Under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972:

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.

Essentially, Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in educational institutions that receive federal funding (the vast majority of schools). While Title IX is a very short statute, Supreme Court decisions and guidance from the U.S. Department of Education have given it a broad scope covering sexual harassment and sexual violence. Under Title IX, schools are legally required to respond and remedy hostile educational environments and failure to do so is a violation that means a school could risk losing its federal funding.

While Title IX was previously a powerful tool to stop sexual violence and harassment in schools, On August 14th, 2020, the Department’s new Title IX rule went into effect. Make no mistake: the Rule drastically rolls back protections for student survivors and makes it easier for schools to sweep sexual harassment under the rug. Visit our Hands off IX resources and toolkit to learn more about your rights in light of the rule and how you hold school administrations accountable.

The below resources are intended to help you determine if your school is in compliance with Title IX. Although these resources have been written with the guidance of legal experts, we are not lawyers, and the information on this website does not constitute legal advice. We encourage you to contact a lawyer to discuss your complaint or suit.