COVID may have slowed down filings of new lawsuits, but it did not stop them. The current count of lawsuits by accused students in our Title IX Lawsuits Database is 711. These plaintiffs allege their universities’ procedures for resolving Title IX-related accusations lacked due process, were gender-biased, breached contracts with students, or were otherwise unfair.
A “Title IX-related accusation” means the student was accused of sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual exploitation, relationship violence (or threats of relationship violence), stalking, or inappropriate relationships.
These lawsuits began to spike shortly after the Department of Education issued its “Dear Colleague” letter in 2011 and pressured schools to resolve all Title IX-related allegations with minimal attention to due process. The overzealousness of the “sex police,” as described in a 2017 NCHERM whitepaper (pages 16-17 are well worth a read), set off an “unprecedented wave of litigation” resulting in decisions favoring due process by judges spanning the political spectrum.
These decisions fueled much of the language behind then-Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’ Title IX regulations. Since their official publication in August 2020, the rate of new lawsuit filings has declined substantially…and the rate of university victories in court has risen.
Since it appears that nothing in his career has demonstrated a concern for the rights of those accused of violence against women or Title IX-related offenses, we can be certain Biden’s administration will attempt to weaken the due process protections afforded to accused students by the new regulations. The Department of Education has already scheduled public hearings on Title IX matters for June 7th through June 11th.
We’ll be following these developments closely. If the Biden administration succeeds in rolling back due process protections, we can be certain the rate of new lawsuit filings (and victories by accused students) will increase.
How long before we reach the 1,000 lawsuit mark?
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COVID may have slowed down filings of new lawsuits, but it did not stop them. The current count of lawsuits by accused students in our Title IX Lawsuits Database is 711. These plaintiffs allege their universities’ procedures for resolving Title IX-related accusations lacked due process, were gender-biased, breached contracts with students, or were otherwise unfair.
A “Title IX-related accusation” means the student was accused of sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual exploitation, relationship violence (or threats of relationship violence), stalking, or inappropriate relationships.
These lawsuits began to spike shortly after the Department of Education issued its “Dear Colleague” letter in 2011 and pressured schools to resolve all Title IX-related allegations with minimal attention to due process. The overzealousness of the “sex police,” as described in a 2017 NCHERM whitepaper (pages 16-17 are well worth a read), set off an “unprecedented wave of litigation” resulting in decisions favoring due process by judges spanning the political spectrum.
These decisions fueled much of the language behind then-Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’ Title IX regulations. Since their official publication in August 2020, the rate of new lawsuit filings has declined substantially…and the rate of university victories in court has risen.
Since it appears that nothing in his career has demonstrated a concern for the rights of those accused of violence against women or Title IX-related offenses, we can be certain Biden’s administration will attempt to weaken the due process protections afforded to accused students by the new regulations. The Department of Education has already scheduled public hearings on Title IX matters for June 7th through June 11th.
We’ll be following these developments closely. If the Biden administration succeeds in rolling back due process protections, we can be certain the rate of new lawsuit filings (and victories by accused students) will increase.
How long before we reach the 1,000 lawsuit mark?
Thank You for Reading
If you like what you have read, feel free to sign up for our newsletter here:
Support Our Work
About the Author
Related Posts
More from Title IX for All
Accused Students Database
Research due process and similar lawsuits by students accused of Title IX violations (sexual assault, harassment, dating violence, stalking, etc.) in higher education.
OCR Resolutions Database
Research resolved Title IX investigations of K-12 and postsecondary institutions by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR).
Attorneys Directory
A basic directory for looking up Title IX attorneys, most of whom have represented parties in litigation by accused students.
