Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in U.S. schools and ensures all students have access to education. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 states:

“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”

Because the verbiage of Title IX itself is broad in its protections, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) interpretation of the law has evolved over time, progressively focusing on employment discrimination, equity in athletics, sexual harassment, sexual violence and, most recently, the rights of gender-nonconforming and transgender individuals. The law requires each school district to appoint a Title IX Coordinator to ensure that all students have access to education without sex discrimination. Every year the San Jose Branch of AAUW publishes a Santa Clara County Title IX Coordinators 2022-2023 as a resource for school administrators, teachers, parents and students, and the community.