1. 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 )
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:
Department of Education Office of Civil Rights:
Trans Student Educational Resource Center:
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),
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),
United States Code
Lhamon, C., & Gupta, V. (2016, May 13). Dear Colleague Letter on Transgender Students
[Letter]. Department of Education Office of Civli Rights.