Title IX’s effectiveness in addressing campus sexual assault is at risk − a law professor explains why

Students, parents and others gather outside the White House to press the Biden administration to release updated Title IX rules on Dec. 5, 2023. Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for National Women's Law Center

Most Americans assume that schools are legally required to protect students from sexual harassment and assault under Title IX – the federal law enacted in 1972 that bans sexual discrimination in education.

I am a law professor and researcher who has spent more than a decade examining the disconnect between what Title IX promises on paper and what students expect it to deliver in practice. What’s happening now isn’t just another policy shift – it’s a dismantling of protections many assume still exist.