Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Title IX? Fuggedaboudit!

Last week a federal judge refused to enjoin Rotolo Middle School's (Batavia, Illinois) student performance of "Fuggedaboudit: A Little Mobster Comedy." The plaintiff, a parent, argued that the play perpetuated negative stereotypes about Italian Americans and thus was harmful to her son, a Rotolo student. (Slip opinion available at 2006 WL 3343776.)

What does this have to do with Title IX? Apparently, absolutely nothing at all:
Plaintiff also summarily invokes in the complaint various statutes that have no application to the allegations. 42 U.S.C. § 1981 deals with discrimination in the making of contracts, which is not involved here. Title IX of the Civil Rights Act prohibits gender discrimination, but the thrust of plaintiff's complaint is racial or national origin discrimination. Plaintiff also invokes "40 U.S.C. § 2000," a statute that does not exist. Plaintiff may have meant to refer to 42 U.S.C. § 2000e," but that statute is inapplicable because it deals with employment discrimination.
Speaking of statutes that don't exist (she said smugly) .... Title IX of the Civil Rights Act?

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