Trump's SCOTUS nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, has a troubling record on Title IX.
Let's break down her record and the impact on students and civil rights.
As our co-founder @azbrodsky shared, "Judge Barrett’s ruling turned a sex discrimination statute on its head, using a law meant to prevent and address sexual assault to promote impunity for that very same behavior."
To be clear, our concern with this case isn't her decision on the Doe's due process claim. But instead on her interpretation of Title IX and administrative enforcement of civil rights.
Let's dive into the case a bit.
Doe, a student at Purdue, was suspended for a year for sexual misconduct. Doe claimed that his suspension was a result of anti-male bias, and therefore a violation of Title IX.
By Doe's own account, there was no evidence that the school had suspended him because of his sex.
A district court dismissed Doe's suit, but ACB reversed the decision and allowed the case to continue.
In her decision ACB relied on "evidence that the school was trying to do right by survivors as evidence that it discriminated against men specifically."
Barrett suggested that ED's prior Title IX guidance, which outlined schools' obligations to take sexual harassment seriously, supported a conclusion that a male student disciplined for sexual harassment was discriminated against based on sex.
ACB said since "a school's federal funding was at risk if it could not show that it was vigorously investigating and punishing sexual misconduct," it was possible that Doe had experienced bias.
But the unfair procedures that Doe alleged were prohibited by the 2011 guidance.
In short, ACB claimed that a civil rights agency's action to stop discrimination is evidence of unfair bias against those accused of discrimination.
This is worrisome not just for Title IX, but all civil rights.
ACB also described the preponderance of the evidence standard as a “lenient” standard for survivors.
The preponderance standard is used in all civil rights proceedings and is the only standard of proof that treats both parties equally.
ACB's decision also further tips the scales against student survivors in the courts.
If a survivor alleges their school violated Title IX, they have to show the school treated them with "deliberate indifference."
Deliberate indifference means a survivor has to show their school was clearly unreasonable in responding to the harassment.
This is an extremely high standard to reach. The survivor has to show their school intentionally or recklessly disregarded the outcomes of their actions.
Here's a great explainer on the Deliberate indifference standard if you want to learn more: jdsupra.com/legalnews/why-…
ACB's "streamlined" reverse discrimination claims and her decision made it so students punished for sexual misconduct can bring a Title IX lawsuit by alleging facts that support a "plausible inference" that a school was partly motivated by their sex.
ACB's decision (and other's) have made it so bringing a case against your school as a respondent in Title IX cases is much easier than if you were a student survivor failed by your school.
Her decision isn't just concerning for student survivors, but all civil rights and their enforcement agencies.
📢BREAKING: The Biden admin just released the proposed changes to the 2020 anti-survivor Title IX rule. This is a huge win, & it happened thanks to student organizing!!
Let’s break down the history of the rule, the process of changing it, & what the changes mean for students.🧵
Reminder, the 2020 #TitleIX reg was written with the help of MRAs who wanted to make it easier to get away with sexual violence–such as the National Coalition For Men, who claim laws intended to support survivors are based in “hysteria."
Title IX is turning 50 tomorrow, and the Biden administration still has not rolled back DeVos’ attacks on student survivors’ rights.
Join us to demand #EDActNow and tell the @usedgov why survivors need a new Title IX rule NOW.
@usedgov Survivors’ lives, futures, and educations depend on the Biden administration acting NOW to undo DeVos’ anti-survivor Title IX rule. Currently, about a third of survivors are pushed out of school.
Biden promised a “quick end'' to DeVos’ Title IX rule, but students may not see a new Title IX rule finalized until 2023 – 3 years after the DeVos rule went into effect. That’s millions of students who have been subjected to DeVos’ Title IX rule because of his admin’s failures.
Defamation cases are being used to silence survivors from school age and beyond. 23% of student survivors are threatened with a defamation suit by their abuser.
The decision in the Amber Heard and Johnny Depp case will silence survivors, and that was always the goal.
Perpetrators of violence have long manipulated systems, often ones meant to protect survivors, to continue their abuse.
What we saw today wasn’t the first time a court has been an avenue for abuse, and it won’t be the last.
The smear campaign against Amber Heard isn’t a silencing and discrediting tactic only celebrities face.
Student survivors who report and speak have shared that their abusers and others have attempted to keep them quiet through public attacks.
Today, on the 49th anniversary of Title IX, ED announced they will begin the process of issuing a proposed Title IX rule. This would alter DeVos’ Title IX rule that continues to harm survivors.
It’s an exciting step, but we have a long road ahead of us:🧵
ED announced they won’t be releasing the proposed rule until May 2022––and then it will go through the same notice and comment period that DeVos’ rule went through.
This means on ED's current timeline we might not have a new rule for years. But survivors can't wait that long.
We know that the most effective way to make change for survivors is through organizing. So here are 2 ways to plug in to organizing.
Here are 5 main ways that the parties on differing sides of a Title IX investigation actually have many interests that align. The Department should act decisively to protect all students in those arenas.
1⃣ED should ensure clear and prompt notice of school policies and procedures related to sexual misconduct. This means having clear policies about what constitutes sexual misconduct, a carefully delineated reporting and investigation process, and prompt and unambiguous notice.
🧵Thread: It's day 2 of the Title IX listening sessions. Follow along for quotes from survivors and those who support them on the current Title IX regulation, and what they would like to see in the new rule.
"I didn't feel like a student, I felt like a liability... in my Title IX process, I learned that schools will do anything to protect themselves, not survivors."
DeVos' rule prioritizes schools' bottom lines over survivors' access to education, that's why it has to go #EDActNow
Title IX Coordinators are joining the listening sessions to share that requiring schools to alter their campus policies within 3 months made it impossible for schools to work with stakeholders, especially students, to try and implement best practices under the regulations.