Dear Students,
Yesterday, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights issued a Notice of Interpretation making it clear that Title IX protections encompass discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, effective immediately. This is a reversal of the stance taken by the prior Administration.
This interpretation of Title IX follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s analysis in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020), which concluded that discrimination against a person based on their sexual orientation or gender identity is inherently a form of discrimination based on sex. It is also consistent with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division memorandum on the interpretation of Title IX issued earlier this year, continuing President Bident’s efforts by the Department of Education to promote safe and inclusive schools for LGBTQ+ students, as underscored by President Biden’s Executive Orders on Guaranteeing an Educational Environment Free from Discrimination on the Basis of Sex, Including Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity and Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation.
We welcome this change from the federal government, and will continue to specifically prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation on our campus. If this news brings about any changes to our Title IX policy or enforcement practices, we will let you know.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to [email protected] with any questions.
Take care,
Joseph Defraine Greenwell, Ed.D.
Vice President for Student Affairs
Office of University Life
Gender Pronouns: He/Him/His
Marjory D. Fischer
Title IX Coordinator
Columbia University
