The Biden administration on Friday completed a long-awaited overhaul of Title IX, a decades-old federal law that protects students from discrimination based on sex and gender.
The rules would reverse Trump-era policies that critics say have strengthened the rights of people accused of sexual assault on school campuses over the years. When Joe Biden was running for president, he described his predecessor's Title IX regulations as a “green light to ignore sexual violence and disenfranchise survivors.”
Under the new policy, universities will be allowed to use lower standards to recognize those guilty of sexual misconduct. The federal government would also raise expectations for schools across the country by requiring them to respond quickly to all types of sex discrimination, not just sexual harassment, which is the current standard.
And the university will eliminate controversial live hearing requirements, including potentially traumatic cross-examinations between victims and those who accuse them of sexual misconduct.
This is a change that victims' rights groups have been passionately pushing for since President Biden took office. The rules, which have taken years of government red tape and have yet to fully clear all bureaucratic hurdles, were announced months after the Education Department first announced they would be finalized.
Calling for “immediate action”:Biden has promised to reform Title IX.students are tired of waiting
The regulation formally expands the rights of LGBTQ students and faculty and provides clear definitions that protect people who identify as gay or transgender from harassment and discrimination in federally funded schools. It is determined. Under the new rules, pregnant students will also be better protected.
In a call with reporters Thursday, Education Department leaders hailed the changes as the most comprehensive reforms to Title IX since the law was passed decades ago.
“Under today's regulations, schools must take sufficient action to eliminate sex discrimination,” said Katherine Ramon, the agency's undersecretary for civil rights. “This would give full force and effect to the Title IX guarantees.”
The regulation will go into effect on August 1 and apply to complaints that occur after that date, the Department of Education said.
The announcement fulfills one of Biden's key campaign promises, but not until the end of his first term. Opponents of the Trump-era rules have praised the Biden administration's efforts to overturn them, but dissatisfaction with the government's pace has frustrated even supporters of the president's efforts. Depending on the outcome of this November's general election and President Trump's possible second term, the process to repeal the standards is likely to begin within just a few months of taking effect.
Emma Grasso Levin, senior manager at the survivor-led advocacy group Know Your IX, praised the administration Friday but warned that universities now have a lot of work to do in the short term.
“It is now up to school administrators to act quickly to implement and enforce the updated guidance,” Levine said. “Students who are victims of sexual violence, LGBTQ+ students, and pregnant and parenting students cannot continue to suffer under policies that threaten their right to an education.”
Many Republicans in Washington, including Rep. Virginia Foxx, RN.C., have embraced anti-LGBTQ rhetoric in criticizing Biden's approach to Title IX. The conservative lawmaker on Friday accused the president of trying to “fundamentally redefine sex and gender.”
This complex dynamic illustrates how the landmark 1972 law became a “political football.” In recent years, the politicization of the law has left officials enforcing it in schools across the country in a state of whiplash, while students, especially those from marginalized groups, remain caught in the middle.
Rules for trans athletes are still vague
Separately, the Biden administration is also seeking to curtail schools' ability to prevent transgender athletes from competing in sports. In another rule announced last April, officials proposed a nuanced approach to allowing transgender students to play on teams that correspond to their gender identity, with some exceptions.
The rules remain in bureaucratic limbo, and Friday's announcement left open questions about the administration's plans for other schedules.
Transgender student involvement in school sports has become a politically salient culture war issue in recent years amid a broader conservative-led movement to restrict the rights of people whose gender identity differs from the sex assigned at birth. It has become.
As he seeks to oust Biden this fall, former President Donald Trump has hung on to the topic, going on a rant about his disdain for transgender athletes at rallies.
Asked Thursday whether concerns about the election had influenced the timeline for restrictions on trans athletes, the Education Department declined to comment.
Zachary Schermele covers education and the latest news America today. You can reach me by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele.
