Secretary DeVos: Keep Protections for Transgender Students and Survivors of Sexual Violence
Yesterday, advocates gathered outside the Department of Education’s headquarters to read stories from survivors of campus sexual violence and call on call for Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to keep critical guidance for schools on how to handle campus sexual violence. Former Department of Justice Office of Civil Rights head Vanita Gupta, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, and NCTE Executive Director Mara Keisling were among the crowd. Meanwhile, inside the building, survivors of sexual assault in college and high school, accompanied by staff members from numerous advocacy organizations, shared their stories personally with Secretary DeVos and Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Candice Jackson.
I was among the advocates in the room. After survivors shared their stories, I had the opportunity to explain why the guidance is so important: it not only outlines schools’ responsibilities to survivors of sexual assault, but also recognizes that the federal Title IX law prohibits harassment and other discrimination targeting transgender students.
