Title IX

For an explanation of how Title IX is misapplied to cause elimination of school sports teams, see the proportionality test.

Title IX is a section of the Higher Education Amendments Act of 1972 which mandates that no one "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" on account of sex. 20 U.S.C. § 1681(a). Title IX became law in 1972. This requirement applies to all aspects of an educational institution even if only one department within the institution receives federal aid.

Applicability

Title IX applies to institutions receiving direct federal aid. In Grove City College v. Bell, 465 U.S. 555 (1984), the Supreme Court ruled that Title IX did not apply to schools that did not receive federal aid, even though the school's students received individual federal financial assistance. If any one department receives federal aid, the entire institution is subject to Title IX. Title IX does not apply to private, single-gender institutions, but it applies to all state institutions even if the school serves only one-gender. It applies to educational institutions of all grade levels from kindergarten to universities.

Title IX does not apply to military academies, social fraternities and sororities, or Boy or Girl conferences (such as Boys State). Title IX allows for gender-separated living facilities. Title IX does not apply to religious-controlled institutions to the extent that the discrimination is based on the institution's religious practices.

Regarding abortion, Title IX was amended in 1988 to provide:

"Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to require or prohibit any person, or public or private entity, to provide or pay for any benefit or service, including the use of facilities, related to an abortion. Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit a penalty to be imposed on any person or individual because such person or individual is seeking or has received any benefit or service related to a legal abortion."

This means that Title IX cannot be used to argue that female college students must be provided abortions as a part of their on campus health care.

Sports

As a practical matter, Title IX results in quota-like requirements in college sports, such that women's participation on team rosters (compared to men's) must be equal to their proportional enrollment in the school (compared to men's) under the proportionality test. This is despite the fact that Congress expressly prohibited quotas:

Nothing contained in . . . this section shall be interpreted to require any educational institution to grant preferential or disparate treatment to the members of one sex on account of an imbalance which may exist with respect to the total number or percentage of persons of that sex participating in or receiving the benefits of any federal program or activity, in comparison with the total number or percentage of persons of that sex in any community, State, section, or other area.

The author of Title IX, Representative Edith Green, later lamented that:

In 1972 when we enacted the Higher Education Act--including Title IX--to end discrimination against women, we sought to be exceedingly explicit so that the establishment of quotas would be prohibited. I was surprised and dismayed when complaints from colleges and universities came in stating that the Department of Labor was requiring them to meet quotas. . . . Title IX was not designed to do away with intercollegiate sports.

Proportionality Test

The Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) and later the Department of Education have issued regulations to implement Title IX. The Democratic Administrations of Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, have interpreted these regulations to say that a gender proportionality test may be applied to schools that receive any federal money concerning. This test causes these institutions to attempt to have the same proportion of boys and girls on sports teams as are enrolled in the school, regardless of interest in sports. Some seek to apply this proportionality test to math and science programs also.

Over 400 men's sports teams have been eliminated by the quota-based application of Title IX, including over 170 wrestling teams.

Harassment

Title IX has been interpreted as prohibiting conduct that is sufficiently serious that it limits or denies a student's ability to benefit from a school's programs. The prohibition goes beyond official school policies to acts of harassment within the control of the school. For example, it prohibits teachers from sexually harassing students, and it prohibits student-on-student harassment. It is also the basis for lawsuits against institutions alleging discrimination based on sexual orientation. In 2001 the U.S. Department of Education issued this guideline:

“

Although Title IX does not prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, sexual harassment directed at gay or lesbian students that is sufficiently serious to limit or deny a student’s ability to participate in or benefit from the school’s program constitutes sexual harassment prohibited by Title IX

”

Admissions

Today women outnumber men, often by huge percentages, at most colleges. Decades ago, however, when Title IX was enacted, there were a large number of single-sex institutions. Title IX did not apply to private, single-sex institutions. 20 U.S.C. § 1681(a)(1). The law gave institutions that changed to coed status a seven-year window of non-compliance during the transition.

Perhaps the most notable case involved admissions at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), a state-owned college in Lexington, Virginia. In 1990 the US Department of Justice sued VMI seeking to end its all-male admissions policy. In response, Virginia created a Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership (VWIL) at Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia. Women seeking admission to VMI took the case to the United States Supreme Court, which ruled 7-1 that VMI must admit women based on the Fourteenth Amendment in United States v. Virginia. VMI then considered converting into a private college, but the Department of Defense threatened to withdraw its ROTC program if the school converted to being private. Finally, VMI's board voted 8-7 to admit women with the first class entering in 1997.

Some coeducational institutions used different admissions standards for male and female applicants. In 2009, the United States Civil Rights Commission launched an investigation into whether college admissions policies discriminated based on gender.

Transgender students

The Obama Administration issued a guidance letter taking the position that Title IX protected the rights of transgender students. In particular, grade schools receiving federal aid should allow students to use bathroom and locker facilities of their current gender rather than the gender indicated on their birth certificates. In response, North Carolina passed a law taking the opposite view, and 13 states sued the federal government and won an injunction blocking enforcement of Title IX on this issue.

Donald Trump campaigned on leaving the access to bathrooms issue up to state and local governments. He also stated that "Caitlyn Jenner could use whichever bathroom she wanted to at Trump Tower." On February 22, 2017, federal Education and Justice Department official notified the Supreme Court that the administration is ordering the nation’s schools to disregard memos the Obama administration issued during the past two years regarding transgender student rights. The Trump Administration also sent a letter to all school systems receiving federal aid saying that the earlier directive needed to be withdrawn because it lacked extensive legal analysis, did not go through a public vetting process, sowed confusion and drew legal challenges. However, the Title IX guidance regarding bullying and the need to provide a safe environment for all students, including transgender students remains in place. Education Secretary Betsy Devos stated that the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights “remains committed to investigating all claims of discrimination, bullying and harassment against those who are most vulnerable in our schools,” and she noted that she considers “protecting all students, including LGBTQ students, not only a key priority for the Department, but for every school in America.”

This withdrawal of the Obama Administration policy prompted a series of public protests. The issue is expected to reach the Supreme Court soon in a case where a Virginia transgendered student sued under Title IX.

Private cause of action

Title IX does not contain an explicit provision allowing for private lawsuits. However, Congress later enacted the Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Awards Act of 1976, 90 Stat. 2641, which authorizes an award of fees to prevailing private parties in actions to enforce Title IX as well as other Civil Rights laws. So, the courts have interpreted Title IX as allowing plaintiffs to sue educational institutions for monetary damages and other relief in addition to the enforcement efforts of the Office of Civil Rights of the United States Department of Education. The Supreme Court held in Cannon v. University of Chicago, 441 U.S. 677, 99 S.Ct. 1946, 60 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979), that Title IX is also enforceable through an implied private right of action. In Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools, 503 U.S. 60, 112 S.Ct. 1028, 117 L.Ed.2d 208 (1992), the Court established that monetary damages are available in private Title IX suits. Private lawsuits have been successful in a number of contexts:

In Franklin, a female high school student had been sexually harassed and abused by her male teacher. Although the teacher resigned on the condition that all claims against him be dropped, the suit continued against the school district for monetary damages. In Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District, 524 U.S. 274(1998), a female high school student had a sexual relationship with a male teacher, who was arrested when the school authorities found out. The student then sued the school district for money damages, but the Supreme Court held that damages could only be awarded if a supervisor in the school knew of the abuse, had the power to end it, but failed to do so. In Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, 526 U.S. 629 (1999) the Supreme Court held that if a school was "deliberately indifferent" to student-on-student sexual harassment, it would be liable for damages under Title IX. In Davis, a fifth grade boy was repeatedly harassing a girl student with the teachers and principal ignoring her parents' complaints.

Courts have interpreted Title IX to allow massive jury awards in cases where a coach is let go or not rehired. For example, a California trial court awarded over $5.8 million to an ex-volleyball coach because she claimed that a state college did not renew her coaching contract "because of her perceived sexual orientation and her speaking up on behalf of female athletes."

Legal Standard

"Title IX requires complaining parties to meet a particularly tough test for money damages in a private lawsuit. Damages can be won only when a school district has shown 'deliberate indifference.'" This is in contrast with the standard under Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act, and in 2009 the Supreme Court will decide whether both remedies are available for lawsuits against public schools, or only Title IX.

See also

• Essay:Title IX Destroys Our Olympic Team
• liberal denial