On April 6, the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released its much-anticipated proposed Title IX rule on the eligibility of students for participation in athletic programs based on their gender identity....more
4/17/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Department of Education ,
Education Reform ,
Educational Institutions ,
Federal Funding ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
OCR ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Schools ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sports ,
Student Athletes ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Transgender
Happy New Year from the Title IX team at Franczek! Over the next several posts, we will be providing Title IX updates from the end of 2022 that you might have missed, as well as noteworthy items to keep an eye on in 2023. ...more
Recent court and OCR decisions regarding transgender students and employees reflect widely varying responses to the Biden administration’s efforts to expand protections for LGBTQ+ individuals under federal law, including...more
9/22/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employees ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
OCR ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Transgender
You may have noticed while skimming through the new Title IX proposed regulations that there are now seemingly two grievance procedures to address Title IX complaints instead of one. You’ll recall that the current 2020...more
7/1/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Department of Education ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender Identity ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Students ,
Title IX
Litigants challenging the opening of women’s restrooms and locker rooms in schools to transgender females have roundly been defeated. While the Supreme Court could always change the trend, cases like Whitcare v. Kenosha...more
2/20/2020
/ Educational Institutions ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Gloucester County School Board v G.G. ,
LGBTQ ,
Restroom Legislation ,
Right to Privacy ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Student Athletes ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Transgender
With the number of students who identify as gender non-conforming on the rise, many educators have questions regarding the supports and services that may be available to such students. This year at IAASE, Jennifer Smith and...more
10/25/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Dear Colleague Letter ,
Gender Identity ,
IDEA ,
Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) ,
LGBTQ ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Special Education ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Transgender
In a recent decision, the Illinois Human Rights Commission (IHRC) ruled that Illinois schools cannot limit transgender students’ unfettered access to the locker rooms that correspond to their gender identities. The decision...more
8/8/2019
/ Educational Institutions ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Human Rights ,
LGBTQ ,
School Restrooms ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
State and Local Government ,
Students ,
Transgender
On June 30, 2019, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed an executive order aimed at studying and providing recommendations on legal rights and supports in the school environment for transgender, non-binary, and gender...more
7/3/2019
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Educational Institutions ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Agency Taskforce ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Gender Neutral ,
LGBTQ ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
State and Local Government ,
Students ,
Transgender
One of the loftiest goals of K-12 education is to teach children to disagree respectfully, but what do you do if they disrespectfully disagree—especially on a hot button, highly-sensitive topic?...more
A flurry of recent news reports signals a marked change by the Trump administration of the Federal government’s approach toward the rights of transgender students in public education. What, if any, practical implications do...more
10/24/2018
/ Educational Institutions ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Gender Neutral ,
LGBTQ ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Protected Class ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
State and Local Government ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Transgender
In an opinion issued last week, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided in favor of a transgender student who challenged his high school’s decision to limit his access to boys’ communal bathrooms. ...more
6/9/2017
/ Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Protection ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
Public Schools ,
Restroom Legislation ,
School Restrooms ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Transgender
The wait for a final resolution of the legal issues surrounding transgender students will be extended as the result of a decision yesterday by the United State Supreme Court in the landmark case, Gloucester County School Bd....more
3/8/2017
/ Dear Colleague Letter ,
Department of Education ,
Gender Identity ,
Gloucester County School Board v G.G. ,
LGBTQ ,
Public Schools ,
Remand ,
School Restrooms ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title IX ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Education (DOE) jointly issued a statement rescinding the guidance on transgender students’ rights under Title IX issued to school districts nationwide in May. The prior...more
2/23/2017
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Education ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discrimination ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Gloucester County School Board v G.G. ,
LGBTQ ,
Restroom Legislation ,
School Restrooms ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration
In an opinion issued yesterday, U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Gilbert decided that Township High School District 211 “balanced the interests of all its students when it decided to permit transgender students to...more
On Thursday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit re-affirmed prior court holdings that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act does not prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, but in so doing...more
8/2/2016
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Gender Identity ,
Human Rights Act ,
LGBTQ ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII
Amidst a recently intensified national debate regarding support for transgender students in schools, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Education (DOE) today issued new guidance setting out guidelines for...more
5/16/2016
/ Dear Colleague Letter ,
Department of Education ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Transgender