Cases & Developments

Opinion affirming dismissal. Plaintiff, a tenured professor of psychology specializing in human sexuality studies at George Mason University (GMU), brought Title IX, due process, and First Amendment claims against GMU and multiple officials after he was disciplined for creating a hostile educational environment for four female graduate students. The Fourth Circuit affirmed dismissal of his Title IX claims, finding that Department of Education pressure to enforce Title IX was insufficient to show anti-male bias, and his allegation that GMU does not investigate female professors for similar conduct was conclusory. It affirmed dismissal of his due process claim, finding that GMU’s temporary disciplinary sanctions limiting his teaching and clinical privileges did not amount to a significant demotion and did not exclude him from his trade or calling. It affirmed dismissal of his First Amendment claim, finding that his personal stories and questions about his students’ sex lives were speech outside of his curricula and topics of purely personal interest.