Education Department delays final Title IX rules until October

Higher Ed Dive

Jeremy Bauer-Wolf

May 30, 2023

Dive Brief:

• The U.S. Department of Education has delayed releasing the final versions of its two Title IX regulatory proposals until October.

• Initially, the two final rules were expected this month, but the Education Department said in an online post Friday it was still reviewing hundreds of thousands of public comments on the proposals.

• Title IX is the federal law banning sex-based discrimination in federally funded schools. The two draft rules outline when colleges would need to investigate reports of sexual violence and prohibit blanket bans on transgender athletes participating on teams aligned with their gender identities.

Dive Insight:

The Biden administration has made rewriting Title IX policies a key regulatory priority, intent on reversing a rule set by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Advocates for sexual assault survivors argue the DeVos rule licenses colleges to ignore campus sexual violence.

One of the Biden administration’s Title IX plans would broaden the types of sexual assault reports colleges need to investigate, including many of those that allegedly occurred off campus.

The other proposed Title IX rule would block categorical bans on transgender athletes playing on teams aligned with their gender identities. However, federally funded schools could still restrict transgender students’ participation for certain reasons, such as preventing sports injuries and ensuring fair competitions.

Both rules were due to be finalized this month. But pundits were skeptical over the timing because the Education Department, as part of the regulatory process, must review every public comment on them.

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