Burnout troubling Title IX coordinators

Regulations imposed by former President Donald Trump and his Education Secretary Betsy DeVos worsened an already high level of burnout among Title IX coordinators in schools, districts, and higher education.

One of the 2020 rules from DeVos required live hearings, which made the investigation and resolution of sex discrimination complaints more like courtrooms than civil proceedings. That increased the workload and slowed the whole process down. TNG, a consulting company, expected this might slow down a Title IX case by two to four weeks but they’re seeing delays of two or more months, a recent report noted. In some schools, it takes four to six months, even a year or more, to process a single simple complaint. During that time, witnesses become less cooperative, memories fade, and a decision gets delayed or abandoned.

Inadequate institutional support adds to the problem. “Like many labor markets, Title IX offices are understaffed and facing dwindling and under-qualified applicant pools for advertised positions. The inability to fill positions has resulted in substantial delays in processing complaints and is burning out existing Title IX employees, who are often doing the work of two to three professionals just to stay afloat,” the TNG post said.

Granted, the company has a financial interest in being hired to help perform Title IX duties. The schools’ lack of resources and the extra burdens of running live hearings seem to have increased demand for consultants. More than a third of colleges and universities now outsource the job of running Title IX hearings, according to a 2021 survey of members of the Association of Title IX Administrators (ATIXA), and TNG expects that trend to grow.

Meanwhile, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights took the first formal step toward releasing proposed regulations to replace the ones from Trump/DeVos.

Elsewhere

Kudos to journalists doing good reporting! The Naples Daily News/The New-Press and USA Today revealed how officials at Parkside Elementary School near Naples, Fla. and Collier County Public Schools failed to stop an employee from sexually abusing at least 19 children. A Seattle Times investigation uncovered how Washington State University failed to prevent multiple sexual assaults despite repeated complaints about the perpetrator. A West Kentucky University student sued her alleged rapist, his fraternity, and the university.

After Grambling (La.) State University hired disgraced former Baylor University football coach Art Briles and created an uproar that led Briles to resign four days later, the university promoted another coach to the position who also had a history of Title IX trouble. The California State Universities chancellor who resigned after criticism of his handling of sexual harassment at Fresno State will receive $401,364 plus benefits, a six-month housing allowance, and the right to join the faculty at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Iowa became the latest of 11 states to pass anti-trans legislation that bans transgender girls and women from playing on school sports teams.

On the up side

The Nation magazine ran an excerpt from my forthcoming book under the title, “Truth, Light, and Title IX.” You could win 1 of 20 copies of 37 Words being given away on GoodReads.com if you enter by March 15! Enter here.

The New York Historical Society’s Center for Women’s History & Academic Affairs posted a discussion with me and some of the earliest Title IX activists. I’m joined by National Women’s Law Center founder Marcia Greenberger, Project on Equal Education Rights founder Holly Knox, and Margaret Dunkle, the original chair of the National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education. It’s part of the Max Conference on Women’s History.

In this Women’s History Month, the interweb is full of tributes to Title IX and events to recognize Title IX’s 50th anniversary, like this webinar from the Santa Clara County (Calif.) branches of the American Association of University Women. The president of California State University, Fresno issued some good talking points about how the administration plans to improve its handling of sexual harassment. Let’s hope it’s more than talk. The New York Times ran a fascinating deep-dive into how we define sex, in “Trans Swimmer Revives an Old Debate in Elite Sports: What Defines a Woman?”

Where you’ll find me

April 1, 3:45-4:55 p.m. ET — The student chapter of National Lawyers Guild at the University of Virginia hosts an all-day seminar, with me on a panel discussing the intersectional failings of Title IX.

April 2, 1:30-3:00 pm ET — I’ll be in Boston speaking on a panel at the Organization of American Historians annual conference. Check out a two-minute video preview of our panel.

April 12 — Book launch day! From 12 noon to 1 p.m. PT at San Francisco State University, the school’s chapter of NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists hosts a live gathering of students and a give-away of books by three authors (including moi) who will join via Zoom. I’ll be there virtually with Vanessa Hua and Lucy Jane Bledsoe. Later, join me at 7 p.m. ET for a hybrid 37 Words book launch event live at Norwich Bookstore in Vermont and virtually. Details to come!

April 13, 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET — You’re invited to a lively Zoom discussion between me and Kenyora Parham, executive director of End Rape on Campus, as we talk about 37 Words during Sexual Assault Awareness Month. I’ll post links when available.

April 21, 7 p.m. ET — A virtual get-together with the Washington, D.C. chapter of NOW.

May 26, 6:30 p.m. PT — A virtual get-together with the Riverside, Calif. chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW).

June 23, 3:00-4:30 p.m. ET — It’s Title IX’s 50th birthday! I’ll be Zooming with members of the Association of Title IX Administrators (ATIXA) to celebrate.

Here’s where you’ll find links to preorder 37 Words: Title IX and Fifty Years of Fighting Sex Discrimination. Preorders are so helpful! Thanks for your support.