Title IX of the educational amendments of 1972 (Title IX) guarantees that, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”

With the proposed changes to Title IX regulations announced by the U.S. Department of Education, parents and employees are questioning public schools nationwide on their policies and practices for responding to and accommodating transgender and gender nonconforming students. In particular, many employees are asserting their right to refuse to call a student by their preferred pronoun or name or tell a parent whether their child has changed a preferred pronoun or name.