The decision of whether to attend a state school or a private institution is an important one. It is vital that all students carefully weigh the pros and cons of this decision and to simply choose the school that is right for them.
However, one part of this decision should not be whether the school is required to follow the set of laws known as Title IX. Aside from the fact that the types of behavior prohibited by Title IX are in many instances, criminal acts, almost every school in Fairfax and indeed the country has the ability to punish any violations of Title IX committed by their students.
Indeed, there is little distinction between state schools and private schools concerning Title IX in Fairfax. With the extremely rare exception, Title IX applies to every educational institution in Fairfax.
Title IX is a group of federal laws. These laws prohibit any form of sex discrimination against students. In addition, Title IX requires schools to create and pursue investigatory actions against students accused of committing any action that affects another student on the basis of their sex. This can include harassment, sexual battery, or rape.
The federal government provides funding to all schools in the country who will accept it. However, one caveat to accepting federal funding is the requirement that the school will follow all federal laws and guidelines. Title IX is chief among those laws. As a result, because most schools accept this funding, they must follow Title IX.
A state school is any educational institution that the government runs directly. This typically means that the State runs the school, but in rare instances can involve the Federal government. At these institutions, the teachers, coaches, and administration are employees of the government. In addition, the institution relies mainly on federal or state funding for their operating costs. As a result, these schools must always follow the rules and regulations mandated in Title IX.
Private schools are a different matter. These schools may be the result of charters issued by churches, charities, or even private citizens. The staff of these schools are the employees of the school itself. Even so, while these schools may rely on endowments or donations for their operating costs, it is the rare school indeed that does not receive some form of federal funding. Therefore, private schools may or may not be subject to Title IX. But since a school rarely rejects federal funding, it is fair to assume that a private school and its students must follow Title IX.
There are many important distinctions between state schools and private schools. Both offer many wonderful educational opportunities but may vary in their mission statements, the role of religion in the school, and how they choose to educate their students.
However, all public schools and most private schools must follow the guidelines and rules mandated by Title IX. This is because the receipt of federal funding is tied directly to the implementation of the investigatory and disciplinary processes under Title IX. While it is possible for private schools to reject this funding and thus be exempt from Title IX, it is the rare school that chooses to do so.
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