An article recently published in the New York University Journal of Legislation and Public Policy is saying what we already knew about Title IX law: Far more lawsuits have been filed in recent years than ever before.
While the statistics cited in the article come as no surprise, they are still important to know to see the true extent of the problem.
Article Finds Sharp Rise in Title IX Litigation
The article, titled Campus Courts in Court: The Rise in Judicial Involvement in Campus Sexual Misconduct Adjudications, was written by a member of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and a history professor with an in-depth knowledge of the background of Title IX legislation.
We've covered FIRE before in our blog; they're the organization that gave schools terrible grades for their sexual misconduct policies.
In the article, the authors track the steep rise in Title IX lawsuits that have been filed in state and federal courts in the aftermath of the “Dear Colleague” letter issued by Obama's Department of Education in 2011.
In the first 21 months – nearly two years – there were only seven lawsuits. In 2013, there were seven more. Then the floodgates opened:
Year |
Number of Title IX Lawsuits Filed |
2014 |
25 |
2015 |
45 |
2016 |
47 |
2017 |
78 |
2018 |
78 |
Court Decisions Split Roughly Evenly
According to the article, while an estimated 74 cases were settled before the court could issue a ruling, those that had to be resolved with a judicial order were split roughly evenly between school and student.
Out of the 298 state and federal court rulings in these Title IX cases, colleges have won 134 times and lost 151. Out of the remaining 13 decisions, 11 had no clear winner in the outcome, and two were sealed.
Of course, these rulings came from every stage of the judicial proceedings, so not all of them were made after a full trial and with all of the evidence in play. Many of them were at the motion to dismiss stage, when almost no evidence has been accumulated and with the judge basing his or her decision on little more than the plaintiff student's complaint.
What These Numbers Mean: Title IX is Taking a Toll on Courts
There are a lot of takeaways from these numbers and the rest of the article. However, one of the clearest points that it makes is that sexual misconduct claims are sweeping out of school administrative buildings and into courtrooms. It's a sure sign that Title IX law is broken when students are taking the time, energy, and money that it takes to sue their own school because of how it handled their case.
Joseph D. Lento: Title IX Defense and National Advisor
Joseph D. Lento is a national Title IX advisor and defense attorney who helps represent students, faculty, and staff who have been accused of sexual misconduct on college campuses. Contact him online or call his law office at (888) 535-3686 if you have been accused of sexual wrongdoing and want help defending your future.
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