On April 19, 2024, the Biden administration issued new rules that broaden the scope of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1971. Title IX guarantees gender equality in education programs or activities that receive federal funding. The Department of Education stated the rules were modified to address “unacceptably high” rates of sexual harassment and assault in schools.
The DOE had previously codified the rules in 2020 under the Trump administration. But the 2020 rules “bolstered due process rights of accused students, relieved schools of some legal liabilities and laid out rigid parameters for how schools should conduct impartial investigations.”
According to the DOE, the new regulations are intended to “ensure that all persons receive appropriate support if they experience sex discrimination in school and that schools’ procedures for investigating and resolving complaints of sex discrimination are accurate and fair to all involved.”
This was no small task. Before modifying the rules, the Biden administration elicited feedback on the Title IX regulations from a wide variety of stakeholders, including students, parents, educators, lawmakers, advocates, lawyers, and researchers. It took years to make the necessary changes.
Key Takeaways from the 2024 Title IX Regulations
The revised regulations:
- “[C]larify that sex discrimination includes discrimination based on sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.” (They, therefore, extend Title IX’s protections to gay and transgender students.)
- Broaden the definition of sex-based harassment.
- Require schools to address all sex discrimination occurring under their education programs or activities and sex-based hostile environments in their education programs or activities.
- State that when schools have knowledge of conduct that reasonably constitutes sex discrimination, they must take certain actions to address it. (Previously schools needed actual knowledge of the allegations of discrimination and had to respond in a manner that was not deliberately indifferent.)
- Require schools to investigate some incidents alleged to have occurred off campus or outside the U.S.
- Require schools to provide supportive measures to complainants and respondents affected by sex discrimination.
- Allow in-person hearings but do not require them.
- Permit decision-makers to question parties and witnesses to assess their credibility.
- Allow schools to use a preponderance of the evidence standard, which is a lower burden of proof than the previously encouraged “more likely than not” standard.
Additionally, schools are still permitted to allow informal resolutions under certain circumstances. They are also prohibited from issuing penalties against students until the conclusion of Title IX investigations.
You can read the full set of regulations on the DOE’s website.
Title IX can be a powerful tool for victims of abuse. If you or your loved ones have questions, please feel free to contact ALM Law for a free consultation.