On Friday, April 19, the Biden administration and the U.S. Department of Education issued its final rule revising Title IX, a federal civil rights law originally passed as part of the Education Amendments of 1972.
While Title IX is often associated with high school and collegiate athletics, its reach is much broader. It influences any educational activities that receive federal funding, including employment, education and admissions, sexual harassment and violence.
These updated rulings roll back changes former U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos made under the Donald Trump administration.
According to a report and a press release by the department, the final regulations include:
- Protections against sex-based harassment and discrimination. The final rule under Title IX provides broad protections against sex discrimination, including sexual violence and harassment, for all students and employees. It mandates specific measures to guard against discrimination based on pregnancy, sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics.
- Promoting accountability and fairness. The final rule under Title IX emphasizes accountability, requiring schools to quickly and effectively address any sex discrimination, prevent its recurrence and remedy its effects. Schools must respond swiftly to discrimination complaints through a fair, transparent and reliable process.
- Empowering and supporting students and families. Title IX now safeguards against retaliation, enhances transparency of nondiscrimination policies, supports parental rights in advocacy and protects student privacy by limiting the disclosure of personal information.
In the unofficial final rule document provided by the DOE along with the press release, these changes offer clarity and extend protections against “all forms of sex discrimination, including sex-based harassment and sexual violence.”
The phrase “LGBTQI+” is used 51 times in the unofficial ruling document, which acknowledged the issues facing LGBTQ+ students and employees across the nation.
“LGBTQI+ students and their parents and teachers shared that harassment, bullying, and threats of physical violence leave students in constant fear, cause social anxiety and stress disorders, and too frequently result in suicidality,” said the ruling document. “Some students who identify as LGBTQI+ and as part of a racial or ethnic minority group or as a student with a disability discussed feeling pressure to hide their identity, which led them to avoid reporting harassment or discrimination that occurs at school.”
The report also highlights that those who commented or complained to the DOE shared that they did not feel Title IX investigators and school administrators took their complaints seriously.
The DOE acknowledged that “discrimination or hostility toward LGBTQI+ students, parents, guardians, caregivers and family members can deny students’ equal access to educational opportunities.”
Those who believe they have been on the receiving end of such discrimination may file a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights.
In an April 18 call with reporters, U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said, “These regulations make it crystal clear that everyone can access schools that are safe, welcoming and that respect their rights.”
While the updates to Title IX address the LGBTQ+ community as a whole, protections for transgender and gender-nonconforming athletes are less clear. Questions about trans and nonbinary students in athletics were largely unaddressed.
Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson shared a statement both praising the updates and calling out where Title IX still fails to serve trans athletes.
“Even as we celebrate this progress, our work is far from finished,” Robinson said. “LGBTQ+ Americans, particularly transgender youth, continue to endure ongoing attacks on their rights and their dignity at the state level. We call on the Biden-Harris administration to move swiftly to ensure Title IX protects the rights of transgender athletes to play and be part of a team.”
Hudson Taylor, founder and executive director of Athlete Ally, a nonprofit working to end homophobia and transphobia in sports, also praised the updates and shared hopes for addressing trans athletes’ concerns.
“We hope to see the Department of Education take the additional steps necessary to ensure that these protections extend from the classroom to the playing field so that every athlete is able to play and enjoy sports free from discrimination,” said Taylor.
The new Title IX rules are set to begin on Aug. 1.