The Trials & Tribulations of the Title IX Updates
HISTORICAL CONTEXT: Title IX is a landmark federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receives funding from the federal government. Passed in 1972 to ensure everyone’s Constitutional right to education was protected, Title IX first had rules and regulations adopted in 1975, and then again in 2020. The updated rules and regulations set to take effect August 1, 2024, clearly outline Title IX’s core principle of ensuring students and staff are not discriminated against “on the basis of sex”.
CURRENT REALITY: In the 2024 updated regulations, Title IX recognizes and allows students and staff to utilize facilities, such as bathrooms and locker rooms, that align with their gender identity. Additionally, pregnancy and related conditions have also been added into the Title IX regulations for students and staff – but it must be noted – a proverbial tantrum is being thrown over the inclusion of transgender students and staff.
There are current battles in the Circuit Courts for and against the full implementation of the new rules and regulations set to go into effect August 1, 2024.
LOCAL ANGLE: Local Maricopa County school districts like Peoria Unified School District are joining Dysart in “rejecting” the updated interpretation and implementation of Title IX. As reported by several local outlets last week, including Lookout, the Dysart Unified School District Governing Board is risking millions of federal dollars over rejecting the proposed Title IX update that would acknowledge the definition of “sex” to include “gender identity.”
Arizona remains set to implement the updated rules and regulations on August 1. The rules now explicitly prohibit discrimination and harassment on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation.
How did we get here? Title IX was paramount in allowing women and girls to participate fully in the spectrum of educational benefits and activities that were once open to only men and boys.
LEGAL BASIS for this interpretation comes from the Supreme Court's 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County. Justice Neil Gorsuch, one of the Supreme Court's conservative members, wrote the majority decision in the case. Gorsuch found that Title VII prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. Like Title IX, the text of Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on "sex."
But Gorsuch, found that discrimination because of gender identity or sexual orientation always involves sex discrimination. Therefore, discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation violates Title VII.
From Bostock, Justice Gorsuch: "An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex. Sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the decision, exactly what Title VII forbids."
While the Bostock decision doesn't specifically extend to Title IX, the legal logic is the same - Title IX prohibits discrimination on campus on the basis of sex, so that also includes sexual orientation and gender identity.
The practical implications of the Bostock decision and the 2024 updated Title IX regulations reflect that trans students would be permitted to use the bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity, and school staff will be compelled to call students by their preferred names and pronouns.
TAKE ACTION!: Please take a moment to reach out to members of the Peoria and Dysart Unified School District Governing Board. Contact these elected school board members by phone or email and respectfully request that they welcome all students in their school community, including transgender students.
Becky Proudfit, President, Peoria Unified School District Governing Board
623-512-2136
David Sandoval, Board Clerk, Peoria Unified School District Governing Board
623-313-5120
Melissa Ewing, Member, Peoria Unified School District Governing Board
623-670-4661
Heather Rooks, Member, Peoria Unified School District Governing Board
623-640-8260
Dawn Densmore, President, Dysart Unified School District Governing Board
623-876-7892; dawn.densmore@dysart.org
Christine A.K. Pritchard, Clerk, Dysart Unified School District Governing Board
623-876-7895; christine.pritchard@dysart.org
Chrystal Chaffin, Member, Dysart Unified School District Governing Board
623-876-7891; chrystal.chaffin@dysart.org
Jennifer Drake, Member, Dysart Unified School District Governing Board
623-876-7899; jennifer.drake@dysart.org
Jo Grant, Member, Dysart Unified School District Governing Board
623-876-7882; jo.grant@dysart.org
GLSEN Arizona’s plan to support full implementation of the 2024 Title IX updates will start by first collaborating with local partners, encouraging the utilization of GLSEN's Title IX checklists and GLSEN Arizona’s Overview of the Final Title IX Rule, certification training from Association of Title IX Administrators (ATIXA), and guidance from the Office of Civil Rights in the Department of Education. With this, advocates and decision makers will be more equipped to understand the scope and resources available to them to ensure everyone's Constitutional rights are acknowledged and protected.
Join us in our efforts to educate Arizona about Title IX!
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