Biden’s Finalized Title IX Regulations Add Protections for Transgender Students

The Biden administration on Friday unveiled a final set of sweeping changes to Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on sex in government-funded schools, after more than a year of delays and mounting pressure from groups. of defense.

The final changes, which reinstitute protections for student survivors of sexual assault and harassment rolled back under former President Trump, will take effect on August 1.

“These final regulations build on the legacy of Title IX, clarifying that all students in our country can access schools that are safe, welcoming and respectful of their rights,” said Education Secretary Miguel Cardona in a statement on Friday.

The administration’s final update to the landmark civil rights law, which also strengthens protections for LGBTQ students, was originally expected last May but has been delayed several times, frustrating advocates wooed by President Biden’s campaign promise of a “quick end ” for Title IX regulations instituted by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

The Education Department attributed the delay to an unprecedented number of public comments on the proposal, which the department is required by law to consider before issuing a final rule. More than 240,000 comments were submitted over a 30-day period, nearly double the amount the department received during its last Title IX overhaul in 2020.

The administration’s new regulations aim to provide schools with clear instructions for responding quickly and effectively to “all sexual discrimination, not limited to sexual harassment,” said Catherine Lhamon, assistant secretary for civil rights at the Department of Education.

The final rule expands the definition of sex discrimination to include sexual orientation and gender identity, applying the reasoning from a 2020 Supreme Court decision that found that existing civil rights laws protect employees from discrimination based on employment status. transgender.

The new Title IX regulations could, in certain circumstances, prevent individuals from complying with some Republican-backed laws that LGBTQ advocates say create a hostile environment for transgender students, such as measures that prohibit individuals from using facilities that match their gender identity or prevent schools from requiring staff and students to use the name and pronouns of a transgender person, a senior administration official said.

The final changes are sure to draw swift criticism from Republicans, who have criticized the proposed protections for transgender students as an attack on protections for cisgender women and girls.

The administration has not yet finalized a separate rule governing athletics eligibility. The proposal put forward by the Department of Education last April would prohibit schools from adopting policies that categorically exclude transgender student-athletes, although high schools and colleges could still limit how and when transgender students can compete based on their gender identity. gender.

Twenty-four states as of 2021 have passed laws prohibiting transgender student-athletes from competing on sports teams that match their gender identity, according to the Movement Advancement Project, a nonprofit group that monitors LGBTQ laws. Court orders are blocking enforcement of laws passed in Arizona, Idaho, West Virginia and Utah.

The Biden administration’s Title IX overhaul touches on most of the changes made under Trump, including a narrow definition of sexual harassment and a requirement that schools hold live cross-examination hearings for sexual misconduct investigations.

The new regulations also establish a lower burden of proof for survivors and students who allege sexual discrimination, replacing the old administration’s “clear and convincing” standard of proof with a “preponderance of the evidence” standard of proof.

The Biden administration’s final update, however, retains several “important provisions” from previous regulations, the Education Department said, to ensure consistency as schools update procedures needed to more effectively address sexual discrimination.

Protections have also been enhanced for pregnant employees or students, such as providing clean, private lactation spaces for students and employees and other reasonable modifications.