Oakland Unified School District in California recently revamped its sexual harassment and assault policy. I attended the school board vote with Andrea Zamora, 17, a rising high school senior who helped develop the new policy with a local nonprofit, Alliance for Girls.

“I feel like all my hard work, and everything that we’ve all collaborated together, has paid off,” Zamora told me.

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“Title IX actually covers a surprisingly wide range of activities. It’s an anti-discrimination statute,” said William Koski, director of the Youth and Education Law Project at Stanford University. It can cover sexual harassment, sexual violence, etc.

“Hostile environments” are also covered under Title IX, said Koski. What is a hostile environment? Imagine sitting in second period next to a guy who assaulted you, or running into him alone in an empty hallway. The responsibility of creating a safe learning environment falls onto schools.

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“So, for instance, if there is sexual violence at a party, or something like that, it’s entirely possible that the victim of that kind of sexual violence will feel quite uncomfortable at school,” Koski explained.