2 final Title IX regulations will likely be delayed — again

Higher Ed Dive

Jeremy Bauer-Wolf

January 19, 2024

The U.S Department of Education appears as though it will again miss the deadline it set for finalizing two highly anticipated Title IX regulations.

The Biden administration has prioritized remolding policies around Title IX, a law banning sex-based discrimination, including sexual assault, in federally funded colleges and K-12 schools.

One of the the Education Department’s regulatory plans would direct how colleges investigate and potentially punish sexual assault. The other would prohibit blanket bans on transgender athletes participating in sports teams aligning their gender identities. However, colleges and schools could bar transgender players from joining teams if they decide they need a sex-based restriction to preserve fairness or prevent injuries.

The Education Department has said it will issue the final rules in March, but it hasn’t yet cleared a key procedural hurdle. Further delays will assuredly draw more ire from sexual assault survivor advocates, who say current Title IX regulations dissuade students from reporting sexual violence and license colleges to investigate fewer incidents.

What’s causing the delay?

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