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clockOn September 28, 2020, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights released new technical assistance for elementary and secondary schools concerning COVID-19. The document, Questions and Answers for K-12 Public Schools in the Current COVID-19 Environment, provides OCR’s perspective on schools’ obligations under civil rights laws as schools continue to decide how to provide educational services during the pandemic. Notably for our purposes, OCR addresses how schools should handle Title IX complaints during the COVID-19 crisis. Notably, the Q&A indicates that OCR will defer to educational institutions as to whether there is a good reason to delay Title IX processes because of COVID-19. Such delays should only be temporary and should balance the interests of promptness, fairness to the parties, and accuracy of adjudications.
Continue Reading OCR Q&A Addresses Title IX, K-12 Schools, and COVID-19

A local news source from New Haven, Connecticut, reported that the New Haven Public Schools and the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights have reached a tentative agreement on their current transgender athlete dispute. The deal reportedly will allow transgender athletes to continue to play on athletics teams that coincide with their gender…

Well, we’ve made it almost six weeks since the new Title IX Sexual Harassment regulations went into effect. And I’m happy to see that so many of our clients and friends are making good progress with revising and approving policies and completing mandated training. You may be wondering what should be next on your checklist. My recommendation: Spruce up your administrative procedures or regulations. You need to be ready to answer a question from OCR or a court about where they can find your detailed process for investigating and adjudicating Title IX Sexual Harassment complaints. For many institutions, the answer will not be the formal Title IX Sexual Harassment policy. If you do not have an administrative procedure in place, contact us for assistance. Keep reading to learn more about this requirement and what the procedures should include.
Continue Reading Critical Elements for a Compliant Title IX Sexual Harassment Procedure

On September 8, 2020, an Education Dive article quoted me about two recent letters from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) on the impact on Title IX of this year’s landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision on sexual orientation discrimination in employment. OCR’s position: Title IX, like Title VII, now protects against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in schools. But that does not mean that schools can grant transgender students equal access to sex-segregated facilities or sports teams, says OCR. Media reports suggest the Department’s stated approaches are “totally at odds”–but are they? Here is a summary of the letters and why they seem pretty consistent, after all.
Continue Reading Is OCR’s New Approach to Trans Rights in Schools Really Inconsistent? Here’s Why It’s Not