WASHINGTON D.C. (ABC4) – It’s been 50 years since the birth of Title IX, the landmark civil rights law that’s revolutionized the lives of girls and women in the United States.
As of Thursday, the U.S. Department of Education released for public comment, proposed changes to the regulations to help elementary and secondary schools and colleges/universities to implement the legislation.
According to a release from the department, the proposed amendments would restore protections for students who are victims of sexual harassment, assault, and sex-based discrimination.
The proposed regulations, according to the release, are to insure that no person experiences sex discrimination, sex-based harassment, or sexual violence in education.
The regulations would require all students to receive appropriate support in accessing all aspects of education and strengthen protections for LGBTQI+ students facing discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
It would also require that school procedures for complaints involving sex are fair to all involved.
According to information from the U.S. Department of Education the proposed regulations would:
- Clearly protect students and employees from all forms of sex discrimination.
- Provide full protection from sex-based harassment.
- Protect the right of parents and guardians to support their elementary and secondary school children.
- Require schools to take prompt and effective action to end any sex discrimination in their education programs or activities – and to prevent its recurrence and remedy its effects.
- Protect students and employees who are pregnant or have pregnancy-related conditions.
- Require schools to respond promptly to all complaints of sex discrimination with a fair and reliable process that includes trained, unbiased decision-makers to evaluate the evidence.
- Require schools to provide supportive measures to students and employees affected by conduct that may constitute sex discrimination, including students who have brought complaints or been accused of sex-based harassment.
- Protect LGBTQI+ students from discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics.
- Clarify and confirm protection from retaliation for students, employees, and others who exercise their Title IX rights.
- Improve the adaptability of the regulations’ grievance procedure requirements so that all recipients can implement Title IX’s promise of nondiscrimination fully and fairly in their educational environments.
- Ensure that schools share their nondiscrimination policies with all students, employees, and other participants in their education programs or activities.
The department is expected to make separate rules to apply to athletics. The proposed regulations for Title IX will be open for public comment 60 days from the date of publication in the federal register.
For the unofficial version of the proposed order, click here.
