The Quote: WILL Deputy Counsel, Luke Berg, said, “School administrators can’t force minor students to comply with their preferred mode of speaking. And they certainly shouldn’t be slapping eighth graders with Title IX investigations for what amounts to protected speech. This is a terrible precedent to set, with enormous ramifications.”
Background: Three eighth grade students in the Kiel Area School District were notified of a Title IX complaint and investigation for sexual harassment for using a biologically correct pronoun when referring to a classmate, instead of the student’s preferred pronoun of “they/them.” The District’s position appears to be that once a student informs others of alternate, preferred pronouns, any subsequent “mispronouning” automatically constitutes punishable sexual harassment under Title IX.
Further, the District has also failed to follow Title IX procedures and its own process. Both the District’s policy and Title IX regulations require notice of the allegations before beginning any investigation so that the accused has “sufficient time to prepare a response before any initial interview.” The District failed to provide a detailed notice of the allegations, instead providing only a generic letter, one day before the District sought to question the minor students, stating that the boys were accused of “using incorrect pronouns.” The District initiated its investigation and conducted interviews without first providing additional details or giving the boys and their families time to prepare.
What the District calls “mispronouning” does not amount to sexual harassment under Title IX as a matter of law. And the District’s conduct infringes on the First Amendment and Due Process rights of the students.
