The U.S. Department of Education (“DOE”) is expected to release proposed regulations related to Title IX shortly. While the proposed regulations have not been officially released, a leaked draft indicates significant changes may be made to the current Title IX regulations affecting elementary and secondary schools as well as higher education institutions. Among the potential proposed changes are the application of the “deliberate indifference” standard to schools’ responses to sexual harassment, specific requirements for the contents of schools’ grievance procedures for responding to complaints of sexual harassment and training of staff, clarifications around what triggers a school’s obligations to apply its grievance procedures, and other changes requiring revisions to schools’ policies and procedures.

We will continue to monitor activity from the DOE and provide further updates and guidance, including next steps when proposed regulations are officially released.