Happy New Year from the Title IX team at Franczek! Over the next several posts, we will be providing Title IX updates from the end of 2022 that you might have missed, as well as noteworthy items to keep an eye on in 2023. Below, we cover recent federal court decisions on school district policies regarding transgender students, which we predict will continue to be a major issue this year.  …

Continue Reading Title IX Updates: Key Wins—and a Loss—in Federal Courts for Transgender Students and Athletes 

Recent court and OCR decisions regarding transgender students and employees reflect widely varying responses to the Biden administration’s efforts to expand protections for LGBTQ+ individuals under federal law, including Title IX. In January 2021, President Biden issued an executive order applying the Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County to all federal laws prohibiting sex-based discrimination, clarifying that sex discrimination includes discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. …
Continue Reading What’s the Future for Biden Administration Protections for LGBTQ+ Students and Employees under Title IX?

On July 18, 2022, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released its revised Case Processing Manual (CPM), which was last updated in August 2020. The CPM outlines the procedures OCR uses to investigate and resolve complaints under the civil rights laws it enforces, including Title IX, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The revised manual contains several noteworthy changes schools and colleges should be aware of, including the following highlighted below. 

Definition of “complaint” 

• Defines “complaint” as “a written statement to the Department [of Education] alleging that the rights of one or more persons have been violated and requesting that the Department take action.” 
• Expressly states that the following are not considered complaints: oral allegations, anonymous correspondence, courtesy copies of correspondence or a complaint filed or submitted somewhere else, and inquiries that seek advice/information but not action/intervention. Previously, OCR was permitted to determine on a case-by-case basis whether to process such correspondence or inquiries as a complaint. 
• Clarifies that OCR may investigate Title IX complaints filed by employees as well as by students, parents, and applicants. 

…
Continue Reading OCR Releases Revised Case Processing Manual with New Updates to Complaint Process

In March, the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Washington ruled against a school district in favor of a student with intellectual disabilities, who was awarded $500,000 by a jury based on the district’s failure to address repeated acts of peer sexual harassment against the student. In the lawsuit, the plaintiff alleged that the school district violated the student’s due process and equal protection rights, violated Title IX, violated the Washington Law against Discrimination, and was negligent. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff on her due process, equal protection, and negligence claims, and the court denied the district’s motion to set the verdict aside. 

The case, Berg v. Bethel School District, is instructive on a range of issues relating to sexual misconduct involving students with disabilities, including a school district’s duty to protect a student with disabilities from sexual harassment even when the student does not explicitly object to the misconduct.  …

Continue Reading Can a School District Be Liable for Student-on-Student Sexual Harassment Even When a Student Does Not Explicitly Object? Federal District Court Says Yes