Challenging new Title IX rules, legal group says women in STEM award discriminates against real men
The Equal Protection Project filed a civil rights complaint against the Rochester Institute of Technology, alleging that the eligibility criteria of an award for women in STEM discriminates against biological males who identify as male.
The award is exclusively open to 'outstanding female, female-identifying, or non-binary student[s].'
On July 10, the Equal Protection Project (EPP) of the Legal Insurrection Foundation filed a civil rights complaint against the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) that alleges that the eligibility criteria of RIT’s Women in STEM Award discriminates against biological males who identify as males.
The Women in STEM Award at RIT is a scholarship valued at $76,000 designed to support outstanding high school students with a demonstrated interest in areas like science, computing, robotics, and math.
However, the award is exclusively open to “outstanding female, female-identifying, or non-binary student[s]” – effectively excluding males who identify as males, according to EPP. The civil rights organization alleges that this exclusion violates Title IX as interpreted by the Biden administration’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and RIT’s nondiscrimination policies.
[RELATED: TASHJY: Supreme Court’s recent decision will impact Biden’s attempts to overhaul Title IX]
Title IX serves as a federal civil rights protection that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any education program or activity receiving federal funding. The Biden administration’s OCR has extended this interpretation to include “gender identity,” meaning that schools must not discriminate based upon one’s gender identity in their programs.
EPP argues that RIT, by excluding a specific group based on gender identity, is in direct violation of these federal guidelines and its institutional policies.
“Accordingly, we respectfully ask that the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights open a formal investigation, impose such remedial relief as the law permits for the benefit of those who have been illegally excluded from the RIT Women in STEM Award scholarship based on discriminatory criteria, and ensure that all ongoing and future programming through RIT comports with federal civil rights laws,” the EPP writes in the complaint.
“The eligibility requirements for this scholarship openly discriminate on the basis of sex and gender identity,” EPP founder William Jacobson said in a recent statement. “A male who identifies as male is excluded, while a male who identifies as female or nonbinary is eligible. Regardless of the purpose of the discrimination, it is wrong and unlawful.”
This complaint marks the first time EPP has filed a complaint focusing solely on sex and gender identity discrimination, rather than race-based discriminatory programs.
Across the nation, affirmative action and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies are facing increased legal challenges.
Earlier this month, a group filed a lawsuit against Northwestern Law on the basis that the school discriminated against white men in its faculty hiring practices.
Campus Reform has contacted EPP and RIT for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
