Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Edu.
By: Ethan Arnold
Summary of Case
Mr. Jackson was fired from being the girls basketball coach at Birmingham because of complaints about sexual discrimination. Mr Jackson’s complaints were about the unfair budget difference in the girls basketball teams and the boys basketball team. Because Mr. Jackson got unfairly fired, he filed suit stating that the school was violating Title IX. Title IX is defined as “a comprehensive federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity.”
Decision of Court
Dissenting Opinion
Justice Thomas wrote a lengthy dissenting opinion on the topic and stated that Title IX (if taken word for word) says that it only applies when on the basis of sexual discrimination in specific, and that alleging retaliation is not the same as complaining about sexual discrimination. Justice Thomas did not want to try and read in between the lines on Title IX, instead he chose to look at the plain language and interpret it as he pleased.