It has been two months since the August 1, 2024 implementation date for the 2024 Title IX regulations promulgated by the U.S. Department of Education (“Department”) and schools across the country still face uncertainty from the court cases challenging the regulations.
Since their publication, the new regulations have faced strong opposition by states and national advocacy organizations. Twenty-six states and numerous private parties have filed or joined lawsuits seeking to block the implementation and enforcement of the regulations. Though the litigation has slowed down a bit from the pace leading up to the August 1, 2024 implementation deadline, multiple key decisions have impacted the overall legal landscape of Title IX across the country regarding these new regulations.
The current status of the principal cases contesting the Title IX regulations is as follows:
| Case |
Key Plaintiffs Involved |
Result |
Next Steps |
Louisiana v. U.S. Department of Education
No. 3:24-CV-00563, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
No. 24-30399, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
No. 24A78, Supreme Court of the United States |
Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, and Idaho |
June 13, 2024: Preliminary injunction granted preventing the implementation and enforcement of the Final Rule in each of the four states.
August 16, 2024: The Supreme Court denied the Department’s application for partial stay of the preliminary injunction pending appeal. |
The Department has appealed the preliminary injunction to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The Fifth Circuit denied the Department’s request to stay parts of the preliminary injunction.
Briefing on the merits of the appeal has commenced, and the Department’s reply brief is due by October 10, 2024. |
Tennessee v. Cardona
No. 2:24-CV-00072, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky
No. 24-5588, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
No. 24A79, Supreme Court of the United States |
Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia, and West Virginia |
June 17, 2024: Preliminary injunction granted preventing the implementation and enforcement of the Final Rule against these 6 states.
August 16, 2024: The Department’s application to the Supreme Court for partial stay of the preliminary injunction pending appeal was denied. |
The Department appealed the preliminary injunction to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The court granted the Department’s motion to expedite the appeal. Briefing concluded with the filing of the Department’s reply brief on September 3, and oral argument is scheduled for October 30.
Despite the pending appeal of the preliminary injunction, the plaintiffs moved for summary judgment at the District Court on July 26, 2024 and the Department filed a cross motion for summary judgment on August 23, 2024. Briefing on those motions concluded on September 13, 2024, and a decision could be handed down at any time. |
Kansas v. U.S. Department of Education
No. 5:24-cv-04041, U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas
No. 24-3097, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit |
The states of Kansas, Alaska, Utah, and Wyoming; three Plaintiff Organizations (Young America’s Foundation, Female Athletes United, and Moms for Liberty) |
July 2, 2024: Preliminary injunction granted preventing the Department from implementing or enforcing the Final Rule in these 4 states and any school attended by current or prospective members of Young America’s Foundation or Female Athletes United, or by the children of the members of Moms for Liberty.
August 26, 2024: The plaintiffs moved for Summary Judgment.
September 26, 2024: The Department filed a cross-motion for judgment on the administrative record as well as a memorandum is opposition to the plaintiffs’ summary judgment motion. |
YAF and FAU have filed multiple lists of public and private K-12 and postsecondary schools in 42 states and the District of Columbia. Moms for Liberty filed a separate list of K-12 schools subject to the preliminary injunction.
The Department appealed the preliminary injunction to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and submitted its initial brief on August 26, 2024. The plaintiffs-appellees’ response brief is due by October 9, 2024. |
Texas v. United States of America
No. 2:24-CV-00086, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas |
Texas |
July 11, 2024: Preliminary injunction granted in part preventing the Department from implementing or enforcing the Final Rule against the plaintiffs (the State of Texas, and two professors at the University of Texas-Austin). |
The Department appealed the preliminary injunction to U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Briefing has not yet commenced. |
Alabama v. Cardona
No. 7:24-cv-00533 U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama,
No. 24-12444, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit |
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina |
April 29, 2024: Complaint filed.
July 30, 2024: Motion for preliminary injunction denied.
July 31, 2024: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit granted the plaintiffs’ request for an administrative injunction, enjoining the enforcement of the regulations in the plaintiff states pending appeal of the preliminary injunction denial. |
Enforcement of the regulations is enjoined by Eleventh Circuit in the plaintiff states pending resolution of the appeal.
The plaintiff-appellants filed their initial brief on the merits of the appeal on September 19, 2024. |
Oklahoma v. Cardona
No. 5:24-cv-00461, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma |
Oklahoma |
May 6, 2024: Complaint filed.
July 31, 2024: Preliminary Injunction granted preventing implementation and enforcement of the Final Rule in Oklahoma. |
No appeal has been filed. |
Arkansas v. U.S. Department of Education
No. 4:24-CV-00636 U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
No. 24-2921, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit |
Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota |
May 7, 2024: Complaint filed.
July 24, 2024: Preliminary injunction granted preventing enforcement “against” the plaintiff states. |
The Department appealed the preliminary injunction to the Eighth Circuit on September 23, 2024. Briefing has not yet commenced. |
What does this mean for you?
The legal ground on which the 2024 Title IX regulations sit continues to shift. Each of the injunctions issued in the litigation challenging the regulations is unique in its scope and coverage. Generally, the Department cannot enforce the 2024 Title IX regulations against schools—including K-12 schools, colleges, and universities—located in states subject to a preliminary injunction or administrative injunction. As these injunctions may still be reversed or modified on appeal, schools located in these states should work with legal counsel to determine how the Final Rule and any injunction may impact their policies and procedures regarding reports and complaints of sex-based harassment and sex discrimination occurring after August 1, 2024.
Generally, schools located in states not subject to an injunction must be in compliance with the Final Rule as of August 1, 2024. Each school across the country, however, is encouraged to work with legal counsel to determine if they are named on the lists filed in Kansas v. Department of Education and, thus, are covered by the scope of the injunction preventing the enforcement of the Final Rule against members of the Plaintiff Organizations.
Last Updated: October 1, 2024
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