Title IX
Title IX Definition
“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
Title IX, a clause of the 1972 Education Amendments
Background:
Title IX has brought an end to many injustices since it was enacted almost 50 years ago. However, bureaucrats have expanded the definitions of discrimination and harassment over the years in a way that has been harmful to students on campus. The process for adjudicating serious allegations on campus, for example, has been plagued by bias, vagueness, and overreach – undermining a system that was intended to ensure access to education for all students. Instead, bureaucrats have created a climate of fear and suspicion on campus and destroyed students’ appreciation for the traditions of fairness upon which this country was built.
In May of 2020, new Title IX rules were issued by the Department of Education which provided much-needed clarity for students, universities, families, and administrators. They also enshrined procedural safeguards that started to restore trust in a broken system.
Unfortunately, the Biden Administration has proposed new Title IX rules that will once again open the door for universities to restrict speech more than they already do. As it stands, by utilizing precedent set by the U.S. Supreme Court, the 2020 Rule strikes the proper balance between allowing universities to properly regulate sexual harassment under Title IX and complying with the First Amendment. However, the new proposed rules broaden the definition of ‘harassment’ to the point where students could be investigated and disciplined for not using certain pronouns, misgendering someone, or for even expressing political ideas. Compelling and chilling protected speech is fundamentally unconstitutional.
What YOU Can Do:
If you are a student or you know a student who was punished or investigated under Title IX for misgendering or not using someone’s requested pronouns, or for any other form of constitutionally protected speech, tell us your story! The more we know your story the more we can amplify the message in the media and increase public awareness.
Featured

If Biden Gets His Way, Using Correct Pronouns Could Be A Human Rights Violation
President Joe Biden’s Department of Education plans to enact new rule changes to civil rights law this May that would end free speech as Americans have known it.
Recent Activity
- Speech First Condemns Biden’s Title IX Rule Changes that Chills Free Speech March 6, 2023
- Speech First's Public Comments to Department of Education on Title IX September 9, 2022
- Title IX Coalition Letter to Office for Civil Rights April 4, 2022
- Reviewing Enforcement of Title IX for DOE Public Hearing June 11, 2021
Featured Interview
September 9, 2022

Speech First’s Public Comments to Department of Education on Title IX
July 21, 2022

VIDEO: Biden Wants to Use Title IX Against Students
July 5, 2022

Biden And Universities Launch Sneak Attack On Free Speech
July 5, 2022 The proposed new Title IX regulations by President Biden’s Department of Education have opened the door for universities to restrict and compel student speech even more than…
August 7, 2020

IWF Podcast on Title IX
Click here to watch Nicole Neily give an interview on Title IX.
All Content
June 23, 2021
Reply in Support of Motion to Intervene in the Northern District of California
June 14, 2021
Speech First Comments on Title IX Enforcement for US Department of Education Public Hearing
May 24, 2021
Campus Civil Liberties Coalition Files Motion to Intervene in The Women’s Student Union v. Dept. of Education
January 27, 2021
Campus Civil Liberties Coalition Files Brief In Support Of Title IX Free Speech, Due Process Protections
January 17, 2021
Motion for Summary Judgement in Speech First’s Title IX case
August 7, 2020
IWF Podcast on Title IX
SheThinks Podcast
June 26, 2020
Campus civil liberties coalition files petition to defend Title IX free speech
June 26, 2020
Petition to intervene in Title IX litigation – Commonwealth of Pennsylvania et al, D. DC.
June 25, 2020
Campus free speech orgs seek to intervene in lawsuit to defend new Title IX regulations
May 19, 2020
Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance
May 7, 2020
Speech First’s Statement Regarding Title IX
April 9, 2020