吃瓜大本营

The provisions that are challenged in the suit include: the definition of sexual harassment to which schools must respond; the requirement that college and university students report sexual harassment or assault to a handful of designated officials in order for reports to be investigated; the use of a 鈥渄eliberate indifference鈥� standard in evaluating whether schools responded appropriately to sexual harassment complaints; and the standard of proof applicable in disciplinary hearings.

The new Title IX provisions undermine students鈥� civil rights and inflict significant harm on students who experience sexual harassment or assault, including students of color, LGBTQ students, and students with and without disabilities, in grade school, high school, and higher education. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos鈥檚 regulatory provisions are a significant departure from the Education Department鈥檚 prior Title IX standards, and dramatically reduce schools鈥� obligations to respond to sexual harassment and assault. The challenged provisions create a double standard, in which educational institutions have dramatically different obligations to respond to harassment based on sex, on the one hand, and race, national origin, and disability on the other.