Title IX: Promoting Equality and Preventing Discrimination
Title IX is a federal civil rights statute that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in federal programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance. It is a part of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. i 1/2, which was passed to provide assistance to students attending colleges and universities. This law is used by several government agencies to enforce its provisions and is an important legal tool in promoting equality of opportunity and eliminating discrimination on the basis of gender in federal programs.
Expanding the Scope of Title IX
The CRRA expanded the scope of Title IX to include many additional types of educational institutions and programs operated by recipients that receive federal financial assistance. This includes police academies, vocational training programs for prison inmates, and other education activities.
Exemptions and Separate Programs
A recipient that operates a program or activity subject to a religious tenet or policy that is contrary to Title IX may be exempt from its coverage under the Act. This exemption, however, applies only to the particular education program or activity that is operated by a recipient that is controlled by the religious organization with tenets or policies that are contrary to Title IX.
Moreover, the CRRA also allows a recipient to exclude from its coverage any portion of its programs or activities that it operates for women only. The statute provides that an institution may operate or sponsor separate teams for members of each sex where selection for these teams is based on competitive skill or the sport involved involves contact.
Compliance with CRRA Coverage Requirements
In order to be in compliance with the CRRA's coverage requirements, a recipient must evaluate its existing policies and procedures as they affect the admission of students, treatment of students, and employment of academic and non-academic personnel working in connection with its education program or activity. It must then make any required modifications to its existing policies and procedures. It must keep records documenting these evaluations and any modifications for at least three years and be able to provide them to the funding agency upon request.
Redressing Complaints and Notification
Recipients must establish and maintain a mechanism for redressing complaints alleging unlawful sex discrimination in their programs or activities. This includes providing a grievance procedure for employees and applicants to file complaints alleging sex discrimination against the recipient. This mechanism should be a formal, transparent process that includes both a written grievance procedure and an administrative hearing before a designated Title IX coordinator.
The establishment of a formal grievance procedure under this statute is intended to promote institutional responsibility for enforcing the prohibition against discrimination on the basis of sex and for establishing equitable resolution of complaints filed by both program participants and employees. In addition, this implementing regulation requires all recipients to notify the public of their policy that they do not discriminate on the basis of sex in their programs or activities. This notification must be provided in a manner that is clearly and conspicuously available to the public.
Fair and Prompt Attention to Complaints
A recipient must ensure that any staff member who participates in the development of a sex discrimination complaint receives fair and prompt attention from an administrative or human resources representative, as well as from the recipient's legal counsel. Recipients must also ensure that complaints are promptly forwarded to the appropriate state or federal regulatory authority for review and action. A recipient that fails to comply with this requirement may be held liable in a court of law for damages.
