Linda Purrington wrote:
>
> My error--I didn't phrase my post correctly. Yes indeed, the equal
> protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment can be invoked to help
> assure children in private schools equal treatment under the laws of
> the United States, and yes, this does include equal access to education
> without discrimination on the basis of sex. (My post was not written
> clearly enough--it might have been read to state that the equal
> protection clause is a sex discrimination section; it is not, it only
> provides equal protection by reference to other laws.) In summary, it
> is important for parents to know that equal protection clause can be
> invoked, and that lawyers understand that their clients are best served
> when all bases are covered, even if a specific law is then knocked out
> by the ruminations of the specific judge before whom the case is being
> argued.
> We are trying to get lawyers here in California to use the
> basis of Title IX wherever possible, because the more case law
> accumulates, the more schools will understand the law and follow its
> meaning. And Title IX is intended to be interpreted widely, according
> the the U.S. Supreme Court. So, for example, when the new California
> domestic violence law is called in to protect the girls from threats and
> attacks by boyfriends, the case should also be filed under Title IX to
> make sure the school understands that it will be violating her civil
> rights and the civil rights of all the girls in the school if it does
> not protect her and make sure the environment is not hostile to girls
> getting their education.
> Linda Purrington
> Title IX Advocates <lpurring@earthlink.net>