2021 Title IX Hearing | Here’s What You Should Know

On June 7-11th, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) will be hosting a virtual Title IX Hearing to gather information for the purpose of improving the enforcement of Title IX.  It will provide a time for the public to present commentary to OCR on how they can take steps to address the following:

• Ensure that schools are providing students with educational environments free from discrimination in the form of sexual harassment, which encompasses sexual assault and other forms of sexual violence.
• Ensure that schools have grievance procedures that provide for the fair, prompt, and equitable resolution of reports of sexual harassment and other sex discrimination, cognizant of the sensitive issues that are often involved.
• Address discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in educational environments.

The public hearing is part of Office of Civil Right’s review of the Title IX regulations, including the 2020 amendments to the regulations, and other agency actions related to discrimination in the form of sexual harassment, including sexual violence, in educational environments, and including discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in educational environments. 

Sourced from the Department of Education’s Official Notice. 

This comes after President Biden published the “Guaranteeing an Educational Environment Free from Discrimination on the Basis of Sex, Including Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity” Executive Order in March, which emphasized that all students should be guaranteed an educational environment free from discrimination on the basis of sex, including discrimination in the form of sexual harassment, which encompasses sexual violence, and including discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.