Sweet Stevens Formally Establishes Title IX Practice Group
New Britain, PA – Sweet, Stevens, Katz & Williams LLP is expanding its roster of services to include guidance and training on Title IX law, to meet the growing and increasingly complex needs of school districts, boards of education, and administrators nationwide.
“Title IX has evolved into one of the most challenging compliance areas facing schools today,” said Managing Partner Sharon Montanye. “Recent regulatory changes have imposed exacting procedural requirements, while ongoing court challenges continue to shift the compliance landscape. Sweet Stevens helps schools stay up-to-date and confident amid this uncertainty, offering not only current regulatory intelligence, but practical operational direction.”
Enacted in 1972, Title IX is a federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination. While initially aimed at the exclusion of women, it has expanded dramatically in both scope and complexity, and recent changes have significantly broadened its reach, strengthening protections for complainants, while placing exacting procedural requirements for the investigation and reporting of of claims on schools.
Members of the Title IX team, who bring focused experience and nationally recognized involvement in Title IX compliance, will support appointed internal Title IX Coordinators in completing the required and comprehensive grievance and investigative processes: conducting interviews, organizing evidence, and drafting reports that apply the proper legal standard, consider evidentiary restrictions, and synthesize the facts. The firm will also offer customized Title IX training programs, combining regulatory requirements with real-world scenarios and implementation strategies.
The formal establishment of this practice area is a natural evolution of the firm’s longstanding leadership in the field, having been frequently invited to share instruction before such organizations as the Pennsylvania Association of Pupil Services Administrators, Pennsylvania Principals Association, National School Attorneys Association, National School Boards Association, and many more.
This consistent presence on the regional and national stage has cemented the firm’s reputation as a trusted authority among educators, administrators, and legal peers alike. By formalizing the Title IX practice group, the firm is now providing a dedicated home for offering the high level of advocacy and strategic counsel that it has been relied upon for years.
For more information on the firm’s Title IX services, visit sweetstevens.com.
Sweet, Stevens, Katz & Williams, LLP was formed in 1995 by nine experienced education lawyers who created the first private law practice in Pennsylvania dedicated entirely to Education Law. Since then, the firm has grown to 26 attorneys who represent over 290 school and municipal entities as Solicitors or as Special Counsel in more than 50 counties throughout Pennsylvania, and in additional practice areas, such as Construction Law, Tax Assessment Appeals, Audit of Operations and Practices, Real Estate Law and Oil, Gas and Mineral Law.