(The Center Square) – Tennessee saw a slight increase in Title IX complaints at the 11 state agencies that reported those complaints, according to an audit from the Tennessee Comptroller.
There were 269 complaints from those 11 entities, compared to 265 in fiscal year 2022 and 171 in fiscal 2021.
The largest number of complaints came at the University of Memphis, which saw 125 complaints in fiscal 2023 after 129 in fiscal 2022 and 65 in fiscal 2021.
The Comptrollers’ report did not give further information on the scope of any of the complaints related to the law, which was created in 1972 and prevents anyone from being excluded from participation based on sex in any education program from an entity receiving federal financial assistance.
Complaints can be related to the treatment of students, employment, admissions or more.
The Tennessee Attorney General issued a prior opinion stating state agencies who receive federal financial assistance and conduct an education program that benefits from that assistance must comply with Title IX requirements throughout the entire agency and those rules apply even if the financial source of the federal funding is from somewhere other than the U.S. Department of Education.
Title IX requirements were a question as a Tennessee committee examined whether the state should reject federal funding for its K-12 schools earlier this fall.
It has become a nationwide conversation as the rules related to Title IX on both gender and sexuality have led some schools to risk losing federal aid for free and reduced-price school lunches.
