Update: 9/17/2024  The Nevada Faculty Alliance, faculty-led councils, and community groups have  collaborated on a joint statement to oppose any efforts to weaken diversity, equity, and inclusion services or instruction in NSHE institutions.

At the August 23, 2024, special meeting of the Board of Regents, system staff reviewed emergency changes to the Board of Regents Handbook to comply with revised federal Title IX regulations that went into effect on August 1, 2024. As detailed in an AAUP statement, the new regulations broaden the definition of a hostile environment and clarify that sex-based discrimination includes discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The current revisions do not apply to participation in Athletics, which will be addressed in later federal action on Title IX. 

We know from recent surveys that many students are subject to sexual harassment, sexual assault, and other forms of power-based violence. Were Regents interested in whether the revised Title IX rules would better protect those students? Not that one could tell from the discussion. 

In the Regents’ discussion about whether to accept the new rules or lose federal funding for our colleges and universities, Regent Stephanie Goodman voiced her concerns about transgender individuals using restrooms and locker rooms matching their gender identity, and the use of gender-aligning pronouns (55:38). Regent Patrick Boylan repeated an offensive description of transgender women (59:02) (similar remarks resulted in NFA’s call for his resignation in March 2024). 

Before the vote on the handbook revisions, Goodman stated she would not vote in favor because she is concerned about “protecting girls and women” (1:14:06) and Boylan restated his concerns (1:21:08) about the safety of female athletes.  Regent Susan Brager and Regent Carol Del Carlo agreed (1:15:15)  with Goodman’s concern about protecting woman in sports and asked for an agenda item. Goodman abstained from the vote, McMichael voted no without explanation, and the other regents voted yes.

Later in the meeting, Regent Shelly Cruz-Crawford noted (4:35:31) the disparate treatment of Regent Donald McMichael, who was removed from his position on the IDEA Committee for antisemitic statements, versus Boylan, who was not removed from the Audit, Compliance, and Title IX Committee for his transphobic statements.

Kent Ervin, NFA’s Director of Government Relations, gave a passionate closing public comment (5:32:17) challenging Regents for being concerned about nonexistent problems with restrooms and locker rooms when they do not even collect statistics about sexual assaults, harassment, and other power-based violence nor about grievances and disciplinary actions at the various institutions. Without those data–which the NFA has requested multiple times–the Board of Regents cannot identify or correct the real systemic issues affecting students, faculty, and staff at our colleges and universities. A legislative solution may be required. 

The NFA calls for the Board of Regents to enforce its own anti-discrimination resolution of  September 2022 by formally censuring its members who make racist, transphobic, antisemitic, or other discriminatory and offensive statements and by removing those members from the IDEA Committee and Title IX Committee. We appreciate that Chair Amy Carvalho and Vice Chair Jeffrey Downs made a statement in March 2024 affirming the anti-discrimination resolution after the previous transphobic remarks by Boylan, but stronger action is clearly needed.