ATIXA Issues Position Statement Discussing When Sexual Harassment Definitions are in Limbo, Go Back to the Statute Itself

BERWYN, Pa., March 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Screen out the noise. Ignore the fact that the federal courts can't agree or provide a cogent explanation. Sidestep the efforts by OCR to change the very definition of sexual harassment within the Title IX regulations. Just focus on the statute. In a time of change and lack of clarity, first principles are our best guides.

It's About…Discrimination

Title IX is a statute prohibiting only one thing – discrimination on the basis of sex¹ in federally-funded educational programs.

It doesn't prohibit sexual harassment, or sexual violence, or athletics inequity, or stalking, or intimate partner violence, or even bullying, unless those actions deny access to or participation in a federally-funded educational program on the basis of sex, at which point they become conduct prohibited by the statute.

Considered conversely, Title IX guarantees access to federally-funded educational programs on the basis of sex. If a person within a federally-funded educational program is not experiencing a limitation in participation or denial of access, benefits, or opportunities on the basis of sex, Title IX does not apply. Your conduct policies might apply. Your sexual misconduct policy might apply. But Title IX does not.

Under Title IX, three things can result in a discriminatory effect on the basis of sex: (1) disparate treatment; (2) a disparate impact; and (3) a hostile environment.² That's it. Nothing else can.

The underlying principles derived from the statute itself provide us with the necessary tools to assess whether Title IX governs. We're looking for sufficiently egregious conduct that causes a reasonable person to experience a discriminatory effect on the basis of sex. We know what that is, and it's easier than trying to decipher a punctuation conundrum. This position statement is your roadmap to identifying it.

This position statement has been ratified by the ATIXA Board of Advisors, March 6, 2019.

ABOUT ATIXA

Founded in 2011, ATIXA is the nation's only membership association dedicated solely to Title IX compliance and supports our over 3,000 administrator members who hold Title IX responsibilities in schools and colleges. ATIXA is the leading provider of Title IX training and certification in the U.S., having certified more than 3,000 Title IX Coordinators and more than 8,000 Title IX investigators since 2011. ATIXA releases position statements on matters of import to our members and the field, as authorized by the ATIXA Board of Advisors. For more information, visit www.atixa.org.

Media contact:
Michelle Issadore
[email protected]
610-993-0229

¹ And gender, if you believe – as ATIXA does – that sex and gender are indivisible constructs.

² Federally, courts no longer make a significant distinction between quid pro quo claims and hostile environment claims.

SOURCE Association of Title IX Administrators (ATIXA)

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