HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE, TITLE IX EDITION: ‘They treat my autistic son like a caged animal’: student takes university to court over Title IX ruling.

Marcus Knight—a student with autism and cerebral palsy—will face in court the Title IX officer who found him guilty of two Title IX sexual misconduct violations later this month.

Knight first came to my attention in 2018 after his attempts to make friends landed him in the school’s Title IX office, not just once but twice. According to the lawsuit, Marcus Knight asked one female student for a fist-bump, and another for a selfie.

While these may seem trivial, two female students at Saddleback College were so uncomfortable with Knight’s attempts to make friends that they reported him to the Title IX office, with one student claiming Knight made her “uncomfortable.”

But what’s caused two years of “absolute heartbreak,” according to Knight’s mother, is how the Title IX officer handled the accusations.

Considering Knight’s disability, both students decided not to follow-through with any charges. . . .

At the time, 2018, Juan Avalos was the school’s Title IX counsellor. Though Avalos does not seem to have formal as a Title IX law training, Avalos nonetheless investigated and adjudicated Knight’s case.

Despite that no students formally testified against Knight, he was still found guilty.

I like that names are being named.