An Avalanche of Liability: The Tie Between Title IX and Comprehensive Sex Education

Abstract

My thesis discusses the legal obligations that the United States federal government holds in regard to enforcing comprehensive sex education in educational institutions across the United States. This obligation is found in Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972. Title IX stipulates that no educational institution in the United States shall discriminate on the basis of sex. Through the legal precedents the US Supreme Court has set concerning the scope of Title IX, a positive obligation can be found for the federal government to take action to implement sex education programs that do not contain discriminatory messages, such as those found in abstinence-only sex education programs. This positive obligation held by the federal government exceeds the jurisdiction individual States hold to implement sex education of their choosing.