Title IX for Students: Rights on the basis of sex | C&F lawyers, KY

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Title IX For Students: Section C, Specific Provisions

Written by Cooper & Friedman PLLC on October 11, 2022
The specific rules that Title IX has to enforce and abide by.

 

In part two of the Title IX For Students blog series, the focus pans away from the general overview of discrimination and the categories that it has under Section A, and instead moves to the specific provisions pertinent to students outlined in Section C. These provisions cover a variety of different topics that are particularly liable to discrimination on the basis of sex and are therefore explicitly stated in the Title IX law.

IV. Discriminatory Conduct

C. Specific Provisions

Under the Title IX common rule, as a general matter, in providing any aid, benefit, or service, an educational entity (program or activity) that operates under Title IX with the opportunity to discriminate may not, on the basis of sex:

  • Treat one person differently from another in determining eligibility for the aid, benefit, or service
  • Provide different aid, benefits, or services or provide them in a different manner
  • Deny any eligible person any such aid, benefit, or service on the basis of sex
  • Subject any person to separate or different rules of behavior, sanctions, or other treatment
  • Apply any rule concerning the residence of an applicant, including eligibility for in-state fees and tuition
  • Encourage or aid in the discrimination against any person by providing significant assistance to any agency, organization, or person that discriminates provision of aid, benefit, or service on the basis of sex to students or employees
  • Otherwise limit any person in the enjoyment of any right, privilege, advantage, or opportunity

The eight specific provisions explicitly included in the Title IX law state that educational programs and activities operating under Title IX:

1. Housing

  • May not apply different rules or regulations, impose different fees or requirements, or offer different services or benefits related to housing.

Note: Separate housing on the basis of sex may, however, be provided if such housing is both proportionate in quantity to the number of students of each sex applying for the housing and comparable in quality and cost to the student.

2. Comparable Facilities

  • May provide separate toilet, locker room, and shower facilities on the basis of sex, but only if such facilities provided to one sex are comparable to the facilities provided to the other sex.

3. Access to Course Offerings

  • May not provide an education program/activity separately on the basis of sex or require/refuse participation by an individual of a certain sex in courses on the basis of sex.

4. Counseling and Use of Appraisal and Counseling Materials

  • May not discriminate against any person on the basis of sex in the counseling or guidance of students or applicants for admission. Specifically, in appraising or counseling students, an educational program or activity must not use different testing or other materials on the basis of sex or use materials that permit or require different treatment of students on the basis of sex.

Note: Such different materials may be used, however, where they cover the same occupational interest areas and their use is shown to be essential to eliminate sex bias. And if the educational entity finds that a particular class contains a substantially disproportionate number of individuals of one sex, the recipient must take such action as is necessary to assure itself that such disproportion is not the result of discrimination on the basis of sex in counseling or appraisal materials or by counselors.

5. Financial Assistance

  • May not provide different types or amounts of assistance, limit eligibility for such assistance, apply different criteria, or otherwise discriminate in the provision of financial assistance to any student participating in an educational program or activity on the basis of sex.

Note: Although educational entities are allowed to administer or assist in administering specific sex-restricted scholarships, fellowships, or other forms of financial assistance to students through a domestic or foreign will, trust, bequest, or similar instrument, the Title IX regulations require that the overall effect of such sex-restricted financial assistance not discriminate on the basis of sex.

6. Employment Assistance

  • May not assist any agency, organization, or person in making employment available to its students in a discriminatory manner on the basis of sex.

7. Marital or Parental Status

  • May not apply any rule concerning a student’s actual or potential parental, family, or marital status that treats students differently on the basis of sex.
  • May not exclude any student from participating in its educational program or activity, including extracurricular activities, based on the student’s pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination or pregnancy, or recovery from such termination, unless the student voluntarily requests to be excluded from the program or activity and placed in a separate portion of the program.
  • Must provide a portion of its program or activity separately to a student who is pregnant or has a related condition and who voluntarily chooses such a program, with the assurance that the separate portion is comparable to the program offered to students who are not pregnant.

Notes: A student’s pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy, and recovery from such termination of pregnancy must be subjected to the same policies that a recipient applies to any other temporary disability in terms of medical or hospital benefits, service, plan, or policy available all students in a recipient’s education program or activity. (Includes high schools/Honor societies)

Educational entities are allowed to require students who are pregnant or have a related condition to obtain certification from a physician to confirm that a student is physically and emotionally able to continue participation in a recipient’s program. However, they may only do so if such certification is required of all students for other physical or emotional conditions that require a physician’s attention

8. Athletics

  • May not exclude from participation, deny benefits, allow different treatment, or otherwise discriminate against in any interscholastic, intercollegiate, club or intramural athletics offered on the basis of sex, nor provide such athletics separately on such basis.
  • May operate or sponsor separate teams for members of each sex where selection for such teams is based upon competitive skill or the activity involved is a contact sport.
  • Must provide equal opportunity for members of both sexes.

Notes: If an educational entity operates or sponsors no such team for members of the other sex, and athletic opportunities for members of that sex have previously been limited, members of the excluded sex must be allowed to try out for the team offered unless the sport involved is a contact sport.

Equal opportunity can include but is not limited to:

  • Provision of equipment
  • Scheduling of games and practice time
  • Travel and per diem allowances
  • Assignment and compensation of coaches
  • Provision of locker rooms
  • Provision of medical and training facilities
  • Provision of housing and dining facilities
  • Publicity

What To Do If Your Title IX Case Has Been Mishandled

Violations of specific provisions are easier to identify and obtain evidence for than discrimination in general, but it’s still equally as important to take a stand if you believe that your Title IX complaint was mishandled and that the campus policies were misused, or you felt that the complaint and/or investigation itself was mishandled, and have the ability to file a complaint with the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights.

You’re also always welcome to bring your case to Cooper and Friedman – experienced Civil Rights lawyers ready to help you with your Title IX violations.

Some important information pertaining to Title IX cases:

  • Anyone may file a complaint.

This means that the person or organization filing the complaint do not need to be a victim of the discrimination and may complain on behalf of another person or group. However, the person filing on behalf of another person(s) is responsible for securing any necessary written consent from that individual, including when a parent files for a student over the age of 18.

  • A complaint usually has to be filed within 180 days of the last act of discrimination.

If your complaint involves matters that occurred longer ago than this and you are requesting a waiver, you will be asked to show good cause why you did not file your complaint within the 180-day period. This could be due to retaliation done against you because of your intent to file a complaint or other outstanding causes, such as debilitating injury, sickness, or uncontrolled circumstances.

  • You may file a complaint online or by email.

You may file a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) using their electronic complaint form or by emailing either the electronic complaint form or a scanned, signed written letter of complaint to ocr@ed.gov.

If you or someone you love has suffered a Title IX violation in the State of Kentucky and are in need of an experienced civil rights attorney, give the lawyers at the Cooper & Friedman law firm a call. The attorneys at Cooper and Friedman PLLC have over 50 years of combined experience defending the rights of civil rights violation victims. Schedule a free case consultation with an attorney by calling 502-459-7555 today.

Posted Under: Civil Rights Law, Discrimination Law, Harassment, Sex and Gender Discrimination, Title IX

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