MAY 2024 | Volume 2 | Number 5
I“t’s the job that’s never started as takes longest to finish,” Samwise said, quoting the old Gaffer. Yet, in all likelihood, this edition finds you in the midst of end-of-year chaos, striving to finish well, likely thinking that this school year is the job that takes longest to finish! But, you have put in the work and the finish is in sight.
In this May 2024 edition of the ACCS Legal Update, we will discuss a recent change to Title IX by the Biden administration, and the current chaos affecting college campuses across the United States. And, as we look at these two issues, the hope is that all of you will be inspired to be faithful in discipling and preparing your students to be the light of the world!
Title IX Changes
On April 19th, U.S. Department of Education released new rules related to Title IX, which will affect all schools, colleges, and universities accepting federal funding.
Title IX is part of the 1972 Education Amendments, specifically written to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex. The prohibition applies to educational programs and activities, including athletics.
President Biden’s Department of Education has now expanded the prohibitions of Title IX to include “gender identity” and sexual orientation. In other words, they have redefined “sex” to include these additional categories, which were not part of the wording in 1972. Indeed, until 2019, gender dysphoria, including transgenderism, was considered a mental disorder.
Now, however, the new Title IX rule “prohibits discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics in federally funded education programs.”
What does this mean to your school? Thankfully, the newly-adopted wording only applies to schools which receive federal funding, and the exemption for religious schools exists. So, though these changes are disturbing, it is unlikely that private Christian schools will be affected, at least for the time being. However, it does highlight the need for Christian schools to explicitly state and publish their Christian identity, beliefs, and practices.
College Chaos
Even the most headline-averse individuals are aware that college campuses around the nation broil with tension and chaos over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Hundreds were recently arrested at Columbia University, commencement exercises have been interrupted or even cancelled at several schools, protestor encampments abound, and police had to use tear gas to clear protestors from the University of California at Los Angeles.
Recently, the Board of Governors for the University of North Carolina voted overwhelmingly to remove their diversity, equity, and inclusion policy (DEI) and divert $2.3 million of its funding to campus safety. This decision was made in the wake of an on-campus incident in which the American flag – which was being flown at half-mast in honor of our murdered Charlotte, NC, police officers – was removed and a Palestinian flag was put up in its place. The American flag was eventually put back in place and guarded by a group of UNC fraternity brothers.
Such stories and details could be multiplied many times over, but the whole picture warrants reflection about the state of American college life. Here are a few takeaways:
- From a legal perspective, these widespread protests and riots are likely to lead to significant changes in college policies around the nation. Whether those policies will seek to reign in such behavior (as with UNC) or create more permissiveness remains to be seen. Either way, expect a slew of lawsuits from both sides, which will affect college and university policies, and even tuition costs.
- From a cultural standpoint, the ongoing chaos on numerous campuses highlights just how deeply entrenched the violent progressive ideology is in the curriculum, pedagogy, and practice of American education.
- ACCS schools and educators have a serious responsibility to prepare students for the realities of the world in which they live. This means providing wise counsel regarding post-graduation decisions, including college choices. It also means building a pedagogical approach and curriculum which will equip students with the ability to understand, evaluate, and engage with ideas which “fly in the face” of Christian truth.
Grace & Peace,
Brian Phillips, Ed.D.
If you are in search of legal advice for you or your school, please consider the following resources: Brotherhood Mutual and Alliance Defending Freedom
Brian Phillips is the pastor of Holy Trinity Reformed Church (CREC – Concord, NC), teaches Rhetoric at Oaks Classical Christian Academy (Albemarle, NC), and is Board Vice Chairman for New Aberdeen College. Brian has also served as the Director of Consulting for The Circe Institute, Head of Upper School at Covenant Classical School (Concord, NC), and was an adjunct faculty member of Belmont Abbey College.
Dr. Phillips has an M.A. in Theological Studies, an M.A. in Classical Studies, an Ed.D. in Classical Education, and completed paralegal training at Duke University. He is also the author/editor of several books, including Sunday Mornings: An Introduction to Biblical Worship and the Canon Classics Guides to Dante’s Inferno and the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius. Brian and his wife, Shannon, live in North Carolina with their four children and their German Shepherd, Ajax the Great.