Tiffany Reese

They have the right to have someone with them in meetings, and they have the right to report without fear of retaliation.

The challenge is that each school is required to adopt and publish their own Title IX policies and procedures.

Some are clear and survivor-centered.

Others are confusing, outdated, or written in ways that make the process nearly impossible to navigate without help.

Knowing your rights isn't just important.

It can be the difference between receiving support and being pushed out of your education entirely.

But those rights do not exist in a vacuum.

They're shaped and sometimes limited by court decisions.

the Department of Education adopted new Title IX regulations that took effect in August of 2020.

The rules required live hearings with cross-examination in collegiate-level sexual misconduct cases, narrowed the definition of actionable sexual harassment, and added more due process protections for accused students.

Then, in 2022, the Supreme Court issued a ruling that dramatically altered what damages survivors can seek through civil lawsuits under Title IX.

In the case Cummings v. Premier Rehab, the court determined that emotional distress damages are not available under certain federal civil rights laws, including Title IX.

For many survivors, emotional harm is the most significant impact of sexual violence, affecting their mental health, safety, sense of belonging, and academic future.

After this ruling, students bringing Title IX cases in civil court can no longer seek compensation for that emotional injury.

Some legal experts have described this as a major setback, reducing one of the few avenues survivors had to pursue accountability outside their university.

It also means schools may face fewer consequences when they fail to protect students or mishandle reports.

This ruling did not receive widespread public attention, yet it fundamentally changed the options available to survivors and their families.

Understanding this shift is essential to understanding the stakes of every story told this season.

Title IX was meant to ensure equal access to education.

But when schools fail to protect survivors, or when the systems become more focused on liability rather than students' safety, that promise is broken.