What’s New
The administrator who oversees Title IX and student conduct for the Texas A&M University system has been suspended, a system spokesperson confirmed to The Chronicle on Friday. Two weeks ago, the official spoke publicly about Texas A&M’s plans for complying with new changes to Title IX.
The punishment underlines the escalating conflict between federal and state entities over Title IX, the federal law that governs how colleges respond to discrimination based on sex. The news of the suspension was first reported by The Eagle, in College Station, Tex.
The Details
Long-awaited updates to the federal regulations interpreting Title IX were announced last month by the Biden administration. The changes, which take effect in August, will widen the law’s scope to cover a broader range of misconduct allegations and identity groups.
Title IX will now protect LGBTQ and pregnant students, and will define sexual harassment as “unwelcome sex-based conduct.” The Trump-era regulations set a higher bar for alleged misconduct that colleges were required to investigate, saying that Title IX only covered sexual harassment if it was “severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive.”
Rick Olshak, the university system’s director of Title IX and student-conduct compliance, told the student newspaper of Texas A&M’s College Station flagship, The Battalion, what he thought about the Title IX changes and how the system would respond.
Olshak said in the May 1 article that he was “appreciative” of the new pregnancy accommodations because they highlighted the importance of responding to civil-rights issues beyond sexual assault. He also said that until the Trump administration, “Title IX was never political.” He said he hoped that would change going forward.
Olshak also commented on transgender athletes, an issue that wasn’t covered in this round of Title IX changes. “The Biden administration left out the most polarizing piece of the regulation, which is transgender participation in athletics,” Olshak told the newspaper. “So, we were very disappointed when we heard the rumor that this part would be left out. But we also understood that it is April before the election.”
On May 8, a note was added to the top of the article stating that, because of a lawsuit that the state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton, filed against Biden’s Title IX changes, the Texas A&M system “will not take any action to implement the new federal regulations.”
Colleges that don’t comply with Title IX risk losing their federal funding.
Olshak was suspended with pay while “allegations about his job performance as a system employee are investigated,” a Texas A&M system spokesperson told The Chronicle. “Please note that the allegations under investigation do not include his private social media posts, as this activity is protected by the First Amendment.”
The Backdrop
Texas A&M became embroiled in controversy last year after political pushback led to consequences for two faculty members.
The hiring of Kathleen O. McElroy as head of College Station’s journalism program was derailed by conservative criticism about McElroy’s past statements on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Then The Texas Tribune reported that a non-tenured professor had been placed on leave earlier in the year after allegedly criticizing the Texas lieutenant governor during a guest lecture. The professor, Joy Alonzo, denied making the comment, and after an internal investigation, she was allowed to keep her job.
Texas is one of more than 20 Republican states that are suing the Biden administration over its changes to Title IX. Some Republican officials, such as Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, have said explicitly that their states will not comply.
Critics have condemned new Title IX protections that are based on sexual orientation and gender identity, saying those additions amount to government overreach.
Biden’s Title IX changes would, among other things, prevent schools and colleges from restricting bathroom use for transgender students and staff. That sets up a conflict with recently passed state laws that require all students and employees to use the bathroom that aligns with their birth sex, regardless of their gender identity.
Over the years, as colleges’ handling of sexual-assault reports has become mired in political scuffling, the administrators overseeing Title IX offices have come under intense pressure and often been targeted by lawsuits. Institutions have struggled to retain those administrators.
What to Watch For
Republican states’ lawsuits against the Biden administration could lead to a temporary hold on the Title IX regulations — negating the August 1 compliance deadline — while court proceedings play out.
