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OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY
Not for Reliance for Certain Purposes. This document expresses policy that is inconsistent in some respects with the Department’s regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended in 2020, as well as Executive Orders 13988 (on combating discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation) and 14021 (on sex discrimination in educational environments).
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- sex, or for failing to conform to stereotypical notions of masculinity and
femininity. Title IX also prohibits sexual harassment and gender-based harassment
of all students, regardless of the actual or perceived sexual orientation or
gender identity of the harasser or target.
- In this example, the school had an obligation to take immediate and effective
action to eliminate the hostile environment. By responding to individual incidents
of misconduct on an ad hoc basis only, the school failed to confront
and prevent a hostile environment from continuing. Had the school recognized
the conduct as a form of sex discrimination, it could have employed the full
range of sanctions (including progressive discipline) and remedies designed
to eliminate the hostile environment. For example, this approach would have
included a more comprehensive response to the situation that involved notice
to the student’s teachers so that they could ensure the student was not subjected
to any further harassment, more aggressive monitoring by staff of the places
where harassment occurred, increased training on the scope of the school’s
harassment and discrimination policies, notice to the target and harassers
of available counseling services and resources, and educating the entire school
community on civil rights and expectations of tolerance, specifically as they
apply to gender stereotypes. The school also should have taken steps to clearly
communicate the message that the school does not tolerate harassment and will
be responsive to any information about such conduct.17
Section 504 and Title II: Disability Harassment
- Several classmates repeatedly called a student with a learning disability “stupid,” “idiot,” and “retard” while in school and on the school bus. On one occasion, these students tackled him, hit him with a school binder, and threw his personal items into the garbage. The student complained to his teachers and guidance counselor that he was continually being taunted and teased. School officials offered him counseling services and a
17 Guidance on gender-based harassment is also included in OCR’s Sexual Harassment Guidance, available at http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/shguide.html.