On January 9, a federal judge struck down the entirety of the outgoing President Biden administration’s Title IX regulations, finalized in the summer of last year. In the wake of a wave of legal challenges accusing Biden’s Education Department of overstepping their authority and promises by then President-Elect Donald Trump to end the new regulations “on day one,” the country reverted back to the regulations set in 2020 by the first Trump administration after the judge’s ruling.
Title IX is a federal law originally passed in 1972, forbidding discrimination on the basis of sex in education. Presidential administrations have used this law to enforce rules for universities to follow regarding instances of sexual assault and harassment, stalking, and other instances of sex-based discrimination.
With the 2024 regulations, the Biden administration sought to expand Title IX rules to protect students from discrimination based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. This was seen as a huge step forward by LGBTQ+ activists, who have decried the fact that LGBTQ+ students are more likely to experience harassment and mental health issues while attending college.
Critics of the expansion, many of whom filed lawsuits, argued that Congress’ 1972 law gave no power to the Executive Branch regarding discrimination based on those factors – the federal judge appointed by former President George W. Bush agreed with these arguments. Also prevalent in the critics’ complaints was outrage over what they saw to be the promotion of “radical gender ideology.”
The 2020 Title IX policy has also received its fair share of debate. In his first term, President Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos sought to limit what they saw as a “kangaroo court” culture of handling accusations of sexual assault or harassment at universities. Critics of these regulations have said they strip Title IX offices of the power and resources to properly receive and investigate reports of sex-based discrimination.
Stevens had committed to following the 2024 update based on an email sent out this past summer. While some universities, particularly those in more heavily Democratic areas, also strove to abide by the expanded scope of Title IX, colleges in 26 states had put the update on hold while the lawsuits awaited a decision. With the judge’s injunction, the 2020 regulations become the law of the land again.
For more information about Title IX, you can visit Stevens’s webpage stevens.edu/student-diversity-and-inclusion/title-ix. It features training materials to learn more about the policy, as well as several resources and points of contact. Regardless of the regulations, it is important to remember that Stevens remains committed to combating discrimination on campus and providing support for victims of discrimination.
