LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is one of 20 attorneys general, who in a comment letter, voiced support for the federal government’s proposed rule aimed at strengthening protections against sex discrimination. The rule would be under Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972.
Title IX requires schools to provide educational programs and activities that are free of sex discrimination. This includes sexual harassment and sexual violence.
In the comment letter, it talked about how the rule would better effectuate Title IX and align with congressional intent and longstanding practices. It would also standardize definitions and procedures for enforcement of Title IX. The comment letter also talked about how it would improve sexual violence and harassment complaint processes for K-12 and college students. It would also realign the sexual harassment standards and higher education proceedings, which would ensure a prompt and equitable resolution process for all students. The proposed rule would reinforce critical protection against discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation, or pregnant and parenting status. It could also be further strengthened to help fight all the different forms of sex discrimination.
In 2020, the U.S. Department of Education promulgated new rules that changed how Title IX was enforced. Those amendments weakened protections for individuals who had experienced sexual violence or harassment. It also burdened schools with court-room like Title IX proceedings.
“When the Trump Administration rolled back anti-discrimination protections for students and educators with its ill-conceived Title IX rules in 2020, I joined a coalition of attorneys general to speak out against them,” said Nessel. “Title IX is landmark legislation in the effort to provide women, girls, and all students with the protections they deserve in the area of education. With this new proposed rule, we have a chance to set things right for them. I gladly stand with my colleagues in praising this new proposed rule, which gives us a chance to fix what was broken by the previous set of regressive rules.”
The comment letter is available to read here.
