This is our chance to reverse the harmful changes that the former U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos made to Title IX regulations that pushed schools to ignore many reports of sexual harassment and required student survivors to undergo uniquely burdensome procedures when their schools investigate their sexual harassment complaints—procedures that aren’t required for school investigations of any other type of student or staff misconduct.

Now we have an opportunity to restore civil rights protections for ALL students. This may be our last opportunity to remind the Biden administration that it must strengthen and clarify through the Title IX regulations that:

1. All students have explicit protections against sex discrimination in education, including LGBTQI+ students.
2. Schools must accommodate and protect pregnant and parenting students from discrimination, especially in light of the reversal of Roe v. Wade this year.
3. Survivors need Title IX protections to be restored in order to protect their access to education.

Time is running out to counter a coordinated attack against all students’ civil rights. Right-wing extremists, fueled by years of anti-survivor policies under Betsy DeVos, have generated tens of thousands of comments and stories pushing back against more rights for students. The Biden administration needs to hear from us before the clock runs out on the comment period.

In solidarity,

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