Civil Rights Groups Score Title IX Victory in Supreme Court

Washington – In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled today to expand the scope of a landmark anti-discrimination law to protect whistleblowers who report academic institutions that discriminate against students based on gender. The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), the nation’s oldest, largest, and most diverse civil and human rights coalition, filed a brief in support of the petitioner in the case and Wade Henderson, LCCR’s Executive Director issued the following statement:

“Title IX is one of our country’s most important anti-discrimination laws. It has quite literally evened the playing field for women, increasing opportunities for women and girls to compete for academic scholarships and participate in organized athletics. But this means nothing if schools are not held accountable and today the Supreme Court protected the very people holding schools accountable, the whistleblowers. Today’s ruling is not just a victory for our daughters – it is a victory for all Americans.

But let us be clear: this was a very narrow victory. It was a 5-4 decision. It is rulings like this that underscore how closely divided the Supreme Court is and how important it is that we appoint balanced, moderate judges who have our best interests and the letter of the law at heart. Right now, there are a handful of Republican leaders who are threatening to break the Senate rules so that they can pack our courts with out-of-the-mainstream judicial nominees and, in the event of a Supreme Court vacancy, rubber stamp President Bush’s Supreme Court choice. We cannot let that happen. ”