LGBTQ students might wonder what Title IX can do for them in the case of harassment and what employees of high schools and colleges can do to uphold this law. Title IX has not always been written to protect LGBTQ students; In 1972, its goal was to prevent discrimination on the basis of sex in an academic or athletic activity that receives federal funding (tennis club, robotics club, etc). It was not taken very seriously by institutions until the early 90s, when the Supreme Court upheld that victims of discrimination could be allotted monetary damages.
However, under the Obama administration, Title IX began to expand its protections even more. When receiving an inquiry concerning the rights of transgender students to use a restroom consistent with their gender identity, The Department of Education assured that discrimination based on the failure to conform to stereotypical masculinity and femininity is prohibited under Title IX. In fact, in 2016, the Department of Justice made it clear that Title IX includes the need to treat a student’s “gender identity as a student’s sex for the purpose of Title IX”.
Title VII has extended its protections concerning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the workplace. Because Title VII and Title IX both pertain to the prohibition of sex-based discrimination, courts often look to Title VII interpretations for guidance when working with Title IX. This means that Title IX could be changing soon as well to adjust to the need to protect non-heterosexual students.
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