Tag: Title IX

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Judge Halts New Trans Protections In Tennessee Schools

(Credit: Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash)

A federal judge will temporarily allow some transgender discrimination in Tennessee and other states, skirting new changes to Title IX. 

Those changes came in President Joe Biden’s first day in office with an executive order that added gender identity and sexual orientation to the anti-discrimination law. Biden later extended those protections to educational environments. The rules are set to go into effect on August 1. All of these changes came after the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that prohibited companies from firing a person on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation. 

In April, Tennessee led a coalition in a lawsuit to block Biden’s new additions to Title IX. The group included Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, Virginia, Christian Educators Association International (CEAI), and “A.C.”, a 15-year-old high school girl who lives in West Virginia. 

The states argued that the new law would chill free speech and religious freedom because teachers would, under the new rules, have to use a student’s “preferred pronouns,” according to the suit. The law would also mandate schools to open up bathrooms and locker rooms to all genders. The states also argued that the new rules subverted Congressional review and overreached into states’ powers to make such laws. 

CEAI opposed the rules on grounds of free speech and shared private facilities. Its members — particularly educators in K-12 public schools —  wish to “live and work consistent with their shared belief that God created human beings as male and female and that sex is an immutable trait.” 

A.C., the 15-year-old student, said a transgender female was allowed to compete on her middle-school track team. The other student’s biology is an unfair advantage, A.C. said, and she did not feel comfortable dressing in front of the other student.

A federal judge agreed with the plaintiffs in a Tuesday ruling.

“There are two sexes: male and female,” wrote Chief Judge Danny Reeves, United States District Court of Eastern Kentucky. But Reeves said in a footnote that the statement was conceded by U.S. Department of Education officials in oral arguments. “The parties have agreed to little else.”

Reeves ordered a preliminary injunction against the new rules but only in those states who joined in the lawsuit. The stay extends to the Christian educators group and A.C. in those six states. 

Tennessee schools and universities would have to let boys into girls’ locker rooms and other private spaces.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti

“If the rule we stopped had been allowed to go into effect on August 1 as scheduled, Tennessee schools and universities would have to let boys into girls’ locker rooms and other private spaces,” Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said in a statement. “If the rule went into effect, our schools would have to punish teachers and students who declined to use someone’s preferred pronouns.

“These are profound changes to the law that the American people never agreed to.  This rule was a huge overreach by federal bureaucrats, and the court was right to stop it.”

Chris Sanders, executive director of the Tennessee Equality Project, said, “We have a state government going into battle against trans and non-binary students via their pronouns,” in an opinion piece in The Tennessean Monday. 

Government employees should not have more of a right to define a student’s identity than the student does.

Chris Sanders, executive director of the Tennessee Equality Project

“Students are better served by policies that respect their identities,” Sanders said. “They are at school to get an education without barriers, not to serve as an opportunity for adults to exercise virtue by choice. 

“Experiencing an agent of the state using the wrong pronoun in front of one’s peers day after day is something students should not endure. Government employees should not have more of a right to define a student’s identity than the student does.”

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Transgender Lawsuit Continues After Judges’ Partial Ruling

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

A challenge of Tennessee’s law dealing with the use of public school restrooms and locker rooms by transgender students remains alive after a federal judge declined to dismiss all claims against the state education department and Williamson County Schools.

U.S. District Court Judge William Campbell denied the state’s request in to dismiss the child’s claim of a violation of rights under the Equal Protection Clause. 

The judge, however, granted a request to dismiss the child’s claim that her Title IX rights were violated. The ruling notes that because the federal law allows schools to maintain separate restrooms for “the different sexes,” requiring the child to use the restroom based on her biological sex doesn’t violate Title IX.

The judge also dismissed the child’s request to correct all records to reflect her female gender.

Tennessee lawmakers have taken steps in recent years to prevent transgender athletes from playing sports based on their sexual identity. The Legislature enacted restrictions in 2023 on transgender medical treatment and this year adopted a bill preventing adults other than parents and guardians from taking children outside the state for transgender care.

Senate passes two bills aimed at transgender athletes

Tennessee Lookout

The case against the Tennessee Department of Education and Williamson County Schools involves a 9-year-old transgender child who was male at birth but identifies as female, according to court filings. The child uses “she/her” pronouns and lives socially as a girl by wearing her hair long and dressing in a manner usually associated with girls. 

The complaint was brought by a friend and the child’s parents when the child was 8, claiming the Williamson County elementary school she attends requires her to use a single-occupancy restroom, not the multi-use girls’ restroom.

The child claims the school’s “insistence” that she use a separate restroom “isolates her and distinguishes her from her classmates and exacerbates the stress and anxiety she experiences while trying to fit in and avoid being stigmatized on the basis of her sex and gender identity.” The child also claims the restroom designated for her has problems with distance from her class, safety and cleanliness.

The Tennessee Legislature passed the Tennessee Accommodations for All Children Act in May 2021, requiring public schools to provide a “reasonable accommodation” to students, teachers and employees who want “greater privacy when using a multi-occupancy restroom or changing facility designated for [their] sex and located within a public school building.” 

“Reasonable accommodations” include single-occupancy restrooms or changing facilities or use of an employee restroom or changing facility.

The “reasonable accommodations” don’t include restrooms or changing areas designated for use by members of the opposite sex while the opposite sex is present or could be present. They also don’t require remodeling or structurally changing a school facility, or limiting access to a restroom or changing room designated for use by members of the opposite sex if that creates a violation or state or local building codes.

The new state law defines sex as “a person’s immutable biological sex as determined by anatomy and genetics existing at the time of birth.” It also provides students, parents, guardians, teachers and employees the right to sue public school systems for “psychological, emotional, and physical harm,” including monetary damages, legal fees and costs if they “encounter a member of the opposite sex in a multi-occupancy restroom or changing facility located in a public school building … [and] the public school intentionally allowed a member of the opposite sex [defined as sex at birth] to enter the multi-occupancy restroom or changing facility while other persons were present.”

Campbell denied the child’s request for an injunction against the school district to stop it from enforcing the state law.

Yet the judge opted not to dismiss the child’s claims under the Equal Protection Clause, which prohibits a state from “denying to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” and prevents government discrimination that “either burdens a fundamental right, targets a suspect class or intentionally treats one differently than others similarly situated without any rational basis for the difference.”

The judge’s ruling points out that classifications by the government based on sex are recognized as “a quasi-suspect classification subject to intermediate scrutiny.”

DH v. Williamson Board of Education

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and Twitter.

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Report: U of M Has Highest Title IX Complaints in State

Credit: University of Memphis via Facebook

The University of Memphis has the most Title IX complaints out of all state agencies in the state — almost three times the amount of other entities reporting.

The purpose of Title IX is to ban discrimination on the basis of sex for “any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” This includes admission consideration, employment, as well as “treatment of students” and “access to programs and courses,” among other things. 

In 2023 the University of Memphis reported 125 Title IX complaints to the agency, according to a report from the Tennessee State Comptroller’s office. Other schools included in the report were  Austin Peay State University (21 incidents), East Tennessee State University (19 incidents), Tennessee State University (5 incidents), and the University of Tennessee (24).

While U of M reported the most complaints compared to other agencies, the 2023 numbers show a 3.2 percent decrease from the previous year (129.) This is the third year in a row that the university reported the most incidents.

The report does not say why the university has so many reports, or the nature of them. University officials refused to respond to questions about Title IX complaints, including the most basic descriptions of the types of incidents that cause complaints. They also would not say whether complaints were up because of increased knowledge of campus resources.

“The University of Memphis is committed to providing an environment free from discrimination on the basis of sex and provides many resources to students, faculty, and staff to address concerns relating to discrimination on the basis of sex, which includes sexual misconduct,” the university said in a statement.

When asked for public records pertaining to the Title IX complaints, the comptroller’s office recommended the university be reached for “any records related to the cumulative report.”

Students, staff, and faculty can file complaints through the university’s Office for Institutional Equity.

“It should be noted that a complainant has the right to the complaint being handled as confidentially as reasonably possible,” said the university. 

Morgan Linsy is a senior at the University of Memphis, and is the executive director of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Coalition (SAPAC). This organization partners with the Title IX office for events and training such as their Healthy Relationships Fair and “Walk A Mile In Her Shoes” men’s march.

Linsy said her organization is advocating for more transparency regarding Title IX so they can tailor programming and support to best meet the needs of students. She understands the university has to protect victims as she also serves as a mandatory reporter for the university.

“They come to us knowing that what happens is going to stay with us and I think sometimes seeing the numbers can be scary for some people,” Linsy said. “It’s important for us to know what those numbers are, but I think we also have to remember that there still is a certain level of privacy that they’re owed, because at the end of the day they don’t have to report; however, we want them to so we can help bring awareness and see how we can increase resources for students on campus.”

Linsy thinks that transparency in numbers and reporting is important campus-wide for current and prospective students as well.

“If we know what’s happening on campus, we’re more inclined to keep each other aware, keep each other accountable, and make sure we work together to help prevent it all together,” Linsy said.

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State AG to Feds: Equity Issues Not Our Problem

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Any agency that gets federal funds for food must now investigate allegations of discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation, and Tennessee’s Republican Attorney General is leading the fight against the move.  

In May, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) added gender identity and sexual orientation to its interpretation of Title IX. The 1972 law outlawed discrimination based on sex for any program or activity receiving federal assistance.  

The USDA said the move to include gender identity and sexual orientation is to keep its programs open to everyone, help ensure “all Americans have access to nutritious foods that promote health and well-being regardless of race, ethnicity, identity or background.” The move is also in line with President Joe Biden’s executive order in January on “preventing and combating discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation.”   

“USDA is committed to administering all its programs with equity and fairness, and serving those in need with the highest dignity,” said Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. “A key step in advancing these principles is rooting out discrimination in any form, including discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

We hope that by standing firm against these inequities we will help bring about much-needed change.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack

“At the same time, we must recognize the vulnerability of the LGBTQI+ communities and provide them with an avenue to grieve any discrimination they face. We hope that by standing firm against these inequities we will help bring about much-needed change.”

But this is wrong, according to Tennessee’s Attorney General Herbert Slatery, because agencies that don’t comply with the order will lose federal funding. So, Slatery is leading a coalition of 26 state attorneys general to stop it.  

A letter addressed to Biden about the issue was written and sent by Slatery’s office and has been signed by attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

In the letter, the attorneys argue that the new guidance is unlawful because it was issued without the input of state officials and other stakeholders that they say is required by the Administrative Procedures Act. They claim the Biden Administration misread and wrongly applied the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, which protects employees against discrimination because they are gay or transgender, as a basis for the new rules. 

The USDA’s move “imposes” new and “unlawful” regulatory measures on state agencies and other agency operators that get federal help from the USDA. Slatery’s letter claims the new rules will cause “regulatory chaos that threatens essential nutritional services to some of the most vulnerable citizens.” The National School Lunch Program, the letter gives as an example, serves nearly 30 million students each day and could be in danger under the new rules. 

As attorneys general we cannot just sit on the sidelines, and we will not.

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery

“This is yet another attempt by the executive branch and unelected regulators to do what only Congress is constitutionally authorized to do: change the law,” Slatery said in a statement issued Tuesday. “They intentionally misread the [Bostock v. Clayton County] to fit their social policy preferences and exclude the people and their elected representatives from the entire process. As attorneys general we cannot just sit on the sidelines, and we will not.”

The USDA said the LGBTQ community has faced “striking economic and social disparities, such as higher rates of poverty, unemployment, and nutrition insecurity. It said a U.S. Census Bureau survey found that more than 13 percent of LGBTQ respondents faced food insecurity compared to 7.2 percent of non-LGBTQ respondents. 

No one should be denied access to nutritious food simply because of who they are or how they identify.

Stacy Dean, Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services Deputy Undersecretary

“Whether you are grocery shopping, standing in line at the school cafeteria, or picking up food from a food bank, you should be able to do so without fear of discrimination,” said Stacy Dean, Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services Deputy Undersecretary. “No one should be denied access to nutritious food simply because of who they are or how they identify.”

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Students Rally Behind Rhodes Grad Who Says Sexual Assault Case Was Mishandled

CREDIT: Facebook/Rhodes

Facebook/Rhodes

A Rhodes College student group is rallying behind a recent graduate who went public last week, expressing her disappointment over the way the college handled an allegation of sexual assault she made last school year.

Culture of Consent is planning a rally for Tuesday, November 19th to protest the college’s response to the allegations, saying the school tried to buy the silence of the alleged victim, Emily [last name withheld], a 2019 graduate of Rhodes.

“Intentional manipulation of survivors within Rhodes Title IX Office and other offices across the country happens too often,” the group said in a press release, “Culture of Consent has heard story after story like this, and it’s time to say no more. Emily has asked us to make her story known so that others don’t have to go through this.”

In a letter addressed to Rhodes College president Marjorie Hass and posted online, Emily said she is writing the letter to “say how disappointed I am in my alma mater for how severely it mishandled my sexual assault case.”

The six-page letter dated November 15th details many “glaring issues” the former student noticed in the school’s process of handling her case.

Emily was raped in February, according to her letter. “My assailant, John Doe, was a friend.” Emily reported the incident a month later to Rhodes’ Title IX office after learning that the same assailant had assaulted another female student at a Valentine’s Day event.

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Emily said working with the Title IX office was “tedious.” She also noted that many of her communications “were disregarded, not answered properly, or entirely dismissed.”

“I was left in the dark for the entirety of my process because there was no one in the administration who was checking in with me to ensure that I was being treated with respect,” Emily said.

The former student said she was not given a hearing date until 124 days after she first reported the assault. Then, a day before the hearing was scheduled to take place, Emily received a call from the Title IX office saying that a settlement had been reached in a related lawsuit filed by the student accused of assaulting Emily.

“As you know, your hearing ultimately did not go forward because the parallel lawsuit was resolved with the respondent not being enrolled at Rhodes now or in the future, which is comparable to the maximum sanction of expulsion that he could have received as a result of your hearing,” reads a portion of an email sent to Emily by Title IX coordinator Tiffany Cox.

The Title IX office offered to reimburse Emily for expenses related to the hearing that didn’t occur. After the student sent an itemized expense list to the school, totaling just under $3,000, she was told she would have to sign a confidentiality agreement in order to receive reimbursement.

“Rhodes offers reimburse you for your expenses,” Cox wrote in the same email cited above, “in exchange for your agreement to maintain confidentiality: We ask that you agree not to disclose any aspect of Rhodes’ investigation and administration of your Title IX claim, and particularly this letter and its proposed payment arrangement, either privately or in any public forum.”

“I had now been victimized by John Doe and Rhodes,” Emily wrote. “My well-being, like that of other student victims, was secondary to the reputation of the school.”

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Earlier this month, Rhodes received a $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to enhance its prevention of and response to sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking on campus.

The college will use the funds to create the Coordinated Community Response Team to enhance the school’s response, prevention, and education related to the four crimes above, as well as implement mandatory training and education sessions for students and faculty. The trainings will largely focus on students who live on campus, belong to Greek organizations, or are student-athletes.



Emily said that “sounds wonderful, but I believe how these activities are executed is what will really change the Rhodes College campus for the better.”

Rhodes needs to make their sexual assault policies and procedures better known to students, Emily said. Students should also learn about the meaning of affirmative consent, the definitions of all forms of sexual assault, and the different types of incapacitation.

Emily said she hopes the federal grant will yield “positive changes” at Rhodes, but “unfortunately, my love for my school has been damaged beyond repair.”

“I would be open to having a conversation with the administration, working on program plans, or even coming back for a panel to help current students better understand sexual assault,” Emily concludes the letter. “I truly believe Rhodes College has the potential to improve its Title IX office, but great strides need to be made.”

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Shortly after Emily’s letter went public, Hass responded in an email to the campus community. Hass said it is always the college’s goal to treat students with the “utmost compassion and care throughout the Title IX process.”

Rhodes College

Marjorie Hass

“Our graduate wrote of her alienation and bitter disappointment after we asked for her confidentiality,” Hass continued. “While that was not our intent, it is also not an excuse. We are committed to protecting the privacy of students, survivors, and witnesses, but we fail our students when we value silence over their ability to share their experience.”

Hass said the college is committed to “upholding a fair Title IX process,” and that the $300,000 federal grant will help the school do a better job of preventing sexual assaults, as well as supporting students who are victims of sexual assault and other related crimes.

“I have heard your voices speaking out today about the necessity of improving our culture of consent at Rhodes, and I will continue to work together with all of you on this,” Hass continued. “We need to work toward a culture where these horrible incidents don’t occur.”

#youprobablyknowthem

Culture of Consent launched a campaign to honor Emily and other survivors with the hashtag #youprobablyknowthem.

“We’re doing this for those who don’t report their assaults out of fear that this may happen to them,” the group wrote. “The reality is that most survivors who have gone through the Title IX process have probably had experiences like Emily.

The campaign includes:

• Banner drops around Rhodes College’s campus on November 16th

• Breaking the Silence, a protest via march and demonstration on November 19th

• Fundraising campaign for survivor, Emily, via GoFundMe which launched November 16th

• Week-long flag display in a public quad showing the prevalence of sexual violence

• Flagging the Problem, a flag ceremony and opportunity to learn about the resources available to survivors and allies, on December 2nd

Abbey Bako, president of Culture of Consent said the group’s primary goal of the campaign is to increase accountability on the Rhodes campus.

“Policies and procedures only work as well as the people implementing them allow,” Bako said. “So how do we increase accountability within such a closed system? That’s what we want to figure out.”

Bako said the Breaking the Silence rally, scheduled for Tuesday at 6:00 p.m., will be an opportunity to channel “productive anger.” It will be a space for students to express their feelings about how the administration handles sexual violence on campus. It will also be a space to figure out how to move forward “as a student body to prevent this from ever happening again.”

The Rhodes Student Government (RSG) also weighed in on the issue, saying that the group “stands discontent with the conduct of Title IX” regarding its handling of Emily’s case.

“We as a school and a community should support survivors and encourage them to come forward not silence them,” the group said in a Facebook post. “We stand with Emily. RSG intends to work toward a better, more comprehensive Title IX education for students and for better resources for survivors on campus. “

According to Rhodes’ 2019 Security and Fire Safety Report, the total number of sexual offenses on campus saw a dramatic decrease between 2016 and 2018. There were a total of 19 reported sexual offenses on campus in 2016. In 2017, that number dropped to four, and then rose to nine last year.