Civil Rights and Education Groups Call on Department of Education to Support Protections Against Sex Discrimination

WASHINGTON – Today, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and 36 civil rights and education organizations wrote to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos in support of critical policy guidance clarifying schools’ responsibility to prevent and address sex discrimination under Title IX. The groups called on the Department of Education to work to protect all students from sex discrimination and urged the department to reiterate its support for existing Title IX guidance.

The letter states: “The department’s Title IX guidance letters and enforcement have been vital in the effort to ensure that students are not discriminated against based on sex in school. Yet, as advocates for civil rights including women’s rights, racial justice, disability rights, LGBTQ rights, and immigrants’ rights, we know that such discrimination continues to deny students equal access to education at all levels. We urge the department to continue helping schools understand their legal obligations—for example, by reiterating its continued support for existing guidance letters.

Students deserve, and the law requires, a Department of Education that is working to protect all students from discrimination. These guidance documents and continued enforcement of the law are critical to making students’ rights real.”

Read letter in its entirety here.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.