The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education held a first reading of policy revisions at the Monday night Board of Education meeting regarding the Title IX (9) personnel and the Title IX (9) process. Title IX (9) is a federal law, enacted in 1972, that protects individuals from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities, including state and local educational agencies. The first reading states that no person shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity operated by the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District.
School Board Member Debbie Cary:
“The amended version, currently, what we’re trying to do is put into place the policies and procedures to protect anybody against discrimination, intimidation, or bullying that is sexual in nature.”
The first reading for filing a complaint under Title IX states that discrimination on the basis of sex may sometimes include discrimination based upon marital status, pregnancy, parental status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, or association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics.
Cary discusses the path towards implementing it as a policy:
“The process is that when we are implementing or changing or modifying policy, it goes to the policy committee. The policy committee reviews it, makes recommendations. Then it goes to a work session where the entire board reviews it and makes recommendations. Then it goes to first read and that’s where the public gets it, but the public’s invited all the way along, but that’s where their first chance to speak out is is during that first read, which is what occurred the other night. Then, it goes to a second read as an action item. There again, the public will be able to speak out. We, as a board, would make amendments, or, there’s always the possibility that it will be kicked back to the policy and procedure committee for refinement. It is after that meeting that we are able to implement the policy. The policies that we are currently working on, we have been working on since February and March.”
Cary says that it’s still in the early stages:
“What Title IX does is it puts people and procedures in place for anybody that feels that they have been discriminated. The first step is the personnel and the personnel has to be there so that there’s somebody monitoring what is going on. If somebody files a complaint, it’s the investigator who is the first person that we put into place responsibility to look at it, look at the policies, look at if the complaint has actually violated any of the district’s policies.”
U.S. News & World Report states that the U.S. Department of Education began work to rewrite Title IX campus sexual misconduct rules with a week-long hearing. According to the report, President Biden signaled interest in tackling discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation. Click here for more information on the First Reading from the Monday night KPBSD Board of Education meeting.
