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Title IX followed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which tackled many forms of discrimination, but it did not specifically address gender-based offenses within educational institutions. Title VI prohibited discrimination based on race and ethnicity in federally funded private and public places, but not sex/gender.
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President Johnson stood against gender-based discrimination in 1967 after hearing from the National Organization for Women when he signed an Executive order disallowing any discrimination based on sex in federal employment contracts.
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Soon after, many complaints were filed to the Department of Labor revealing inequalities in pay among college and university faculty and that many qualified females were being replaced by men. This all led to congressional hearings that took place in 1970 regarding equal opportunity and women's employment, particularly in the field of education.
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Title IX was signed into law by President Richard Nixon in 1972 and states that “No person in the United States shall, based on 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.” This applies to all institutions of higher learning that receive federal funding.
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By 2006, athletic participation of female students had greatly increased because of the Title IX policy, particularly in Basketball, Volleyball, Soccer, Cross Country, and Softball.
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In later years, sexual harassment and violence was recognized as being a form of sexual discrimination; this value was reiterated by President Obama when he labeled this protection a matter of civil rights and called for leaders to recognize Title IX as including those from the LGBT communities as protected citizens.
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The Dept. of Education (1) issued a letter in May 2020 to the state of Connecticut saying their policy allowing transgender girls to compete in high school sports violated Title IX as well as the civil rights of other girls who had always identified as females. It confirmed that the state policy denied other female students of rightful opportunities and recognition. (2) called for Title IX to include “sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking,” as discrimination.