Title IX: Sex Discrimination In Higher Education

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The purpose of this paper is to discuss the history of Title IX in postsecondary education and their role at Michigan State University. The paper will first indicate how Title IX was formed and enacted. The paper will proceed to define Title IX and how it prohibits sex discrimination in higher education. Next, the paper will then review the “Dear Colleague” letter that was issued by the U.S. Department of Education on April 4th, 2011’s and how it impacts institutions in higher education. While the paper addresses the “Dear Colleague” letter, the paper will also review the White House Task Force report to protect students from sexual assault. The paper will examine Title IX in relations to Michigan State University. The paper will indicate how …show more content…
Title IX originated during the 1965 U.S. presidential Executive Order 11246 (Valentin, 1997). The Executive Order prohibited discrimination in employment by federal contractors on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin (Valentin, 1997). By 1967, President Johnson amended and renamed the Order to include discrimination based on sex. The Order changed to Executive Order 11375 and was effective by October 1968.
On June 23, 1972, United States’ President Nixon signed into law the Title IX of the Education Amendments to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title IX is a U.S. federal law indicating that “no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance” (‘Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972’, 2015). The law was enacted to prevent federal funds that support sex discrimination in education and to protect people in the U.S. against these
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The study stated that 1 in 5 women are victims of completed or attempted sexual assault while in college, and that majority of campus sexual assaults occurred when women were incapacitated (Dear Colleague, 2011). The letter discusses Title IX’s requirements on student-on-student sexual harassment and sexual violence. The letter also explains schools’ responsibility to take immediate and effective steps to end sexual harassment and sexual violence (Dear Colleague, 2011). A step that the letter illustrates is the role and importance of a Title IX coordinator. The Office of Civil Rights indicated that severe Title IX violations occur when institutions do not designate a Title IX coordinator and when Title IX coordinators are not properly trained or given the appropriate level of authority. Title IX coordinators are essential to ensure that every person affected by the operations of an educational institution must be aware of the legal rights Title IX and that institutions are in compliance with Title IX (Dear Colleague,