Framework

Title IX

Prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance. It is the framework most institutions know by name and the one they most often run badly.

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At a glance

Sex discrimination in education programs

Statute20 U.S.C. § 1681
Regulation34 CFR Part 106
Applies toEducation programs receiving federal funds
Enforced byOCR intake, Justice Department investigations

Scope

What it covers

What the framework reaches.

Sex-based harassmentIncluding sexual assault, dating and domestic violence, and stalking, where the conduct affects access to the education program.
Sex discriminationIn admissions, athletics, employment within the program, and access to courses, facilities, and activities.
Pregnancy and parental statusDiscrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions, including leave and accommodation.
RetaliationAgainst anyone who reports, participates in a process, or refuses to participate. Retaliation is a separate violation.

Reach

Who it applies to

Who answers to it, who enforces it, and where it stops.

RecipientsAny education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance, which in practice means nearly every public district and almost all colleges and universities.
EnforcementComplaints are filed with the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, which keeps guidance, technical assistance, and voluntary resolution. Since June 2026, investigations sit with the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. Private litigation is also available.
ScopeConduct in the institution’s programs and activities, including off-campus settings the institution exercises substantial control over.

The checklist

What has to be in place

The structural obligations, stated plainly. Specifics vary by institution and by state.

01A designated coordinatorA named Title IX Coordinator with actual authority, whose contact details are published and easy to find.
02Published notice and policyA notice of nondiscrimination and a grievance procedure that describes what will actually happen, in the order it happens.
03A working intake pathA way for anyone to report, and a documented response when the institution knows or should have known.
04Supportive measuresAvailable regardless of whether anyone files, offered and documented at the time rather than reconstructed later.
05Trained peopleCoordinators, investigators, decision makers, and appeal officers trained on the process they are running, with materials retained.
06A retained recordDocumentation sufficient for a reviewer to follow what happened, when, and why.

Where files fail

Where it usually goes wrong

Institutions rarely lose on the underlying conduct. They lose on the file: intake that was never documented at the time, a timeline that moved without a written extension, a coordinator without real authority, or a policy that no longer describes what the office actually does. Every one of those is visible months before anyone files.

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Where we come in

The work we do under Title IX

Casework, coverage, and training, each scoped to this framework.

Scoping

Not sure which framework governs?

Most matters touch more than one. A scoping call settles which apply before anything else is decided.

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