U.S. Law Week’s July 2025 Circuit Split Roundup: Title IX

A recent Seventh Circuit ruling on the University of Wisconsin’s handling of an alleged sexual assault involving a Division 1 football player deepened a circuit split on a challenging question in Title IX law: whether a single incident of sexual harassment can be enough to trigger federal protections under anti-discrimination law.

A split panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that a single incident of sexual harassment can give rise to Title IX liability for an educational institution under certain circumstances. The ruling in Arana v. Bd. of Regents of the Univ. of Wis. Sys. ...