What You Should Know

Title IX is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity in federally funded education programs or activities. Title IX addresses sexual harassment, sexual violence, or any gender-based discrimination that may deny a person access to educational benefits and opportunities.

Under Title IX, schools must ensure that all students and employees have equal access to education and educational facilities, regardless of sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Sexual harassment and sexual violence are forms of gender discrimination that are prohibited by Title IX.

When a student or employee has experienced a hostile environment such sexual assault or severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive sexual harassment, schools must stop the discrimination, prevent its recurrence, and address its effects. This includes retaliation from other students, school administrators, or faculty.

Schools must proactively prevent and respond to claims of sexual harassment, sexual violence, and other forms of gender-based violence, retaliation, discrimination, and must have an impartial and prompt process for investigating and adjudicating reported cases.