On March 8, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order related to Title IX, sex discrimination, and sexual harassment in schools.  While the Executive Order
Continue Reading President Biden Executive Order Paves the Way for Future Changes to Title IX

On May 6th, the U.S. Department of Education published its long-awaited final regulations regarding sexual harassment under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.
Continue Reading New Title IX Regulations To Take Effect in August 2020

Connecticut’s anti-discrimination statutes explicitly list sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes, and therefore gay and transgender employees are protected from workplace discrimination by
Continue Reading U.S. Supreme Court Says Federal Law Protects Gay and Transgender Employees From Workplace Discrimination

Judge Holding Documents

We have been tracking the development of litigation concerning rights, obligations, and duties with regard to transgender students as cases unfold across the country.

Earlier this summer, Texas and twelve other states challenged the propriety and legality of a joint Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) issued by the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Education on May 13, 2016 which interpreted Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) to extend antidiscrimination protections to transgender students. On Wednesday October 19, 2016, a federal district court judge for the Northern District of Texas, Judge Reed O’Connor, issued an order clarifying the scope of the preliminary injunction previously granted in the court case challenging the legality of the DCL in Texas v. U.S., No. 7:16-cv-00054-O (N. D. Tex. May 25, 2016).  The injunction is now being appealed to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals by the defendant federal agencies.
Continue Reading Texas Judge Clarifies Scope of Transgender Guidance Injunction; Feds Appeal to 5th Circuit

On September 8, 2016, the United States Department of Education and the United States Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (“COPS”) jointly released new guidance regarding school resource officer programs.  The new Safe School-based Enforcement through Collaboration, Understanding, and Respect (“SECURe”) rubrics are the result of the collaboration and partnership between these two federal agencies in an attempt to ensure that local and state educational agencies are implementing effective and positive school resource officer programs in the nation’s schools.  The SECURe rubric for local educational agencies aims to provide guidance to school districts on how to build trust between students and law enforcement officials through the school resource officer programs, while ensuring that school resource officer programs are administered responsibly in a non-discriminatory manner that takes a proactive approach to keeping students out of the school-to-prison pipeline.Continue Reading U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Justice Release Dear Colleague Letters Jointly Announcing New SECURe Rubrics for School Resource Officer Programs