Title IX and Gender Stereotype Theory: Protecting Students from Parental Status Discrimination

This Comment asserts that students who experience discrimination on the basis of parental status have a cause of action under Title IX by using the gender stereotyping theory that is common in Title VII analysis as illustrated by Tingley-Kelley v. Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania. Part I will first provide an overview of the applicable law surrounding Title IX and Title VII. Part II will briefly summarize application of the gender stereotype theory and the applicable case law that provides the legal framework for this proposition. Part III will detail how the Title VII framework can be followed to allow students to bring a claim under Title IX using gender stereotype theory. Part IV will conclude this Comment with specific recommendations and examples for how educational institutions and governing bodies can protect and advocate for the rights of parenting students. Much of this Comment will focus on the discrimination that mothers face, due in part to the motherhood penalty that females experience in academia and the workplace; however, this is not to discredit or minimalize the discrimination that fathers face