Lamba Legal is credited.
Lamba Legal is credited.
According to both institutions, they changed their wording to conform to the University System of Georgia’s, which amended its own policy last autumn and is in charge of the 26 public universities in the state. The USG’s prior policy, which was only one sentence long, forbade unlawful discrimination on the basis of any legally protected trait.
The USG’s Board of Regents approved its new policy in November, which, among other things, states that discrimination is prohibited based on an individual’s age, color, disability, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, or veteran status. The same wording was used in the revised Georgia Southern and UGA policies.
The USG stated in an emailed statement that it made the adjustments last year to better conform to federal statutes, such as Title VI, Title VII, and Title IX. According to the statement, the changes uphold current safeguards, guaranteeing that all staff members and students are protected from discrimination or preferential treatment on the basis of legally protected traits like sex and race to the fullest extent permitted by federal and state law in all facets of campus life. USG schools may use more precise language, but they still have to follow the board guideline.
Gender identity and sexual orientation are still covered by the regulations of several of the biggest public universities in metro Atlanta, including Georgia Tech, Georgia Gwinnett College, and Georgia State University. Sexual orientation is mentioned in Kennesaw State University’s policy.
Numerous executive orders signed by President Donald Trump have an impact on LGBTQ Americans. In one of them, he ordered the Department of Education to withdraw a paper from the Biden administration that construed the ban on sex discrimination in Title IX to include discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation. The executive order said that the Biden administration’s policy had hurt women and was not legally sound.
Last week, a lot of people in the UGA community learned about the update. On Friday afternoon, UGA president Jere Morehead sent out an email to the entire school as word spread on social media. According to him, this modification hasn’t changed how UGA examines or looks into complaints pertaining to any kind of harassment or discrimination. All types of harassment and discrimination that are illegal under federal law are nevertheless forbidden by UGA policy.
Nevins, who lives in Atlanta, said he is baffled by the decision. According to him, a university ought to make an effort to stop harassment on campus. That can be accomplished with the use of written policies, which also shield the university from liability.
Why you would remove those words is just perplexing, he remarked. Because it would appear to put one at risk for liability by maybe telling individuals, “Oh, that’s now okay to do.”
Georgia Southern said in an emailed statement that it is still abiding by all applicable laws to prevent, stop, and correct any form of unlawful harassment or discrimination that occurs within our authority.
However, Nevins stated that it might be more difficult now. A student may contest any disciplinary actions if they are accused of harassing an LGBTQ classmate by claiming that the school policy does not address such behavior. Furthermore, a well-defined regulation can help everyone understand what is and isn’t permitted on campus.
Nevins acknowledged that LGBT individuals desire a legal basis and the capacity to defend themselves in the event that they are subjected to discrimination based on their gender identity or sexual orientation. However, their true desire is to avoid experiencing it altogether.
