Following recent federal court decisions and an Executive Order by President Trump, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has announced in a “Dear Colleague” letter that it will revert to the 2020 Title IX Rule, effective immediately.
A ruling from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky invalidated the 2024 Title IX Rule. President Trump’s January 20, 2025 Executive Order directs federal agencies to enforce sex-protective laws according to biological sex. Based on these authorities, OCR intends to enforce Title IX with “sex” defined to refer to “the objective, immutable characteristic of being born male or female.”
The Dear Colleague letter makes explicit that all Title IX cases are to be handled in accordance with the 2020 rule, even those already in progress under the 2024 rule. In addition to returning to the 2020 procedures for addressing reports of harassment, this means that existing cases dealing with a broader concept of “sex,” such as harassment on the basis of gender identity, should not be viewed as “Title IX cases.” Of course, Connecticut law still protects against discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and other sex-related features, and such conduct must still be stopped. However, these matters should not be handled under Title IX at this time.
Districts should take these action steps for compliance:
- Revert policies and regulations to those adopted under the 2020 regulations.
- Inform all staff involved in the administration of Title IX procedures of the reversion to the 2020 regulations and provide retraining.
- Identify pending Title IX cases and determine whether they still fall under Title IX. If they do, ensure compliance with the 2020 procedures, including provisions for review of the evidence and separation of investigatory and decision-making functions. If the case is no longer to be handled under Title IX, determine how to resolve the allegations under other District policies and procedures.
The attorneys at Berchem Moses can assist with this transition back to the 2020 Title IX rules and provide in-person or remote training to your staff.