New Title IX rules on the way for schools
A long-awaited Title IX rule directing how federally funded schools and colleges handle sex and gender discrimination will become public in May, the Education Department said, though it’s unclear when it would take effect.
Emma Grasso Levine of the national group Know Your IX – Advocates for Youth, and dozens of others like her, have been eager for a revision of a Trump-era regulation, which critics argue expanded the rights of those accused of sexual misconduct, to the detriment of their accusers.
They’ve been frustrated by the Biden administration’s timeline for rewriting the rules: Until the regulation crafted by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is replaced, it remains in effect.
“We’re happy to see the Biden administration update the regulations to a May date, finally,” Grasso Levine said. “Reaching the final rule is really crucial to student survivors being failed by schools.”
President Joe Biden pledged to change the Title IX rules during his presidential campaign, but his administration didn’t propose a rule until last June. For the last five months, the Education Department has been reviewing more than 238,000 public comments on the proposal.
Many opponents complained about provisions that would add protections for students who accuse others of sexual assault or harassment, include new protections against sex discrimination for LGBTQ+ students and an item that isn’t even in the proposal: one that would allow transgender students to participate on sports teams that align with their gender identity.
“While parents across the country are demanding the rejection of ‘woke’ policies, the Department of Education instead has chosen to hijack Title IX to force gender ideology on children without their parents’ knowledge or approval,” one commenter said.