TITLE IX in Higher Education & Today’s Transgender Student Kristinn D Wise . HI ED 560. The Pennsylvania State University TITLE IX: HISTORY TITLE IX & Transgender Students TITLE IX & Future Plans for Transgender Students “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…” ( United States Code 448-449.) Title IX is a gray area for Transgender rights because some professionals argue that it only protects physical gender as opposed to identified gender 80% of Transgender students say that they feel unsafe at their intuition because of their gender identity (Rao, 2013) Protecting students from sex-based harassment is a large part of Title IX enforcement in higher education In recent years the Supreme Court has acknowledged the emerging constitutional right to “gender autonomy” in accordance with Title IX Cases - Title IX of the educational amendments was signed into law by President Richard Nixon in 1972 (Buchanan, 2012). Colleges and Universities across the country are introducing Campus Pride Centers to help promote community and provide resources The Use of gender neutral pronouns is becoming more widely accepted (hir, sie, ze & xe) 72 institutions around the US offer insurance coverage for students that includes coverage for sex reassignment surgeries Gender neutral bathrooms and other facilities Campus wide title IX training and compliance President Richard Nixon Evolution & Change Throughout the Years: 1975 Javits Amendment to passed based on Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) proposed a provision, allowing “reasonable provisions considering the nature of particular sports”- leading to Gender separated teams Equal Opportunity Provision added to ensure equal opportunities on all levels for both male and female teams. Adjustment Period instated giving educational institutions 1 year to enact all changes dictated by Title IX Focus shifted away from athletics and more towards general equality of genders in academic programs both curricular and extracurricular in nature Dear Colleague Letter of 2016 In May 2016 a New Dear Colleague Letter was released by the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights Written by : Catherine Lhamon, Assistant Sectary for Civil Rights & Vanita Gupta, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Defines key terms associated with transgender students and gender equality Calls to action schools and administrators to treat a students gender identity as the student’s sex for all purposes associated with Title IX compliance Outline s 4 guidelines for insuring that schools provide a discrimination free environment in accordance with Title IX: 1. Provide Students with a safe and nondiscriminatory environment 2. Proper use of Identification Documents, Names, and Pronouns 3. Regulations regarding sex segregated facilities and Activities 4. Privacy of Educational Records (Lhamon & Vanita, 2016) Dear Colleague Letter of 2011 Perhaps the biggest change influencer for Title IX Written by Russlynn Ali, the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the United States Department of Education Called for change in Title IX compliance on College Campuses Outlined expectations for handling sexual harassment 1. Eliminate harassment 2. Prevent reoccurrence 3. Address the effects (Ali, 2011) For More Information Dear Colleague Transgender Student Rights Letter: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201605-title-ix-transgender.pdf Department of Education Office of Civil Rights: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/lgbt.html Trans Student Educational Resource Center: http://www.transstudent.org/ References: Ali, R. (2011, April 4). Dear Colleague [Letter]. United States Department of Education. Buchanan, M. P. (2012). Title IX Turns 40: A Brief History and Look Forward. Texas Review Of Entertainment & Sports Law, 14(1), 91-93. Heckman, D. (1997). Scoreboard: Concise Chronological Twenty-Five Year History of Title IX Involving Interscholastic and Intercollegiate Athletics. Seton Hall Journal of Sport Law 7(2), 391-422 United States Code 448-449. Lhamon, C., & Gupta, V. (2016, May 13). Dear Colleague Letter on Transgender Students [Letter]. Department of Education Office of Civli Rights.