Yesterday the Department of Education issued guidelines (36 pages) instructing schools which accept federal funding how to treat transgender students with regard to single-sex classes.
Although Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded education programs and activities, regulations issued by the Department authorize schools to offer single- sex classes or extracurricular activities under certain circumstances.2 In order to ensure that schools subject to Title IX comply with the Department’s requirements if they choose to offer single-sex classes and extracurricular activities, OCR provides the following responses to questions that schools should consider when assessing their compliance with Title IX. Although this document focuses on single-sex classes, some of the legal principles will also apply to single-sex schools. In order to gain a complete understanding of these legal requirements and recommendations, this document should be read in full.
Catherine Lhamon, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
While single-sex classes might seem anathema to Title IX, there are some exceptions carved out. Single sex classes are permitted in the following situations:
4. May schools offer single-sex classes and extracurricular activities under the Department’s Title IX regulations?
The Department’s Title IX regulations identify the following categories for which a recipient may intentionally separate students by sex:
- Contact sports in physical education classes;
- Classes or portions of classes in elementary and secondary schools that deal
primarily with human sexuality;
- Nonvocational classes and extracurricular activities within a coeducational, nonvocational elementary or secondary school if certain criteria are met.
The guidelines address the latter.
This document focuses on the last exception noted in the response to Question 4— nonvocational classes and extracurricular activities in a coeducational, nonvocational elementary or secondary school receiving Federal financial assistance. These include any single-sex curricular activity (such as a class or a field trip) and any single-sex extracurricular activity (such as a before-school or after-school activity, lunch, or recess). The requirements regarding this exception apply to single-sex classes and activities whether they are provided directly by a school district or school or through another entity.
All students, including transgender students and students who do not conform to sex stereotypes, are protected from sex-based discrimination under Title IX. Under Title IX, a recipient generally must treat transgender students consistent with their gender identity in all aspects of the planning, implementation, enrollment, operation, and evaluation of single-sex classes.
OCR extended Title IX's ban on gender-based discrimination to transgender and gender non-conforming students this past April.
Backers of gender-based segregation in classrooms, which promote activities like competitions among boys and talking about emotions among girls, say the sexes learn differently.
These are very harmful, outdated, and debunked theories about differences between boys and girls. When you add LGBT students to the mix, clearly these rigid gender differences fall by the wayside.
--Ian Thompson, legislative representative at the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office
Making clear that transgender students should be able to participate in single-sex classes consistent with who they are is a positive step forward.
Hell, the government telling
certain people that transgender kids do exist is a step forward.