A judge ruled that a North Carolina school’s dress code prohibiting girls from wearing pants is unconstitutional because it violates the equal protection clause, after three girls, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, sued the Charter Day School. Judge Malcolm J. Howard wrote that the, “skirts requirement causes the girls to suffer a burden […]
Denver Teachers Strike Heads into its Second Day
Today is the second day of the Denver public teacher strike for higher wages, instead of the “unpredictable bonuses” they receive each year, and more than half of all Denver public school teachers are participating in what is the first Denver teacher strike in 25 years. Hundreds of central office staff members and substitute teachers […]
4 Young Girls Subjected to Strip Search in Binghamton, NY
Last Thursday, a school district in Binghamton, New York was accused of subjecting four 12-year old girls to strip searches; the allegations have united community members to call for the resignation of school employees involved in the strip search. The rallied community members called for the resignation of the school nurse and assistant principal at […]
New DeVos Rules on Title IX Will Hurt Survivors
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has proposed harmful new regulations that would make it easier for schools to ignore student survivors of sexual violence and sweep allegations of sexual harassment and assault under the rug. Already, 1 in 5 women and 1 in 16 men will be sexually assaulted in college, and around 1 in 4 […]
Trump Administration To Attack Protections for Transgender Individuals
“The Trump Administration is once again doing everything in its power to carry out a mean-spirited attack on transgender individuals who deserve and need civil rights protections,” read a statement by the Feminist Majority Foundation. “This overt attack on trans lives is at odds with scientific fact, multiple federal court rulings, and the lived experiences of millions of Americans.”
Denying Justice to Campus Sexual Assault Survivors Saves Colleges Money
“The Trump administration is sending us back to an ugly time when rape victims suffered in silence in our schools, and perpetrators were able to assault multiple women with impunity.”
Democrats Plan to Introduce Free Community College Initiative
House Democrats are planning on introducing a bill to provide students with two years of tuition-free community college. Both parties have introduced their own proposals to reauthorize the Higher Education Act, which controls a large amount of the federal spending for higher education.
Trump Administration Attacks Affirmative Action Admission Policies
The Trump administration will encourage schools to implement race-blind admissions policies, a reversal from an Obama-era guidance. Under the Obama Administration, the Education Department’s civil rights division issued seven guidance documents urging schools to consider race during admissions when attempting to diversify student bodies. The Justice Department plans to scrap these guidance efforts.
University of North Carolina Found in Violation of Title IX
Last week, the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights concluded a five-year investigation, determining that University of North Carolina Chapel Hill was in violation of Title IX. UNC did not admit guilt, but Chancellor Carol Folt listed five actions to improve UNC’s Title IX program.
Sex Segregated Public Education Is Increasing, But It Can Be Stopped
Last month, the Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF) released “Tracking Deliberate Sex Segregation in K-12 Public Schools,” its third multi-year report based mainly on 2013-14 data from the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC). The report found and named 794 public coed U.S. schools that reported having single-sex academic classes and 75 all-girl and 58 all-boy public schools.
Court Upholds Rights of Transgender Student Under Title IX
Last week, U.S. District Court Judge Arenda Allens ruled in favor of former-high school student Gavin Grimm by refusing to dismiss his case against the Gloucester County School Board over the right of transgender students to use bathrooms that corresponds to their gender identity.
Federal Appeals Court Hears Title IX Complaint Brought by Feminist Majority Foundation
Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit heard oral arguments in a Title IX sex discrimination complaint brought by the Feminist Majority Foundation against the University of Mary Washington and UMW’s former president Richard Hurley.
Women’s and Labor Rights Advocates hold Enough is Enough Summit on Sex Harassment
Last week the Enough is Enough Summit and Briefing on Capitol Hill harnessed the momentum of the #MeToo movement to bring together a diverse group of lawyers, activists, and policy makers to think through comprehensive survivor-centered policy solutions to the sexual harassment and violence epidemic in workplaces and schools.
Oklahoma Teachers Strike Over Funding Failures
Teachers in Oklahoma are boycotting school and taking to the state Capitol today to demand better wages and more school funding in the wake of a successful teacher strike in West Virginia last month.
Linda Brown, Icon of School Desegregation, Dies at 75
Linda Brown, who as a child was at the center of the historical Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, died on Sunday in Topeka, Kansas at the age of 75.
Education Department Will No Longer Protect Trans Student from Bathroom Discrimination
The Department of Education told BuzzFeed News on Monday that they will no longer investigate or take action to protect transgender students who are denied access to the restroom that corresponds with their gender identity. The Department has yet to release an official statement.
Congress Passes Bill to Protect Young Athletes from Sexual Abuse
Last week, the House and Senate passed the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act that makes it mandatory for sports organizations to report the sexual abuse of athletes to law enforcement or social services within 24 hours. The bill is now waiting to be signed into law by the President.
DeVos Sued for Discriminating Against Student Survivors of Sexual Assault
The National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) together with co-counsel Democracy Forward, National Center for Youth Law, and Equal Rights Advocates, filed suit in the Northern District of California to challenge Education Secretary DeVos’ discriminatory 2017 Title IX policy on sexual misconduct in schools.
First Afghan Women’s Studies M.A. Students Graduate
Last Sunday, students at Kabul University became the first in Afghanistan to graduate from a Master’s Degree Women’s and Gender Studies program. This two-year graduate program, introduced in October 2015, is the first of its kind in all of Afghanistan.
Feminist Majority Foundation Condemns Department of Education Over New Title IX Guidance
This week the Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF) and other women’s rights advocates commandeered a hearing held by the Department of Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) in order to express grievance over the Department’s rescinding of Title IX guidance documents that served to protect victims of sexual assault on college campuses.
