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The Higher Education Act of 1965
President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Higher Education Act of 1965. This law states that no student would be turned away from colleges or universities because of their socioeconomic status. This law provided financial assistance to all students. Although students were not turned away due to their financial situation, sex discrimination continued. Sex was still a factor in college admissions. Source: http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4794&context=lcp -
Beginning of Title IX
In the 92nd session of Congress, President Nixon vouched to make major changes to higher education legislation which was in need at the time. Representative Edith Green used this session as an opportunity to attach her sex discrimination proposal to "the Educational Amendments". Source: Rose, D. (2015). Regulating Opportunity: Title IX and the Birth of Gender-Conscious Higher Education Policy. Journal Of Policy History, 27(1), 157-183. doi:10.1017/S0898030614000396 -
Proponents of Title IX
On August 5, 1971, Senator Birch Bayh introcduced Title IX to the Senate floor. Representative Edith Green was the author of Title IX and is credited with being the true champion of the bill. Representative Pasty Mink was known as the major author of Title IX. Source: https://www.aclu.org/other/title-ix-nine?redirect=title-ix-nine -
Establishment of Title IX
President Nixon signs the Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 into law. Title IX states:
"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"
This included sexual harassment as sex discrimination. Source: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/tix_dis.html -
Alexander V. Yale
Students Ronni Alexander, Margery Reifler, Pamela Price, Lisa Stone and Ann Olivarius claimed that they were sexually harassed by male faculty and administrator. Because of these cases, Yale was required to implement a procedure for investigating sexual harassment complaints. This set the stage for future Title IX sexual assault reporting. Source: http://www.leagle.com/decision/1980809631F2d178_1757.xml/ALEXANDER%20v.%20YALE%20UNIVERSITY -
Title IX and DCL
The DCL changed Title IX in that schools now had an outlined tool for them to use when dealing with sexual assault on campus. No longer did they they have to question what their responsibilities are when dealing with sexual harassment complaints. -
Dear Colleague Letter
The Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) was a letter issued by the Department of Education advising schools of what constitutes as sexual violence and what their obligations are in order to be compliance with Title IX regulations. Every school must have a Title IX Coordinator available to students in order for them to report sexual violence incidents. Source: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201104.html -
Future of Title IX and Higher Education
We hear the stories in the media about sexual assault cases on College campuses time and time again. Women and Men are both victims of these crimes. With the improvements in student affairs, students have resources on campus to use when sexual assault happen but still 90% of these cases do not get reported. Why? Source: http://www.nsvrc.org/sites/default/files/publications_nsvrc_factsheet_media-packet_statistics-about-sexual-violence_0.pdf -
Future of IX and Higher Education
Because of Title IX, students should be protected but they are not. Survivors of sexual assault at universities often site that they felt questioned and blamed for what happened to them. I believe this has to do with our society and our perception of rape. This way of thinking will need to change if universities want to maintain a safe environment for all students. This may require additional training for faculty, staff and students on sexual assault.
