What Are Your Civil Rights Under Title IX?

Title IX protects against sex discrimination in education.  These rules help protect most Americans at some point in their lives, stopping schools from discriminating against them “on the basis of sex.”  The rights protected under Title IX may seem narrow and specific, but because of the way these protections are worded and how Title IX is enforced, these rights are actually quite far-reaching.  Title IX lawsuit attorney Andrew Shubin explains what civil rights are specifically protected under Title IX and how you can seek justice and compensation if your rights were violated.

What Does Title IX Protect Students Against?

Many pieces of civil rights legislation cover specific types of discrimination, such as employment discrimination or housing discrimination.  Each piece of legislation typically has protected categories as well, stopping discrimination based on sex, race, religion, or other details about a person.  Title IX has specific protections as well, but because of how they are enforced and interpreted, this law often has wide-reaching protections and implications for students, their families, and teachers.

Sex and Gender Discrimination Protections in Title IX

Title IX specifically prohibits discrimination “on the basis of sex.”  This is generally interpreted to mean that covered institutions cannot discriminate between men and women (or girls and boys, in cases of high school sex discrimination).  However, this definition of “sex discrimination” is typically broadened to cover gender discrimination and discrimination based on gender presentation as well.  Since discrimination based on gender or based on how someone presents or dresses are based on expectations about sex, this discrimination usually runs afoul of Title IX, too.  Additionally, protections for trans and gender-nonconforming students are often found in Title IX’s protections as well.

Discriminatory Acts Banned by Title IX

Because Title IX applies to sex discrimination, broadly, it touches on many parts of the high school and college educational experience.  Not only is sex discrimination banned in the educational opportunities, classes, and programs students can be involved in, but sex discrimination is also banned in school sports and other extracurricular activities.  For colleges and boarding schools, sex discrimination is also illegal in housing and other areas.

Title IX also covers harassment and sexual assault.  This means that bullying based on sex or gender, sexual harassment, lewd language, sexual assault, and rape are also dealt with under Title IX.  These protections guarantee that schools and other institutions will be prevented from condoning or perpetuating in these kinds of problems.  If a school’s policies fail to adequately protect its students or its employees are responsible for institutional sexual assault or other issues of sexual misconduct, they can be dealt with under Title IX’s protections.  These sexual harassment protections also apply to teachers and employees at educational institutions as well as the students.

What Schools are Covered by Title IX?

Title IX applies to any educational institution that receives federal funding.  This means that public high schools are protected, but so are public colleges.  In addition, most private high schools and colleges receive some sort of federal funds from the Department of Education, so they are also covered by Title IX’s civil rights protections as well.  Moreover, many libraries, museums, and other educational institutions also receive federal funding and must follow Title IX.

Filing Title IX Complaints and Lawsuits

Title IX is enforced by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR).  Complaints of sexual harassment, sexual assault at school, and sex-based discrimination in education can be filed with the OCR.  This can lead to an investigation and official reprimands which might help you get your school to stop the discrimination against you or help protect other students from similar discrimination.  However, filing a complaint with the OCR typically does not do much to help the victim seek compensation for the wrongs they’ve suffered.

If you want to seek compensation and get real justice for the harassment and discrimination you’ve suffered because of your sex or gender, you may file a lawsuit against the institution.  Title IX also protects victims of sex discrimination by giving them access to private lawsuits against the offending schools and institutions.  This may allow victims to seek preliminary injunctions in court for immediate relief from discrimination, suspending discriminatory policies or mistreatment.  It also allows them to seek compensation from the institution, potentially paying them back for any harms they suffered because of the discrimination.

In cases of institutional sexual assault or on-campus sexual assault, Title IX lawsuits can help victims seek justice for harms that never should have occurred.  If you were a victim of sexual assault at school, you may be entitled to substantial compensation from a lawsuit, especially if the school or university was involved in covering up such issues or knew of suspected issues and did nothing to prevent them.

Compensation is also available for other types of discrimination, such as gender discrimination against trans students, discrimination against female student-athletes, and discriminatory policies or policy enforcement.

Call Our Attorney for Title IX Sex Discrimination Lawsuits for a Free Legal Consultation

If you were subjected to sex discrimination in high school or college or while working at an educational institution, you may be entitled to file a Title IX claim or Title IX lawsuit to seek justice for the discrimination you faced.  Our civil rights attorney at The Law Office of Andrew Shubin may be able to take your case and fight for you.  For a free legal consultation on your case, call our law office today at (814) 826-3586.