Blog

OCR Announces Resolution in Ancestry Discrimination Complaint

April 20, 2023

This month, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights announced the resolution of a complaint of discrimination on the basis of shared ancestry against the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College ("University"). The complaint alleges that the University violated Title VI by failing to address various

Title IX Athletics NPRM – What You Need to Know

April 13, 2023

When the Department of Education announced the 2022 Title IX NPRM last summer, the agency stated that it would address the issue of transgender participation in athletics in a separate rulemaking process. On April 6, 2023, the Department finally published the “Athletics NPRM” to address equal opportunity in athletics

What is the Relationship between NIL, College Athletes, and Title IX?

March 23, 2023

NIL is an acronym for Name, Image, and Likeness and is used to refer to an athlete’s ability to profit off their celebrity. The NCAA previously had a long-standing rule against student athletes receiving NIL profits, instead limiting athletes to stipends

Federal Appeals Court Upholds Expulsion Over Social Media Posts

March 16, 2023

A federal appeals court in California recently upheld the expulsion of two students for racist Instagram posts. In Chen v. Albany Unified School District, the Court examined the extent of free speech protections for off-campus speech following the consequential 2021 Supreme Court decision in Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L.

New Resources from OCR on Athletics under Title IX

March 9, 2023

The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights released three new resources that will help students, parents, athletics staff, and administrators evaluate whether a school is providing equal athletic opportunities regardless of sex.  

In accordance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, public elementary and secondary