When Title IX Is Weaponized, How Can We Protect Students?

Title IX, the 1972 federal civil rights law guaranteeing gender equity in federally funded education programs, wasn’t on my radar after our daughter was raped on a 2012 overnight trip, nor was it on the school district’s. Its failure to recognize her rights, to promptly and equitably investigate, and to prevent retaliation compelled us to escalate our complaint to the State Department of Education. There my spouse and I learned about the Title IX complaint pathway through the federal Office for Civil Rights (OCR). OCR opened an investigation, which attracted media attention, catalyzed district-wide change, and validated the harm caused. Informed and empowered, we cofounded Stop Sexual Assault in Schools (SSAIS) in 2015.

But by 2020, the hotly contested DeVos Title IX rule was implemented, eviscerating students’ rights. Students’ protections were briefly widened under the August 2024 Biden rule, but the erosion of Title IX protections soon resumed. Following the 2024 election, the federal administration began weaponizing Title IX “to attack the rights of students and institutional autonomy,” notes Shiwali Patel, senior director of education justice at the NWLC. “For example, even with an extremely reduced staff — which resulted from this administration’s unlawful RIFs [reductions in force] and cuts to the Department of Education — this administration has decided that instead of investigating the many complaints of actual sex discrimination against students, including student survivors of sexual assault, that it will use the Office for Civil Rights to force schools into implementing policies that outright discriminate against trans students — clearly violating Title IX and its broad mandate to protect all students from discrimination.”

Elizabeth Stewart-Williams filed an OCR complaint after her daughter was sexually harassed and assaulted by a classmate at her Texas high school, claiming the school discriminated on the basis of sex and race and violated Title IX and Title VI. “We finally had hope,” she said. “But it wasn’t very long before we learned that the OCR office was closed. It is crushing. It is cruel. The OCR complaint process was our only pathway for help. If the department and its investigative and protective roles are diminished, what remedies do our children truly possess?” Fortunately, SSAIS could refer Stewart-Williams to the National Center for Youth Law lawsuit challenging the Department of Education’s abandonment of investigations. Notwithstanding the potential impact of such lawsuits, including Public Justice’s lawsuit on behalf of Victim Rights Law Center (VRLC) and families against U.S. Department of Education for gutting OCR, they cannot provide timely remedies.

After the 2025 closures of seven of OCR’s regional offices and crippling RIFs, complainants were abandoned. VRLC attorney Amanda Walsh reports that “We received no outreach from OCR about the status of those complaints, where those complaints would be transferred, who would be the right point person to contact if we had questions about those complaints.” OCR ceased responding fairly to complaints, which previously motivated schools to provide immediate remedies and implement reform. Instead, OCR has opened complaints that align with the current administration’s priorities, investigating schools for having gender-neutral bathrooms, sponsoring events for students of color, or allowing transgender students to participate in sports teams that align with their gender identities.

Without OCR resolutions, students are unable to get timely redress and face potential exclusion from school and ongoing discrimination without a functioning oversight organization. Discrimination also includes school employee sexual misconduct, which impacts 17% of K–12 students.

The decimation of OCR has created an environment where “students often find themselves navigating systems of limited accountability,” notes attorney Kyra Batté of Legal Momentum, a legal advocacy organization dedicated to advancing the rights of women and girls. “In response, advocacy groups, legal experts, and students themselves are increasingly turning to alternative measures, including litigation and state-based advocacy, to demand accountability.”

One key resource from SSAIS, Ten Things You Can Do When a Title IX Complaint Fails, underscores the need for all stakeholders to become familiar with school district policies and state-level protections. Many states have laws that complement or exceed federal Title IX requirements. These laws often broaden definitions of sexual harassment, specify time frames for investigations, provide stronger enforcement, allow for civil lawsuits in state court, and sometimes apply to private schools.

Know Your Rights: A Student’s Guide to Sex-based Discrimination and Protections by State, a resource from Legal Momentum, provides information on state-specific rights. “It is crucial for advocacy organizations, educators, and students to utilize all available means to push back against these harmful changes and hold schools accountable for their failure to protect students from discrimination,” adds Batté.

Complaints can also be filed with state civil rights agencies, which may investigate and enforce compliance independently. When a school district has mishandled a complaint and all local options have been exhausted, families can also escalate their complaint to their state department of education.

In addition, “It is more important than ever that those navigating K–12 sexual harm to build a deep understanding of school district policies to hold educational institutions accountable. District policies and state laws will provide maximum leverage for change while enforcement of federal remedies lays dormant,” says gender equity advocate Heidi Goldstein, SSAIS board chair, and mentor to the advocacy organization School Staff Against Sexual Violence. Stakeholders should collaborate with school compliance officers and Title IX or equity coordinators to discuss how they must change to better support disenfranchised students, she advises. This process can be guided by resources including:

• Parents: You Can Become the Agent of Change for Title IX Policies in Your Schools
• How to Gather Information About a School District’s Title IX Policies
• Investigating What Happens When a Student Reports Sexual Harassment

Those exploring legal recourses will benefit from A Survivor’s Guide to Civil Lawsuits for School-Based Sexual Abuse or Harassment.

Families can work with community-based sexual assault agencies “that advocate for survivors and apply pressure on school districts to follow state and federal laws,” says Susan Moen, a nationally recognized advocate. “These nonprofits can designate the steps necessary to handle a specific case appropriately. When a school willfully shirks their Title IX responsibilities, scrutiny from an outside agency can help bring the school’s response into line.”

Students can also advocate for Title IX and district policy enforcement. Middle and high school youth and community organizations can create a free SASH Club (Students Against Sexual Harassment), which offers presentations and videos addressing, for example, sex discrimination; students’ rights; confidentiality/mandated reporting; school employee sexual abuse; sexual assault of students with disabilities, students of color, and males; misogyny and male supremacy; and dating violence. These clubs improve school climate, build safety, and support survivors. SASH Club also offers continuous enrollment in its new online club meetings.

Campaigns that improve school climate proactively reduce incidents of sexual harassment and assault and can improve student and staff response to Title IX violations. Misogyny Free Schools, an initiative of SSAIS, combats the rise of misogyny, hostile sexism, and gender bias impacting youth by providing free resources including the American Federation of Teachers webinar “Addressing the Rise and Impact of Misogyny Among Students in Grades 6–12,” toolkits like “Not Just a Joke” from PERIL (Polarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab), the youth-focused presentation “Misogyny and Male Supremacy: It’s Not Just a Joke” from the Southern Poverty Law Center, articles like #MisogynyFreeSchools: A New Movement for Respect and Safety, videos, story-telling, international resources, and opportunities to visibly engage with the campaign.

Advocates can also meet with state legislators to create laws like California’s SB 848, which requires schools to take steps to better protect students from adult predators. As Goldstein notes, “The promise of Title IX enforcement to counter practices of institutional discrimination based on sex, gender, and gender expression is a nonstarter while the current administration is in power. Those who work in this space would do well to direct their efforts to bolstering other networks and resources to drive results.”