Protect gender non-conforming students. That's what Title IX demands
In classrooms across the country, gender non-conforming students are forced to play roles they never auditioned for. They are pressured to fit into outdated scripts about what boys and girls should look and act like. It's a reality that brings to mind "The Catcher in the Rye's" Holden Caulfield: a young person suffocating under society's expectations, longing for authenticity in a world full of "phonies." But while Holden had the privilege to rebel, gender non-conforming youth today face harassment, fear, and institutional neglect simply for showing up as themselves.
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded schools. Recent legal interpretations, including Bostock v. Clayton County (2020), have made it clear that this includes gender identity and expression. Yet, enforcement remains patchy and inconsistent, and schools too often resort to silence instead of safety.
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According to GLSEN, an education organization working to end discrimination, harassment, and bullying based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression, 71.6% of gender non-conforming students report being verbally harassed because of their gender expression. These students are not safe, and they know it. Title IX, originally passed to ensure educational equity, must be enforced to protect all students, including those who challenge gender norms.
We need the U.S. Department of Education to strengthen enforcement and training, Congress to stand firm against rollbacks, and, above all, the public to understand that this isn't about politics. It's about giving every child the freedom to learn without fear, no matter who they are or how they dress.
More: University of Cincinnati's 'biological' bathroom signs removed. 'Error' cost $16K
No student should be punished for refusing to fit into someone else's story.
Elisabeth Sebastian, Fort Wright, Ky.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Title IX means nothing if schools ignore gender identity | Letter
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