new rules issued today indicate an important step forward in protecting LGBTQ+ students from being discriminated against at school, simply for being themselves.” The Trevor Project’s research has found many queer students reporting that they have been harassed, bullied, or confronted with violence at school for their sexual orientation, gender identity, or self expression.
“We are grateful to see that this administration is working hard to make all students safer, and more included at school,” Pick said. However, the organization also points out that the new rules lack language to specifically protect transgender and nonbinary students, who face some of the biggest and most profuse threats of the LGBTQ+ community at large. This leaves many questions about what is and isn’t acceptable for the nation’s transgender and nonbinary students to engage with at school. There are still no explicit protections for students who wish to use a bathroom corresponding with their gender identity, and no information on transgender students competing in school athletics.
New changes also provide for pregnant and parenting students, who are subject to “unwanted sexual attention, shame or punishment” during their education, according to USA Today.
Title IX has also expanded the definition of sexual assault for K-12 schools. According to NPR, the new definition reverses “Trump-era regulations that had narrowed harassment to what is ‘objectively offensive.’”
The new rules also roll back another Trump-era requirement that schools hold in-person, court-style proceedings for allegations of sexual assault. For fear that this experience might traumatize survivors and discourage them from reporting their experiences, schools can now question those involved in separate meetings or live hearings, which victims have the option to attend remotely.
All changes to Title IX are expected to go into effect on August 1st.
