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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Today is the 50th anniversary of Title IX, a groundbreaking civil rights law that prohibits federally funded educational institutions (public and private/independent) from discriminating on the basis of sex. It was part of the 1972 education amendments to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibited discrimination by race. Although not gender-specific, Title IX has opened the doors to all students to reach their full potential in athletics, academic curricula, programs and extracurricular activities, but requires that proactive measures be taken to remediate for the effects of prior discrimination. As such, opportunities for girls and women in coursework and in physical education and athletics expanded exponentially. And, over the years, it has also provided protection for students, faculty and staff against sexual assault and harassment in schools, colleges and universities and protections for employees against sex discrimination.
Earlier this week, you may have seen the op-ed I co-authored with former Governor Chris Gregoire in The Seattle Times. If you haven’t already, I would recommend checking it out.
Title IX has been a major focus of my career – from working with the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Office for Civil Rights in the early years in assisting school districts in its implementation, from conducting U.S. Department of Education-funded research on girls and women in school sports and on child sexual-abuse prevention programs in schools, to my teaching at the University of Washington on Gender and Education, to serving as an expert witness in federal Title IX lawsuits against school districts, to sponsoring relevant bills while serving in the State Legislature. It’s hard for me to believe my involvement began about 45 years ago!
Today, there have been many other interesting and informative articles published that reflect on Title IX, its legacy, its durability, and the proposal to expand it to explicitly protect trans young people, too. I would encourage you to take some time to read up on this important issue. Some good places to start are:
Feel free to reach out to my office with any questions or concerns via email at jeanne.kohl-welles@kingcounty.gov or phone at 206-477-1004.
Sincerely,
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