Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

New Guidance from U.S. Department of Education Reminds Schools of Obligation to Designate Title IX Coordinator

  • 05/01/15

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently released a guidance package emphasizing the responsibility of school districts, colleges and universities to designate a Title IX coordinator. The package also contains an overview of the law's requirements in several key areas, including athletics, single-sex education, sex-based harassment and discipline.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in all education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance.

"A critical responsibility for schools under Title IX is to designate a well-qualified, well-trained Title IX coordinator and to give that coordinator the authority and support necessary to do the job," says Catherine E. Lhamon, assistant secretary for civil rights. "We hope that these documents will help schools understand their obligations under Title IX."

The guidance package includes three documents:

  • A Dear Colleague Letter to school districts, colleges and universities reminding them of their obligation to designate a Title IX coordinator.
  • A letter to Title IX coordinators that provides them more information about their important role.
  • A Title IX resource guide that includes an overview of Title IX's requirements in several key areas, including recruitment, admissions and counseling; financial assistance; athletics; sex-based harassment; treatment of pregnant and parenting students; and discipline — all topics that frequently confront schools and their Title IX coordinators.

Since the issuance of Title IX regulations in 1975, school districts, colleges and universities receiving federal financial assistance from the Department of Education have been required to designate at least one employee to coordinate the recipient's compliance with Title IX.

OCR's mission is to ensure equal access to education and promote educational excellence throughout the nation through the vigorous enforcement of civil rights. The office is responsible for enforcing federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination by educational institutions on the basis of disability, race, color, national origin, sex, and age, as well as the Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act of 2001. More about the OCR office.

More information about Title IX and other OCR guidance documents on Title IX issues can be found online.

Featured

  • Preparing for the Next Era of Healthcare Education, Innovation

    Across the country, public universities and community colleges are accelerating investments in healthcare education facilities as part of a broader strategy to address workforce shortages, modernize outdated infrastructure, and expand clinical training capacity. These projects, which are often located at the center of campus health and science districts, are no longer limited to traditional classrooms.

  • Spaces4Learning Trends & Predictions for Educational Facilities in 2026: Part I

    We asked, you answered, and the results are in! Last year, we put out a call for submissions to collect our readership’s opinion on trends and predictions for K–12 and higher education facilities in 2026.

  • Houston-Area High School Breaks Ground on 117,000SF Multi-Use Facility

    North Shore Senior High School, part of Galena Park ISD in Houston, Texas, recently broke ground on a new multi-use facility for student extracurriculars, according to a news release. The North Shore Multi-Use Facility will include dedicated practice and training space for the school’s athletics and fine arts programs.

  • Photo credit: Elkus Manfredi Architects

    University of Virginia Selects Design-Build Team for New Residential Complex

    The University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., recently announced that it has selected a design-build team for a new upper-class residential development on campus, according to a news release. Capstone Development Partners—in partnership with Elkus Manfredi Architects and the Hoar Construction/Hourigan construction team—will move forward with the three-building, 310,000-square-foot housing facility.