We recently discussed a de-identified case on our blog: A student-athlete disclosed repeated sexualized comments and touching by her coach, first to her head coach, then to the Title IX Coordinator. The head coach didn’t escalate the disclosure. Instead, she asked the students whether they wanted it reported or handled internally, and then nothing happened. […]
Last month, the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced investigations into five medical schools for alleged racial discrimination in admissions. Admissions-focused investigations are nothing new for OCR. These five are different because of how they were opened: jointly, with two other federal agencies involved from the start. OCR conducted this […]
On August 3, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon issued a National Call to Action letter to every college and university president and governing board in the country, asking them to publish, by the end of 2026, a public statement describing their commitment to reforms the ED believes would help to restore public trust in […]
OCR recently released several disability-related resolutions that give a useful window into where the agency is focusing its attention under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The cases came out of very different settings, from a high school honors decision to a field trip and an […]
The Civil Rights Enforcement Landscape Just Shifted. Here’s What It Means. This week, the Department of Education (ED) announced four new Interagency Agreements (IAAs). IAAs are mechanisms used to transfer functions between federal agencies. The IAAs this week move some civil rights enforcement and training responsibilities from ED to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and […]
A District Spent $2.5 Million. A University Paid a $1.3 Million Verdict. Both Were Trying to Follow Title IX. Two recent legal developments out of the Houston area offer a look at what is at stake when Title IX compliance systems break down. Neither case involves a district or institution that ignored the law. Both […]
If you have been paying attention to federal civil rights enforcement this spring, you may have noticed that two very different stories are being told simultaneously – and both of them are true. On April 30, the DOJ announced investigations into 36 Illinois public schools, examining whether those schools have included sexual orientation and gender […]
Last Monday, a federal judge approved a landmark settlement in higher education: Title IX financial aid obligations are enforceable, they carry real financial consequences, and the era of waiting to be caught is over. San Diego State University (SDSU) agreed to pay $300,000 in class-wide damages to female student-athletes who competed between 2018 and 2025, […]
On April 6, 2026, the ED’s Office for Civil Rights rescinded provisions of resolution agreements from prior administrations involving six institutions: Cape Henlopen School District (DE), Delaware Valley School District (PA), Fife School District (WA), La Mesa-Spring Valley School District (CA), Sacramento City Unified (CA), and Taft College (CA). This is a meaningful development for […]
A recent decision from the New Jersey Supreme Court highlights a significant compliance tension many colleges and universities may not have fully appreciated: the intersection of Title IX procedural requirements and collective bargaining grievance procedures embedded in labor agreements. At issue was whether a public university could send a Title IX-related termination to binding arbitration […]
