New Federal Title IX Complaint Filed

The Campaign for Southern Equality has filed a Title IX complaint against the North Carolina State Board of Education (SBE) & the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI). The complaint alleges that North Carolina’s public schools are systematically marginalizing LGBTQ students & in doing so violate civil rights protected by Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 & North Carolina schools’ obligation to provide every student with a safe school environment free from discrimination. This complaint is focused on SB49 the so-called "Parents' Bill of Rights" aka the "Don't Say LGBTQ" law & includes testimonials from 24 parents, teachers, students & administrators. Craig White, Supportive Schools Director for the Campaign for Southern Equality stated, “When S.B. 49 passed we imagined all of the ways that students, parents, educators & the North Carolina school system at large would be damaged. This complaint shows that those harms are actually happening right now in schools across North Carolina – endangering & marginalizing LGBTQ+ students & students from LGBTQ+ families. The state’s public education system is now clouded by fear, discrimination & censorship that interferes with students’ ability to learn. It is time for school districts to stop implementing S.B. 49 – because the anti-LGBTQ+ policies that this law requires are patently incompatible with the Title IX protections to which every LGBTQ+ student is entitled.” Since the passage of S.B. 49 Campaign for Southern Equality has maintained that school districts cannot both follow S.B. 49 & remain in compliance with Title IX. Based in Asheville, NC the Campaign for Southern Equality promotes full LGBTQ equality across the South. Their work is rooted in commitments to equity in race, gender & class.

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