Two news stories emerged this week that highlight the importance of Title IX beyond its ability to help fund women’s sports.
Title IX reads: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance”. Though established in 1972, the utility of Title IX continues today, which can be seen in the following reports.
Yesterday, the ACLU represented a group of students and their parents in a case over sex-segregated classrooms at Rene A. Rost Middle School in Kaplan, Louisiana, arguing that the segregation of classes based on gender, and underlying false gender stereotypes, violates Title IX. The school made sex segregated classrooms mandatory and did not offer a co-educational alternative, even though 33% of parents with children at the middle school asked for their child to be in a coed education setting.
Read more about the case here .
Title IX also combats sexual assault, particularly on public college campuses. Yesterday,
Feministing reported that the Center for Public Integrity released a report stating that 95% of campus rapes go unreported. Title IX provides public universities and colleges with the obligation to provide due process to anyone who has been sexually assaulted, so clearly it is imperative for people to be better educated about the utility of Title IX in combating sexual assault. The ACLU Women’s Rights Project has an
incredible fact sheet on how Title IX can be used, and states that: “Under Title IX, discrimination on the basis of sex can include sexual harassment, rape, and sexual assault. A college or university that receives federal funds may be held legally responsible when it
knows about and
ignores sexual harassment or assault in its programs or activities. The school can be held responsible in court whether the harassment is committed by a faculty member, staff, or a student. In some cases, the school must pay the victim money damages.” Read more about
Title IX and sexual assault here , and to learn more about the