QUESTION: Isn’t there an Alamance-Burlington school that has been added to a list of hundreds of schools that are enjoined from enforcing the new federal Title IX regulations issued earlier this year that expanded protection against discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation? How does inclusion on this list affect enforcement of the new regulations within ABSS as a whole?
ANSWER: Yes, A.O. Elementary School has been added to the list, filed last Wednesday in federal court, and detailing hundreds of K-12 schools and universities across the country that are “enjoined” (i.e., prohibited) from enforcing the new Title IX rules handed down by the U.S. Department of Education in April 2024 and adopted by the ABSS school board on August 13.
However, according to school board chairman Sandy Ellington-Graves, inclusion on this list of “enjoined” schools has no effect on the enforcement of the new Title IX regulations at any other school, or within ABSS as a whole.
A.O. Elementary would only be “enjoined” from enforcing the newly-expanded regulations if a federal Title IX complaint were to be filed against that school, or its employees or students, according to the school board’s chairman.
“My understanding is, if there is any type of complaint filed in that school, they will fall under the original Title IX regulations that were in place prior to August 1,” Ellington-Graves said Wednesday in an interview with The Alamance News. “My understanding is that is the only change; my understanding is it’s per school.”
“This does not mean that A.O. is a plaintiff or otherwise a party to the Kansas litigation,” Ellington-Graves pointed out, referring to the original 142-page list of K-12 schools and universities where members of the plaintiff groups in the Kansas suit (Young America’s Foundation, Female Athletes United, and Moms for Liberty) are either enrolled or have children enrolled. (Another 56-page list of K-12 schools was filed in federal court connection with that litigation last Wednesday.)
Meanwhile, in addition to Kansas, more than two dozen states have filed lawsuits challenging the new Title IX regulations.
As Ellington-Graves explained it, any Title IX complaint that may be filed against A.O. Elementary School, or its employees or students, would be subject to Title IX regulations previously implemented in 2020, according to the school board’s chairman.
Ellington-Graves confirmed for the newspaper Wednesday that school board attorney Adam Mitchell – along with his firm, Tharrington Smith of Raleigh, and the North Carolina School boards Association – are monitoring the list of schools, as they are added.
“Parents are notifying us as” the list of schools is updated, Ellington-Graves said, adding that she believes at least one more school, E.M. Holt Elementary School, will be added to the next filing of enjoined schools.
She said one ABSS parent had emailed school board members on Tuesday to inform them that she is a member of Moms for Liberty and apparently would be seeking to have that school added to the list.
“In general, there is no exemption from Title IX,” Ellington-Graves said in the interview Wednesday. “There is a list of states that are enjoined from enforcing the new regulations, a list of schools that fall under the Kansas litigation.
“At the present, to my knowledge, A.O. is the only one that’s officially on the list,” Ellington-Graves added. “But I think it’s important to remember whether the school falls under 2020 or 2024 regulations, it doesn’t affect compliance with bathroom access [prior federal appellate rulings that allow students to use school bathrooms that align with their gender identity], athletic participation, or the Parents’ Bill of Rights.”
Ellington-Graves also said that there no plans to discuss any developments regarding the new Title IX regulations at the school board’s work session on Tuesday afternoon.
“But, yes,” she said, “we will continue to keep the public updated as we learn more.”
THE PUBLIC ASKS: Have a question about a matter of public record? Call The Alamance News at (336) 228-7851; write to the newspaper at P.O. Box 431, Graham, NC 27253; or e-mail alamancenews@mail.com.
If it’s a topic in the public domain — a matter of public record, including issues of government, courts, etc. — we’ll try to find the answer and print it in ‘The Public Asks’ column. (Please furnish as much complete and specific information as possible.)
Note: Issues regarding businesses — including salaries, policies, and practices — are usually not matters of public record, unless they are the subject of governmental or regulatory action, a court suit, or law enforcement activity.
Read earlier coverage of the controversy:
Supporters and opponents of new Title IX regulations square off at school board meeting: https://alamancenews.com/supporters-opponents-of-new-title-ix-regulations-lgbtq-provisions-square-off-at-school-board-meeting/
School board votes 6-1 in favor of new Title IX regulations being challenged across the country: https://alamancenews.com/abss-adopts-new-policy-barring-discrimination-based-on-gender-identity-that-appears-to-conflict-with-n-c-parents-bill-of-rights/
