NWLC

Dear John,

We promised to sue Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and the Department of Education to protect Title IX. And today, we filed our lawsuit on behalf of four organizations that represent student survivors of sexual harassment and assault.

As our lawsuit claims, the administration’s new Title IX rules, which were finalized last month and are scheduled to go into effect in August, violate both the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause and the Administrative Procedure Act. In other words, DeVos and the administration broke the law when they decided to target survivors of sexual harassment.

Right now, students across the country are trying to learn despite the devastating impacts of both the COVID-19 pandemic and police violence. And DeVos has tried to make it even harder by preventing schools from being able to effectively address sexual assault and other forms of sex-based harassment.

But we’re going to keep fighting to make sure she doesn’t succeed.

Thank you for your continued support of survivors.

Sincerely,
Shiwali Patel
(she/her/hers)
Director of Justice for Student Survivors & Senior Counsel
National Women’s Law Center

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Shiwali Patel
Date: May 6, 2020 12:04 PM
Subject: BREAKING: We're suing DeVos.

Dear John,

I am furious. And you should be, too.

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and the Trump administration just finalized a rule that tries to completely gut Title IX’s critical protections for survivors of sexual assault and other sexual harassment.

More than 100,000 of us — students, survivors, teachers, school administrators, counselors, activists, lawyers, elected officials, and more — wrote to the Trump administration and DeVos explaining exactly how their proposed rule would make schools more dangerous for everyone.

But they went ahead and did it anyway — in the midst of a global pandemic!

John, we’re not going to stop fighting. As I write, we are preparing to sue the administration to block this harmful rule. Will you power our courtroom battle with an emergency donation right now?

DONATE NOW

Throughout President Trump’s time in office, his administration has pushed through regulation after regulation that would strip away our civil rights and other core protections — but many of these harmful rules have been blocked by lawsuits from the National Women’s Law Center and other advocates.

That’s where we are now. Our best — and last — line of defense of Title IX is in court. Can you help strengthen our fight with a donation today?

Title IX was enacted almost five decades ago to end sex discrimination, including sexual harassment, in schools, once and for all. But right now, Trump and DeVos are attempting to transform Title IX from a law that protects ALL students from sex discrimination into a law that instead protects harassers and rapists. If this dangerous rule goes into effect, FEWER survivors will report their assaults and harassment: that means schools will be MORE dangerous, and more survivors will be DENIED their legal civil rights.

We refuse to go back to the days when rape, sexual assault, and harassment in schools were ignored and swept under the rug. Please join us in fighting this rule in court by rushing your donation today.

We often say how important it is to have the law on your side — and right now, DeVos is trying to put Title IX on the side of abusers and harassers, instead of survivors.

Don’t let her succeed. Join our fight now.

Sincerely,

Shiwali Patel (she/her/hers)
Director of Justice for Student Survivors & Senior Counsel
National Women's Law Center

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National Women's Law Center
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Washington, DC 20036
United States