Milford School District recently passed new Title IX regulations as required by the federal government
At a rare early morning meeting, Milford School District Board of Education unanimously passed a new Title IX policy. This new policy, 4101A – Title IX Rights and Responsibilities, was required under new regulations released by the federal government. The language of the new policy is significantly different than the original it will replace.
“The Policy 4101 re: Title IX has been crafted by elements of the Delaware public school districts to comply with updated federal Title IX guidelines. It’s my understanding that all 19 Delaware public school districts participated. Therefore, a similar or exact same item should pop up on the other district’s agendas sooner or later,” School Board Vice-President Matt Bucher commented on a social media post about the proposed policy change. “Whenever federal guidelines or state standards are updated, Delaware public school districts must do the diligence to update policy as needed. MSD administration, who answers ultimately to the board, is simply staying abreast of that as is its duty.”
Some members of the public were concerned that the board met at 7:30 AM to adopt the policy as opposed to the regular meeting time of 7 PM. There was also some concern that the board passed the changes unanimously with no discussion and has since not released any information on the changes.
“Policy changes need full discussion and time to reflect. It bothers me that they seem to be proposed without attribution and then rammed through,” Peggy Schmidt commented on another post about the new policy. “If board members are discussing them outside of public meetings, then it is a serious violation of transparency.”
Bucher explained the reasoning behind the unusual time for the meeting.
“Also, keep in mind this is kind of a Monday morning supplemental board meeting to our monthly evening board meeting (where the vast majority of business is discussed),” Bucher commented. “We have to do a few of these every summer because this is when the district hires for the next school year. To stay current and nail those new hires down, especially the best hires that are in demand and get multiple offers, HR brings us additional personnel reports to approve more often over the summer.”
A review of the new policy compared to a previous policy that is still in board policy indicates that the one adopted on July 29 is a complete rewrite of the old policy. However, it also appears that the previous policy outlined specific details related to discrimination based on sex in education which is what Title IX strives to prevent. The new policy simply refers to the federal regulations as a guideline with more details on how sex discrimination can be reported and what the district must do when such discrimination is reported.
Title IX was passed in 1972 in order to protect against sex discrimination in schools with the initial goal of expanding athletic programs for women and providing them with the same quality of athletics as their male counterparts. Over the years, it has become known as the overriding guidance in providing equal athletics for men and women. In 1992, the statute added sexual harassment and assault protections.
The biggest changes to the federal policy are in the area of sexual harassment and assault. The new regulations roll back some of those put in place by President Donald Trump in 2020 that many felt watered down how schools address sexual assault and harassment. There are also requirements to provide accommodations to pregnant and nursing students.
For many, however, the biggest concern about the new Title IX changes is related to gender identity. Comments on social media posts about the policy change indicate that there are concerns that these changes will impact locker room and bathroom admittance as well as the ability for transgender students to compete on athletic teams that do not match their biological gender.
“Am I the only one that has a problem with my children being taught sexual preferences and false genders at their school instead of how to file taxes and signing their signature after they removed cursive?” James Biddinger commented.
The fact is that the new regulations do not have specific rules about transgender students although it does add protections for some LGBTQ+ students. The new federal guidelines do state that schools cannot discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity but fall short of requiring schools to allow transgender students to use the bathroom or locker room of the gender they identify with. Nor does it require schools to allow transgender athletes to participate in athletic teams that do not match their biological gender. There are reports that there will be language added to the statute regarding these topics after the election in November.
The changes are facing court challenges in several states.
The new policy as well as the old version can be found by visiting the Milford School District website. Select Board Policy 4101A – Title IX Rights and Responsibilities or Board Policy 4101A – Title IX Rights and Responsibilities (eff. Aug 2024).
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