Title IX Protections for College Legislative Interns: What Should You Know and What More Can Your Program Do

Abstract

The #MeToo movement brought new attention to sexual harassment in legislatures. The number of scandals is disconcerting, especially in light of how institutes of higher education (IHEs) send students, particular those in Political Science Departments, to intern in these offices. This article examines what protections are provided for interns by the legislatures and, specifically, looks at the Title IX responsibilities IHEs have in these situations. While, in spirit, Title IX would apply to these environments—it is not clear that IHEs could actually be held liable. We make the case that IHEs should still provide protections and provide details for the types of trainings that could be developed to provide protection to our student interns.