Federally funded education programs would be held responsible for sex-based harassment

Education programs receiving federal funds would be legally responsible for specified sex-based harassment. It covers harassment anywhere when it harms a person’s ability to take part in or receive the program’s benefits, services, or opportunities. If a worker or representative uses job authority to enable or assist the harassment, the program would be responsible. When job authority did not enable a worker’s conduct, or when an outsider acted, the program would be responsible only if it knew or reasonably should have known. It could avoid responsibility by proving prompt, reasonable prevention and correction.

Programs would use a four-part prevention and response showing to establish reasonable care. This applies when someone with actual or apparent authority to fix or report misconduct knew or reasonably should have known. The complaint process must be publicized and enforced, offer effective relief, and avoid undue risk, effort, or expense for the person harmed. An investigation must be prompt, thorough, and fair when requested or needed to protect people from a significant ongoing threat, unless the claim is clearly frivolous. Support must preserve or restore education access even without an investigation request, and corrective action must not depend on later harassment.

A person harmed by a covered program could bring a civil lawsuit to enforce Title IX rights. The lawsuit could address a failure to follow Title IX or its rules. In discrimination cases, the harmed person or someone acting on their behalf could file it. Relief could include orders requiring action, money to compensate for harm, punitive damages, attorney’s fees, and expert fees.