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Board hears Title IX/harassment policy revisions after federal rule changes and court rulings
Summary
District legal counsel reviewed proposed revisions to the district’s harassment and Title IX policy, explaining how federal regulations and court decisions shape protections for gender identity and sexual‑orientation complaints; the board will consider the revised policy at its regular meeting.
Board members received a legal briefing on proposed changes to the district’s harassment policy and Title IX procedures and were told the revisions reflect federal regulations, court interpretations and existing Seventh Circuit precedent.
Sarah Gazzi Marotti, the district’s associate legal counsel who oversees Title IX matters, summarized the legal background that informs the policy and explained how the district’s proposed language is designed to align with current case law.
"Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of ***," Sarah Gazzi Marotti said, explaining how federal regulations and appellate courts have interpreted that prohibition. She told board members the district’s policy explicitly covers discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation in line with the Seventh Circuit’s Whitaker decision and related Supreme Court precedent.
Gazzi Marotti outlined that the policy contains two complaint pathways: one for Title IX‑level harassment and another for broader "misconduct" that allows the district to address harmful behavior that may fall short of the statutory Title IX standard but still requires district response and remedies. She said that structuring the policy this way preserves remedies and supports for complainants while giving staff appropriate procedures to investigate and resolve complaints.
The presentation reviewed the regulatory chronology: the 2020 federal Title IX regulations that imposed procedural requirements, subsequent litigation and a later 2024 rulemaking effort that drew further challenges in federal court. Counsel noted that courts in some jurisdictions blocked the 2024 regulations but that the district’s position in Wisconsin is shaped by the Seventh Circuit’s interpretation in Whitaker v. Kenosha Unified School District, which courts in the circuit have read to include gender‑identity protections under Title IX.
Board members did not vote on the policy at the Instruction Work Group meeting; staff said the redlined and clean versions of the draft harassment policy will be returned to the board for a second read and a vote at the regular board meeting.
